Best Caterpillar Guide | Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural...

very useful | Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History (Princeton Field Guides) | David L. Wagner

books:


	• Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History (Princeton Field Guides) David L. Wagner Princeton University Press, 2005 - 496 pages average customer review:based on 39 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Great images of caterpillars, butterfly and host plant images could use improvement

This book contains high quality close up images of caterpillars, but the images are so close up that I cannot get a good view of the host plant behind the caterpillar. Each caterpillar's page lists host plants (by their common names and occasionally by scientific names too), but images of the plants would have made this book much more useful for me.

Most of the caterpillars also have an image of their adult form on the same page as the caterpillar photo. The photos of the adult forms are invariably taken with the wings spread. There are no images of the adult forms with the wings folded. Also, I was disappointed to find that there was only one adult pictured per caterpillar. Even if the male and female adult forms look vastly different from each other, the book only shows one of them.

The text gives details on how to find each species of caterpillar. The book is organized such that similar butterflies/moths are grouped together. For example, all the swallowtails are together. The pages are color-coded so that you can quickly flip to the right section.

for more information click here

Best Caterpillar Guide

This book has full page accounts of almost 400 species and photographs and brief descriptions of around 300 more. The full page accounts include photos of the adult moth or butterfly. Foodplant information is included and is more accurate than most guides because the author has actually raised the caterpillars.

very useful

I'm working as coordinator of a master gardener program and we use this book as a great reference to id catapillars. Most butterfly books don't show the larval stage so this makes a complete set

for more information click here

super reference book

Excellent book for identifying caterpillars. Easy to use. Excellent resource for kids and adults alike.

for more information click here

Invaluable Resource!

Here in Texas, it is difficult to find "eastern" guides that can be helpful with our fauna in a relatively complete fashion, but this one certainly does it with style. Even though I have another book for butterfly larvae, I find that the images in this one are more useful and the information more complete, so I often check it first. And when it comes to moths, there simply is no other book that can provide the information for identification that this one does.

While the images are impressive, even this vast number cannot cover all the variations and similar species, but the lucid text often fills in the gaps with excellent descriptions of behaviors, key features, range and size. The host plant information is complete and precise. For a complete beginner, it might seem hard to find any particular caterpillar, but for a person with a basic knowledge of the lepidopteran families, the guide is so well organized that it takes little time to get to the correct section. With color coded pages, a good index, and the standard organization by families, even a book this large can be navigated efficiently. Technical terms are kept to a minimum and the text is at times even amusing, especially when personal accounts are given of encounters with a particular species.

This book is too large to take into the field, but as a home reference used in determining digital photos of living larvae, it tends to sit on my desk rather than on the shelf. Anybody who is curious about caterpillars has to have this guide; it is simply the best.

for more information click here

This lavishly illustrated guide will enable you to identify the caterpillars of nearly 700 butterflies and moths found east of the Mississippi. The more than 1,200 color photographs and two dozen line drawings include numerous exceptionally striking images. The giant silk moths, tiger moths, and many other species covered include forest pests, common garden guests, economically important species, and of course, the Mescal Worm and Mexican Jumping Bean caterpillars. Full-page species accounts cover almost 400 species, with up to six images per species including an image of the adult plus succinct text with information on distribution, seasonal activity, foodplants, and life history. These accounts are generously complemented with additional images of earlier instars, closely related species, noteworthy behaviors, and other intriguing aspects of caterpillar biology.

Many caterpillars are illustrated here for the first time. Dozens of new foodplant records are presented and erroneous records are corrected. The book provides considerable information on the distribution, biology, and taxonomy of caterpillars beyond that available in other popular works on Eastern butterflies and moths. The introductory chapter covers caterpillar structure, life cycles, rearing, natural enemies, photography, and conservation. The section titled "Caterpillar Projects" will be of special interest to educators.

Given the dearth of accessible guides on the identification and natural history of caterpillars, Caterpillars of Eastern North America is a must for entomologists and museum curators, forest managers, conservation biologists and others who seek a compact, easy-to-use guide to the caterpillars of this vast region.

A compact guide to nearly 700 caterpillars east of the Mississippi, from forest pests to garden guests and economically important species

1,200 color photos and 24 line drawings enable easy identification

Full-page species accounts with image of adult insect for almost 400 species, plus succinct text on distribution and other vital information

Many caterpillars illustrated here for the first time

Current information on distribution, biology, and taxonomy not found in other popular works

A section geared toward educators, "Caterpillar Projects"

An indispensable resource for all who seek an easy-to-use guide to the caterpillars of this vast region

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

hot