The Beetles of Eastern North America Book Review
May 29, 2017 18:41:59 GMT
nomad and mothman27 like this
Post by beetlebaily on May 29, 2017 18:41:59 GMT
The Beetles of Eastern North America By Arthur V. Evans. Lists a range of species of beetles living in the U.S and Canada. However, today I will only focus on the scarabidae family.
First off the cover is a 10/10 the picture of a male rainbow dung beetle on the cover is perfect. The quality of the photo is amazing and was well taken. Zoomed in to see every detail.
In terms of the sections of the book the organization pattern is a 10/10 as well. I like the text on the left insect on the right
(reference pages)
So this book is a good reference and one does not have to read it cover to cover to identify a beetle they have found in the field. So again 10/10.
The photos are detailed and zoomed in but not blury. The Lighting of the photos recieves a perfect score once again because it captures every color pattern which is crucial in identification.
The bad: First off the book is soft cover and too large for a reference guide. It should be hard covered and and not be 12inx10in Plus the families are NOT in alphabetical order. For a newbie it wouldn't matter but for a semi expert it would make more sense since they could bip by the families they know an narrow down the beetle found to the familiy that they suspect.
The range is VERY off. For one I know I have ranted about this in the past but for d tityus the books says New York to Florida. Wrong: The range is Southern Maryland to Southern Georgia/North Florida. West to Texas/Oklahoma. The range mentioned says they only go west to Arkansas. Not true.
And despite not being in the scaribidae family the book mentioned the Elephant Stag beetle. (Lucanus cervus) lives from Pennsylvania-Georgia. But that is VERY wrong too. The most north these guys are found in is the Carolinas. The northern range is WAAAY off!
So beware and take this with a grain of salt. Better yet use. bugguide.net/node/view/15740
In wrap-up HOWEVER despite the ranges being off and not being in alphabetical order.
I rate this an 9.5/10 because it has fanominal photos, short/sweet and informative text.
First off the cover is a 10/10 the picture of a male rainbow dung beetle on the cover is perfect. The quality of the photo is amazing and was well taken. Zoomed in to see every detail.
In terms of the sections of the book the organization pattern is a 10/10 as well. I like the text on the left insect on the right
(reference pages)
So this book is a good reference and one does not have to read it cover to cover to identify a beetle they have found in the field. So again 10/10.
The photos are detailed and zoomed in but not blury. The Lighting of the photos recieves a perfect score once again because it captures every color pattern which is crucial in identification.
The bad: First off the book is soft cover and too large for a reference guide. It should be hard covered and and not be 12inx10in Plus the families are NOT in alphabetical order. For a newbie it wouldn't matter but for a semi expert it would make more sense since they could bip by the families they know an narrow down the beetle found to the familiy that they suspect.
The range is VERY off. For one I know I have ranted about this in the past but for d tityus the books says New York to Florida. Wrong: The range is Southern Maryland to Southern Georgia/North Florida. West to Texas/Oklahoma. The range mentioned says they only go west to Arkansas. Not true.
And despite not being in the scaribidae family the book mentioned the Elephant Stag beetle. (Lucanus cervus) lives from Pennsylvania-Georgia. But that is VERY wrong too. The most north these guys are found in is the Carolinas. The northern range is WAAAY off!
So beware and take this with a grain of salt. Better yet use. bugguide.net/node/view/15740
In wrap-up HOWEVER despite the ranges being off and not being in alphabetical order.
I rate this an 9.5/10 because it has fanominal photos, short/sweet and informative text.
