Product Description

A photographic field guide to 1,500 species of insects found in Britain A photographic field guide to all the common and some unusual species of insects across Britain that the keen amateur naturalist is likely to spot. Approximately 1,500 species are illustrated with clear photographs chosen for their help in identification. / Details of distribution for each insect, and whether it is common or rare / Includes photographs of larvae / Each section is coded with a symbol for easy reference / Information on easily confused species / All the information on the species together in the same place Insect groups dealt with include butterflies and moths, mayflies, dragonflies, damselflies, grasshoppers, crickets, earwigs, lacewings, bugs, bees, wasps, ants and beetles, all with keys to ensure accurate identification.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #133698 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Michael Chinery is a well-known naturalist and the author of numerous books on insects and garden wildlife, including Collins Nature Guide Garden Wildlife, The Natural History of the Garden and Collins Wildlife Trust Guide Butterflies of Britain and Europe. For several years he ran field courses to introduce people of all ages to plant and animal life and now lives in Suffolk with his wife Jill.

Customer Reviews

Great pictures, reasonable descriptions but not complete.
Initially I was disappointed with this book. It doesn't cover as many insect species as I'd hoped. All the main families are covered and most of the common specimens likely to be encounted are in the book.

Beetles are a personal favourite of mine and I would have liked to have seen this section expanded to cover more species.

The Author confesses to having an interest in moths in his acknowledgments which is reflected in the space given to Moth species- too much for a general insect guide.

Grumbles aside, the book is well layed out with nice pictures and concise descriptions.

If you don't possess an insect guide already and are looking for a good general guide to insects look no further. It's not as 'Complete' as i would like though.

Great book
I was initially looking for a butterfly book when I came across this. A quick browse and it was in my shopping basket!
As previous reviewers have pointed out, it's not totally inclusive, but come on, it's a paperback, in one volume.
To be complete, covering as many groups as this does, you'd need volumes and volumes.
As a beginners/general interest book it hits the mark.
It covers most of the common examples you are likely to see.
The book starts with a nice introduction to the biology and ecology of insects. Each order (technical name for an insect group) has it's own picture, information about that order, and a page reference to get you started on your search.
Once you've got the right order, the pages are lavishly covered with photographs, making identification fairly easy.
I particularly like the sections on the larval stages of butterflies and moths.
I've spent happy hours going 'Oh, so that's what it is!'
If you are looking to get started identifying bugs in your garden/house or further afield, this is one of the most easily used and comprehensive guides you're likely to find without spending a fortune!

best available
The title should be Common British Insects or similar - there are more species of beetles than there are species covered by this book.What I like best is that it doesnt include species not found here - typically N.Europe is included in these sorts of guides no doubt to improve sales on the continent.An image taken from one angle is not always enough to iD an insect but at least you can narrow down to a family then google on bioimages.org.uk
Too many moths, not enough flies for balance but a worthy attempt.