The ultimate guide to Britain's creepy crawlies! (Collins Complete British Insects - Michael Chinery)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	Collins Complete British Insects - Michael Chinery
Date:	18/04/09 (218 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comprehensive guide to Britain's insects.

Disadvantages: None.

There are over 20,000 species of insects in the British Isles, from tiny mites less than 1 millimetre long to huge hawk moths with a wingspan of over 15 centimetres. Their variety is amazing; from beautiful and gentle, like the butterflies, to ugly and nasty, like the blood-sucking horse flies.

I enjoy walking in the countryside, and am one of those people who likes to identify what they see; whether it's a bird, tree or insect, I like to put a name to it. When out walking, I'm also interested in learning more about the things around me, and from a practical point of view, whether any of the plants or animals I encounter, can do me any harm.

This is where this book comes in. It's a superb guide to the most common insects in the British Isles. Over 1,500 creatures are shown and described.

The book is divided into three sections. The first describes the various insect families, shown in taxonomic order, describing each group's habits and habitats, in general.

The section on parasitic insects makes slightly gruesome reading. The insects such as the parasitic wasps must surely have been the inspiration for the alien in Ridley Scott's film of the same name. These capture another insect, paralyse them and lay their eggs on in their motionless prey. When the eggs hatch, they eat their host, alive.

There's also a fascinating description of the various defensive strategies that insects employ such as camouflage and mimicry (many creatures, such as the spectacular hornet clearwing moth, look like wasps to discourage potential predators).

The second section shows the various habitats of the British Isles, from woodland and grassland to aquatic environments. In this section, the types of insect likely to be encountered is indicated (for example, grasshoppers and glow worms will be found in chalk grasslands).

The final section makes up the bulk of the book and describes each of the 1,500 insects covered. Each species has a small paragraph detailing its appearance, habits and habitats, whilst a small map shows where it can be found. There is at least one, sometimes two, clear photographs to aid with identification.

The text is laid out on the left hand page, with the photographs on the right. This is great for flicking through to try and spot the insect you're interested in.

One of the best features of this book is that, for moths and butterflies, the caterpillars are shown as well as the adults. Many caterpillars are brightly coloured, and rather obvious. This book will help to identify them.

The photographs are almost all of a very high standard, and show the insects in all their glory. Some are spectacularly ugly such as the assassin bugs and if larger, would be the stuff of nightmares. Others are stunningly beautiful. The banded demoiselle dragonfly, for example, when viewed in sunlight, appears as if hewn from a piece of emerald as it glows in the sun's rays.

This book is an invaluable guide to the insects of the British Isles. It is incredibly comprehensive; most of the large insects you're likely to encounter in this country are covered in this book. The information about the insects' life cycles and behaviours makes for fascinating, if sometimes gruesome reading.

If you want to be able to identify the insects that you see in Britain, then this brilliant book will probably be all you need. One thing to note, however, spiders are not included in the book as they're not classed as insects.

This excellent guide is available from Amazon for £12.99 in paperback.

Summary: Really useful if you're looking to identify insects you see.