COLLINS FIELD GUIDE INSECTS OF BRITAIN AND NORTHERN EUROPE COMPREHENSIVE EASY TO USE / HIGHLY ILLUSTRATED This wholly updated and reset edition -- the first since 1976 -- brings this classic field guide right up to date. Although it has been completely rewritten, it still follows the same structure that was so highly praised in the previous editions. The first part of the book is a general introduction to the insect world, which is followed by the first of the many excellent illustrated identification keys. This primary key leads into the core of the book, the order descriptions. In each case these give a short introduction to the key features of the order, including details of their biology, followed by specific identification keys. By following the keys it is therefore possible for a beginner to identify nearly every species of insect, and learn about its biology at the same time. The text is illustrated with over 300 explanatory drawings and the 60 colour plates show 778 of the common species. "Indisputably the bargain of the year." NEW STATESMAN
 Trade In this Item for up to £1.25
Trade in Insects of Britain and Northern Europe (Collins Field Guide) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £1.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more
|
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
From the Back Cover
COLLINS FIELD GUIDE
INSECTS OF BRITAIN AND NORTHERN EUROPE
COMPREHENSIVE
EASY TO USE • HIGHLY ILLUSTRATED
This wholly updated and reset edition – the first since 1976 – brings this classic field guide right up to date. Although it has been completely rewritten, it still follows the same structure that was so highly praised in the previous editions. The first part of the book is a general introduction to the insect world, which is followed by the first of the many excellent illustrated identification keys. This primary key leads into the core of the book, the order descriptions. In each case these give a short introduction to the key features of the order, including details of their biology, followed by specific identification keys. By following the keys it is therefore possible for a beginner to identify nearly every species of insect, and learn about its biology at the same time. The text is illustrated with over 300 explanatory drawings and the 60 colour plates show 778 of the common species.
"Indisputably the bargain of the year."
NEW STATESMAN
About the Author
Michael Chinery is the UK’s leading writer on insects. His ‘Collins Field Guide to ‘Insects’ and ‘Collins Pocket Guide to ‘Insects’ are acknowledged as the best available.
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
This is a very useful book which is on the bookshelves of most entomologists and field centres. As a general tool to identify insects to family and genus level it is ideal and widely respected. It is also a great introduction to the different groups of insects and to insects in general.
Bear in mind that it is unrealistic to expect ANY volume to cover all species of insects, simply because there are far too many - literally hundreds of thousands in fact! For example, there are well over 3,000 moths alone in the UK, so people wanting to specialise in a particular insect order will need a specialised identification guide.
The 'Western Europe' book by the same author (out of print at the time of writing this) is also good and possibly slightly better for identifying species in the field, according to some. However, with that book, when you think you've got the exact species the text often says 'one of a dozen similar species'.
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
If you want a quick reference guide to just about any insect you're likely to encounter in Northern Europe, then this is the one. Unlike some other field guides (and we've tried a few) the highly detailed illustrations in this book enable you identify insects very quickly.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
I bought this to replace my copy of Insects of Britain and Western Europe (also a Collins Guide by Michael Chinery) after I lost the original.
What a huge dissappointment. The images are so small by comparison. In the Western Europe verion the images are much larger and overlap, which is fine. The images in that version are also intergrated with the text throughout the book, which I prefer. In this version the images are on plates in the middle of the book, and they are all much smaller with loads white space around them. The (solitary) dragonfly page is worst for this. The print quality of the images also seems slightly fuzzy and out of focus. I checked my copy against one I found in a bookshop and they are all like this.
It's only redeeming feature is a slightly more comprehensive catepillar section but all in all it doesn't come close to the Britain and Western Europe vesion.
What a huge dissappointment. The images are so small by comparison. In the Western Europe verion the images are much larger and overlap, which is fine. The images in that version are also intergrated with the text throughout the book, which I prefer. In this version the images are on plates in the middle of the book, and they are all much smaller with loads white space around them. The (solitary) dragonfly page is worst for this. The print quality of the images also seems slightly fuzzy and out of focus. I checked my copy against one I found in a bookshop and they are all like this.
It's only redeeming feature is a slightly more comprehensive catepillar section but all in all it doesn't come close to the Britain and Western Europe vesion.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must for the interested but casual observer
If you, like me, are fascinated by the creatures which buzz round your garden or catch your attention whilst out walking then this is the MUST HAVE book. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Will Watchman
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good a supplement to a more complete taxonomy book
It is very helpfull as it will allow you to visualize the specimens. Taxonomy books usually don't have that many or that good of illustrations. Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2009 by Ligia Maria M. Vieira
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great beginners book
If you live in the south of France I think that buying a book titled "Field Guide to the Insects of Britain and Northern Europe" isn't really reason enough to criticise the book. Read more
Published on 7 July 2004 by Mr. R. W. Woodward
2.0 out of 5 stars
lack of detail coverage
Unfortunately I seem to liveSouth of the area covered by this book, which is not suitable for anyone living in Southern France. Read more
Published on 31 May 2003
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not the complete guide it claims
As a novice I needed more illustrations.It did not offer me the help I needed.Quite abysmal.A far better book is by the same author"Insects of Britain and Western Europe"... Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2001 by D. Beattie
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Animal Sciences > Insects & Spiders
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Animal Sciences > Invertebrates > Arachnids
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Animal Sciences > Invertebrates > Insects
- Books > Science & Nature > Nature > Wild Animals > Insects & Spiders
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
