Insects, Spiders and Other Terrestrial Arthropods
(Part of the Smithsonian Handbooks Series and DK Smithsonian Handbooks Series)
Select Format
Select Condition 
Book Overview
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.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0789493926
ISBN13:9780789493927
Release Date:October 2002
Publisher:DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
Length:256 Pages
Weight:1.07 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 6.4" x 8.5"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
Wonderful, as you'd expect from a Smithsonian handbook!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
These books are so helpful to use as references for painting. Very clear photograhy. I would have liked a few close-up shots for some of the images perhaps, but otherwise a great book. (Although I'll admit some of the inclusions in this book made my skin crawl!! I really just wanted the insects and not the spiders, but that's not the author's problem!)
Great guide--teach yourself to identify most insect families
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
This is really a nicely done guide and almost fits in my coat pocket. The pictures are fabulous and the insects are divided up into their respective families with very clear identifying traits. I'm really impressed, so much easy-to-use information in such a small book. This would be a great precursor to an entomology class. Some of my favorite critters are in the Psuedoscorpion order and are the cheliferids and chernetids, both of which look like tiny ticks with claws. So very cool. I actually found one once in Washington state--in my kitchen! It was very, very tiny. I digress. A book like this is handy if you are always finding insects and wondering what the heck you are looking at. A good value!
A great overview of insects
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
This book has a lot of useful information about insects. It describes basic characteristics, life cycle, and much more. It also includes info on other terrestrial arthropods, such as spiders and centipedes. As a field guide, it focuses on families of insects, not species, which makes more sense because there are so many species that are hard to identify. There are great photographs and descritions as well.
Copyright © 2025 Thriftbooks.com
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information | Cookie Policy | Cookie Preferences | Accessibility Statement
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
