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Provincial Partner |
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What we do Meetings About the T.E.A. Our mission About insects General info |
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Insects plus other bug-like creatures
like spiders and centipedes form the most diverse group of animals.
With so many species it is impossible to find a guide to identify
them all. Butterflies and odonates are well known and have many
excellent field guides to choose from. Other groups have only a few
field guides to choose from if any. The generalized insect field
guides won't get you down to exact species often but it may get you as
down to insect family and will always get you down to insect order.
With a close-up focusing pair of binoculars, butterflies or odonates
can give you much the same thrill as birding because you can easily see
dozens of species on a single outing.
Regional Guides
Bugs of Ontario Pub
GB
Introduction to bugs. This book features 125 of the coolest bug species. That is bugs that are big, colorful, hard to miss or weird. It is an excellent introduction to bugs and will help you identify many of the most common insects. The descriptions of each species are quite interesting. The best way to use this book is to go on trips to find specific bugs listed in the guide instead of using it to identify what you find. Insects of Algonquin Provincial Park Pub GB Very cheap book. 8*11 size makes it difficult to take into field. If you live close to Algonquin Park then it should be possible to see anything in this guide. A good feature of the book is a key to the orders of winged insects found in Algonquin Park Insects of the Great Lakes Region GB Local common insects. Black & white paintings. Good for insect life histories. Region covers Ontario but also the states surrounding the great lakes. Insects of the North Woods Pub GB Semi-local common insects. Photographs. Useful for those living on the western edges of Ontario as a field guide, perhaps more useful than a North American guide. Interesting nature notes. Good introduction as well. North American Field Guides A North American field guide can fill in the gap in what is not covered by our regional guides or guides for specific groups of bugs. There are definitely lots of cool looking bugs outside the groups of bugs most commonly studied. These North American field guides are in my opinion all have different strengths and weaknesses that make it difficult to choose a winner.
Peterson's A Field Guide to
Insects GB
Oldest and least colourful but the best at showing the key identifying features of insects. Uses mostly black and white paintings (~1300) with some color paintings (142). Will allow you to identify most insects to family level. Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America GB Uses digital pictures. Coverage for each insect species is very brief but this guide covers more species than the others. National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America GB Uses natural pictures. The classification level of the insect (class, order, family, genus etc) is well presented. Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides) Am Geared towards people interested in removing pest insects from their gardens or just learning about what insects are in their gardens. North American Reference Guides
Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the
Study of Insects GB
Reference, technical. The most comprehensive insects keys are in this book. Mostly for insect researchers. Insects -- Their Natural History and Diversity AM Rev Reference, Eastern North America, lots of photographs. This book by the same author as Insects of Algonquin Provincial Park but is far more detailed. Excellent and usable illustrated key at end of book. How to Know the Immature Insects GB Rather old guide that covers immature insects. Unusual Field Guides
Stokes' Guide To Observing Insect
Lives GB
Digs deeper than most field guides and reveals behaviors to look for. That Gunk on Your Car: A Unique Guide to Insects of North America GB Field guide to bugs that hit your windshield. The humorous side of field guides. A Field Guide to Household Bugs GB Even your house has life in it... This is not really a field guide it is a coffee table book. Guide to Aquatic Insects And Crustaceans GB Covers aquatic bugs that you may have to wade for or capture in a net from a canoe. Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates Rev GB Am To be published in spring of 2010. The first of its kind. |
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