A Guide To Observing Insect Lives (Stokes Nature Guides) Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
A Guide to Observing Insect Lives (Stokes Nature Guides)
Hardcover: 371 pages
Publisher: Little Brown & Co (Juv); 1st edition (February 1983)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316817244
ISBN-13: 978-0316817240
Product Dimensions: 1 x 5 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
Best Sellers Rank: #537,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #11 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Field Guides > Insects & Spiders #254 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Biology > Entomology #20183 in Books > Sports & Outdoors
The Spread of Insects WingsThe book, A guide to Observing Insect Lives, written by Donald W. Stokes in 1983 (IBSN 0-316-81724-4), is one of the five books written by the author to explain insect behavior. This book is a guide to observing insects and unlike many traditional field guide this books teaches the readers how to find the insects and then focuses on the insectsâ behavior. The theme of this book is to gain ability to find and observe the insects in their natural environment. Throughout the book the author explains what he considers to be important behavioral observations. This books tries to literate the main points of the insects such as life cycle, observations, behaviors, and their relationships. He uses black and white figures that illustrate the insectsâ interactions/behavior in their natural habitat. This is a powerful tool that allows the readers to get an idea of what the insects look like in real life.At the beginning of the book, the author introduces his main objectives, which are to introduce beginners/potential naturalist the art of observing insects and their main functions (Stokes, 1983). The book is divided into four sections labeled as spring, summer, fall, and winter. Each section beginnings with several paragraphs explaining how to find insects throughout each season. Then he follows by giving a figure illustrating the most common insects and where they can be located (Stokes, 1983). He then writes four to five paragraphs about the insectsâ relationship, life cycle, highlights of their life cycle, and what one can observe. Typically the section that describes what one should observe is longer because that is the purpose of the book.The book is designed for beginner naturalist that are preparing them to explore the field. For individuals who are looking to be challenged or explore insects in great detail this is not an appropriate book. However, for those who find themselves struggling with some basic ideas or need backup reading this is well written that provides foundation of insect behavior.It seems as if the targeted audience is middle/high school students who are just discovering and/or gaining interest in the wild life. For example, Stokes believes that they way to find honeybees is to go to patches of flowers and look for gold bees (Stokes, 1983). Those who know anything about insects would find this information lacking of complexity. Any individual who has some knowledge of insects would have much more follow up questions that this book wouldnât be able to explain because it is beyond the scope of the book. The author assumes that the readers lack knowledge of insects. However, for individuals like myself, this book is appropriate because I was unaware of many insects behavior. The main focus of this book is to help the readers how to observe and find insects in various places at different times of the year. At the beginning of book Stokes informs his readers that there is still little known about insects. He tells his readers that the little that is known comes from regular people with a little of curiosity (Stokes, 1983). He believes that with a little curiosity and this book it can lead to great discovery. I believe that the author tries to give the reader very basic information to feed their curiosity and then come up with observations and hypothesis of their own. After all that is what makes a good scientist. There is no need of fancy equipment or specific knowledge instead some interest and with the help of this book the author believes that the reader will become a great naturalist (Stokes, 1983). Reinforcing my assumption that this book is a stepping-stone. Stokes discusses in great detail the behavior of insects and although he provides facts, he also provides the reader with his personal experience. Some of his observations are biased because they are based on his experiences. There may be other behaviors that are worth noting but he doesnât mention, the readers learning are limited to his ideas. For example, when he describes what one should observe in crickets and/or grasshoppers he believes that some of them sound like pieces of sandpaper being rubbed together (Stokes, 1983). Moreover, he also describes the structure of the hives is marvelous but the average naturalist will disagree (Stokes, 1983). The use of âaverageâ has a strong notation and therefor I believed that he is biased towards some topics.Although many of his suggestions are right, I believe that he should clarify that the behaviors that he explains. As a writer he does firmly speak without any exaggerations or distortions. In a way as one reads the book it feels like there is a connection between the reader and author. Simultaneously, he introduces a lot of information that would be useful for beginners and because his writing is more like a conversation it is easy to follow along and understand what one is seeing. This book is boring for those who arenât really interested in fieldwork and are just reading it as a hobby. Since the purpose of the book was to observe insects, it was hard to read without having the physical insect in from of me. However, it did raise curiosity in learning more about these insects and possibly exploring the field to see them and observe their behaviors. I was disappointed that the author did not mention any insect anatomy because as a biologist I was hoping to learn how their anatomy plays a role in their behavior. The author did explain some body parts of the insects however it was very limited and basic. I wish the author went a little more in depth about certain insects.I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in insects and doesnât have a strong background. More specifically, those who are interested in field work because this is a great place to start. At the beginning of the book he dedicates a few paragraphs to provide inspiration and support. He believes that anyone who reads his book and has a spark of interest will have an easy time exploring the field and make observations of their own (Stokes, 1983). It makes the reader feel at ease without feeling like the author is superior.The author voice is very comforting and makes his audience feel like it is easy to become a scientist and observe insects. One of the many reasons that I licked the book was because it connected me to a very inspirational professor that I once had. Stokes made me feel like I could go out and conquer a field. Some of the descriptions in the book were so well written that I felt like I was with the author in the field looking at some insects. For example, while he describes the sounds of crickets he begins to tell the reader to imagine they walking in a warm sunny day in the roadsides and woods (Stokes, 1983). Illusions like these are what help the reader to engage in his reading.In all I believe that the author did a good job in writing this book. Although this book is directed to inexperienced and/or potential naturalist, it does a good job in directing the readers. I believe that his objectives to educate and inspire his audience were well achieved
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