When the original edition of British Hoverflies was published in 1983, it established a popular style of user-friendly identification keys that resulted in many more people taking an interest in these colourful and attractive insects. This second edition retains the layout and approach of the original but it also includes much additional information about the family as a whole, as well as extended and revised species accounts. Revised by Stuart Ball, Alan Stubbs, Ian McLean, Roger Morris, Steven Falk and Roger Hawkins, the new edition includes all 276 species known from Britain, compared with 256 in the first edition. The keys and text have been updated extensively to take account of our increased knowledge of hoverflies, and some species from continental Europe that might be expected to occur here are described in the keys and species accounts. The second edition comprises 469 pages, including the 12 widely-acclaimed, original colour plates by Steven Falk, as well as 17 new detailed black and white plates of Cheilosia genitalia (by Steven Falk) and Sphaerophoria genitalia (by Stuart Ball). The summaries of the distribution of species and their flight periods have been updated following the publication of the Provisional Atlas of British Hoverflies in 2000. A check list of all British species gives the current nomenclature for the family, while a bibliography of over 800 references facilitates access to much of the published literature on hoverflies. This new edition will appeal both to experienced dipterists and to those starting to study flies for the first time.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By R. Turner
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the guide to hoverflies; experts refer to this book frequently. I can see why!
The book is effectively two halves, the first is a pretty comprehensive and interesting text covering the lifecycle of hoverflies, their habitat and how to go about studying/collecting them. The second part is a set of keys. It should be noted these are technical keys often with references to details requiring a microscope and dissection to see. However it is possible to identify many of these fascinating creatures to species level without technical aids; I am totally inexperienced in this field but used this book to identify a Myathropa florae specimen at the first time of using (see www.ispot.org.uk/node/84871).
No review could fail to mention the plates by Falk. There are 18 black&white and 12 colour plates illustrating 190 species. These are simply stunning, worth the purchase price on their own.
The text is clearly and succinctly written and yet entertaining with the passion Stubbs has for this subject shining through.
The book is effectively two halves, the first is a pretty comprehensive and interesting text covering the lifecycle of hoverflies, their habitat and how to go about studying/collecting them. The second part is a set of keys. It should be noted these are technical keys often with references to details requiring a microscope and dissection to see. However it is possible to identify many of these fascinating creatures to species level without technical aids; I am totally inexperienced in this field but used this book to identify a Myathropa florae specimen at the first time of using (see www.ispot.org.uk/node/84871).
No review could fail to mention the plates by Falk. There are 18 black&white and 12 colour plates illustrating 190 species. These are simply stunning, worth the purchase price on their own.
The text is clearly and succinctly written and yet entertaining with the passion Stubbs has for this subject shining through.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars
1 review
3.0 out of 5 stars
These are the *nice* flies
5 May 2009
By Ashtar Command
- Published on Amazon.com
Hoverflies (a.k.a. flower flies) are relatively small, brightly colored flies that live on nectar, don't sting, don't carry any tropical diseases, and play an important role as pollinators of flowers. They also espouse a variety of rather strange behaviour, including long-distance migrations, egg-laying in heavily polluted waters, and territorial defense. And they look like bees, wasps or bumblebees!
So how come there doesn't seem to be any popularized books on hoverflies???
When I searched Amazon, the only very vaguely popularized books that came up where "British Hoverflies" by Stubbs and Falk (this book), and "Hoverflies" by Gilbert. Both books are unreasonably over-priced here at Amazon.com, so please check out Amazon.com.uk instead. "British Hoverflies" can also be purchased from there (I did).
Please note that I said "very vaguely popularized". You probably have to be a not-so-budding hoverfly nerd to really like these books. And if you are, you probably have them in your backpack already! Gilbert's book contain some interesting information on hoverfly habits, but it's very short, more a pamphlet than a book. "British Hoverflies" is much longer but it's a very specialized identification guide. It's also very dated. My edition is from 1983. It covers all 250 British species, and illustrates 190 of them. The species presentations are rather short, and contain the following: a description of the traits necessary for identification, information about habitat and range, and approximate time of the year when the species in question flies. There is also an extensive identification key. The colour plates are all at the back of the book.
I'm sure the local dipterist enthusiasts somewhere in Kent or Somerset actually use this book. However, it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I wanted something about hoverflies along the lines of "Bees of the World" or "The Magpies", two natural science books I review elsewhere. It's a pity that the only *nice* flies don't have a popularizer (yet).
Any takers?
So how come there doesn't seem to be any popularized books on hoverflies???
When I searched Amazon, the only very vaguely popularized books that came up where "British Hoverflies" by Stubbs and Falk (this book), and "Hoverflies" by Gilbert. Both books are unreasonably over-priced here at Amazon.com, so please check out Amazon.com.uk instead. "British Hoverflies" can also be purchased from there (I did).
Please note that I said "very vaguely popularized". You probably have to be a not-so-budding hoverfly nerd to really like these books. And if you are, you probably have them in your backpack already! Gilbert's book contain some interesting information on hoverfly habits, but it's very short, more a pamphlet than a book. "British Hoverflies" is much longer but it's a very specialized identification guide. It's also very dated. My edition is from 1983. It covers all 250 British species, and illustrates 190 of them. The species presentations are rather short, and contain the following: a description of the traits necessary for identification, information about habitat and range, and approximate time of the year when the species in question flies. There is also an extensive identification key. The colour plates are all at the back of the book.
I'm sure the local dipterist enthusiasts somewhere in Kent or Somerset actually use this book. However, it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I wanted something about hoverflies along the lines of "Bees of the World" or "The Magpies", two natural science books I review elsewhere. It's a pity that the only *nice* flies don't have a popularizer (yet).
Any takers?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see the review
3.0 out of 5 stars
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