Other editions of book Smithsonian Handbooks: Insects

Written by noted entomologist George C. McGavin, this comprehensive handbook covers all 29 orders of insect as well as spiders and terrestrial arthropods. It’s packed with hundreds of annotated photographs and illustrations to help you discern the many types of insects and gives you a brief description of each insect family with main characteristics, including life cycles, the environment in which they thrive, and a photographic guide to assist you in categorizing the insect group. It’s an indispensable handbook for beginners and enthusiasts alike. Smithsonian Handbooks are the most visually appealing guides on the natural world in the book marketplace. Featuring more than 500 full-color illustrations and photographs, along with detailed annotations, Smithsonian Handbooks make identification easy and accurate.

Authoritative text crystal-clear photography and a systematic approach make this handbook the most comprehensive recognition guide to the insects spiders and other terrestrial arthropods of the world. Packed with photographs and illustrations of more than 550 insect families it is designed to cut through the process of identification enabling you to recognize insects easily. It features a photo-encyclopedic approach. Focusing on over 300 of the main insect families, "The Dorling Kindersley Handbook of Insects Spiders and Other Terrestrial Arthropods" tackles the incredible diversity of this class. All 29 orders of insect are examined as well as a representative selection of spiders and other terrestrial arthropods from around the world. Identification is made easy. Written for beginners and enthusiasts alike, each entry combines a concise description with annotated photographs and illustrations to highlight the insect's chief characteristics including physical features life cycle habitat and larval stages. In addition there is an explanation of what an insect is and a practical photographic identification key to the main insect group which guides the reader to correct entries.

These Dorling Kindersley Handbook titles have been updated, and given a fresh new look. The series has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. They are the most visually appealing guides on the natural world in the book marketplace. Each title in the series contains over 500 full-color illustrations and crystal-clear photographs precisely annotated to make identification simple and accurate.