Princeton
Press sent me a new WildGuides for review on Another Bird Blog. A book I didn't request because apart from a passing summertime
interest in dragonflies, damselflies & butterflies, my knowledge
of insects and entomology is virtually zero.
Britain's
Insects - A field guide to the insects of Great Britain and Ireland,
is published on 8 June 2021. The Author is Paul D Brock, a name that
will be entirely familiar to devoted entomologists and probably to
birders with a secondary interest in lepidoptera and odonata.
Paul
D. Brock is
an entomologist and a scientific associate at the Natural History
Museum, London. He is a renowned author of insect books and a widely
published photographer. He is a world authority on stick-insects and
leaf-insects, with a genus and several species named after him - Paul D Brock.
On
the other hand, Princeton's mistake was an opportunity to discover
more about a branch of wildlife I rarely explore while upholding the
principle of “learn something new every day”. I opened the book
cautiously in case a creepy crawly emerged from within. Nothing did,
so I investigated in greater depth. Read on.
The
short Introduction to Britain's Insects is just that, an unveiling of
the contents of the 570 pages that contain the species
accounts. The Introduction reminds us that Britain's 25,000 insect
species, and the World's 1.07 million species, are crucially
important to the health of Planet Earth through the ecosystem.
Insects are waste controllers, pollinators and pest controllers while
themselves providing food for animals, birds and humans. If insects
were to disappear, our planet's ecosystem would collapse.
From
the species accounts I learnt that Britain has 25 broad “types”
or “orders” of insects, many familiar to the average householder
through their often undeserved reputation as pests e.g.
earwigs, cockroaches, lice, beetles and flies. Others of the order,
equally familiar but more colourful and beautiful are treated more
favourably by man, e.g. dragonflies & damselflies, butterflies
and moths. A celebrated few, e.g. stick insects become children's
pets while yet others produce food that we consume. Who doesn't enjoy
a blob of the finest honey made by Apis mellifera or love to wash
with soap containing bee wax?
Britain's Insects - Princeton Press
Pages
8-26, a guide to insect orders, introduce the general character of
each order of adult insects while reminding the reader of the
considerable differences of immature stages of larvae, caterpillars
and nymphs. There's also a timely reminder for the reader/novice to
check that the animal in their gaze or up for ID is in fact an
insect, rather than “insect-like” by checking/counting the
features of head, body parts legs, eyes, wings and antennae.
Note
to bird watcher self. The procedure of identifying insects is
infinitely more complex than the simplicity of seeing that a bird is
a bird alone and can never be an entirely different animal. Already I
am learning that insects have quite unique, amazing stories to tell
and that there is much to discover by amateurs and professionals
alike.
The
Species Accounts pages 33-464 vary in how orders
are treated. In
some, every species
is covered, e.g. odonata, grasshoppers & crickets, butterflies
(but not moths), and some of the smaller orders. In the case of
larger orders, similar detail would create problems of bulk and
accessibility that would require a number of volumes, therefore the
accounts give an overview e.g. ants, wasps, bees and their relatives
of flies & beetles. For example, the largest order, the ants,
bees, wasps and their relatives of Britain consist of 64 families,
1592 genera and 7,760 species; thus, even in this hefty tome of 680
pages it is impossible to be finite in detail, more so when some
insects are little or rarely known. As the author states as early as
page 4, it is still possible to find a species new to a region, or
the ultimate discovery - a species new to science!
The
text and layout of the species accounts and indeed throughout the
book follow a consistent layout and presentation that is immediately
recognisable as a WILDGuide. Like others in the series Britain's
Insects contains colour coded labels, clear and succinct text, mostly
side-by-side photos and many charts, in all, 476 colour
illustrations. Many pages have signposts and pointers to help the
reader to home in on the most salient features of a species.
The
accounts include a huge amount of detailed information such as
geographical range and status, conservation status, measurement, ID
features, life cycle, habitat, food plants, hosts, and indications of
similar species. In the case of grasshoppers and crickets, the
accounts include both sonograms and QR codes, the QRs will link with
sound recordings when the book is published. Just like birds,
insects make similar if somewhat quieter “churrs”,
“chirps” or “squeaks” to
advertise their presence to potential mates and use vocalisations to
ward off rivals and predators.
Quality
photographs abound, many from the author, others by
dedicated enthusiasts and both professional & citizen scientists, all selected so as to show off key ID features. Only by macro
photography can the full glory of insects be appreciated and British
Insects has advice on how best to achieve photographs of similar
quality to the many (2600) superb ones in the book. There are five pages of acknowledgements and photo credits, a testament to the
amount of work that went into creating this phenomenal piece of work.
This
is a delightful if demanding book, a major work in fact. It is daunting in some respects
for a complete novice/beginner but without doubt a welcome addition
to the libraries of insectophiles and professional biologists as a
source of reference.
Britain's
Insects will surely become an essential
and everyday guide for entomologists, naturalists, gardeners,
wildlife photographers and anyone else interested in insects,
whatever their level of knowledge.
Britain's
Insects upholds the superb presentation and finish we have come to
expect from the WildGuides series. At £25 for 608 pages that
contain 4000 colour illustrations/photos the book is a real bargain.
Price: $32.50
/ £25.00
ISBN:
9780691179278
Published
(US): Jul 13, 2021
Published
(UK): Jun 8, 2021
Pages:
608
Size:
5.87 x 8.25 in.
2600
colour photos
1476
colour illustrations
https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691179278/britains-insects
Back soon with another post. Birds I expect.
