Photographic Atlas of Entomology & Guide to Insect Identification

I use this book to teach high school and middle school students 30 Orders and 100 Families of insects for Science Olympiad competitions. These teams have won national and multiple state gold medals using this book as a guide. This book in total contains 31 insects Orders and 178 Families. Its best qualities are that it is simple and very easy to use. It is best used as a quick reference to numerous families of insects and is also great for teaching people who are new to insect taxonomy. It lacks the depth, discussion, and sketches that most field guides contain but this helps it be easier to use. The photographs are exceptional and do a wonderful job depicting the necessary characteristics for identification. Several of the beginning pages also discuss anatomy and metamorphosis embellished by pertinent pictures. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an introduction to the Orders and Families of the insect world.

Going for my masters in entomology... LOVE this book! I hope he makes more.. I will buy them. This book will help any person young or old find out what they are looking at. Homeschoolers take note!! No specific grade level needed for this book. Close ups of details to help identify, options you may see and all the pictures are so clear and helpful Much easier than running through the identification keys.

I'm so glad I made this investment. It is more than a dichotomous key, but it really teaches you how to identify insects. I'm new to identifying and am teaching myself, and in my opinion this has been infinitely more helpful than the Borror and DeLong route (which I had been previously recommended several times) or any other 'match the picture' field guide. If you've come this far to be reading reviews about this book, just buy it. Seriously, it's an amazing resource!

I've often grabbed this book off the reference shelf at my local library. I'm very pleased to own it for my collection. The author is thorough, for both information as well as color photographs. I think it is a 'must have' book or anyone interested in insects, gardening, or natural science.

I am dyslexic, and many academic books are very difficult to go through, as the type is very small, paragraphs are very close together, and sentence structure tends to go on for a while. Castners book is none of those. It is very easy to read.The spiral binding allows for continuous reuse, and the paper quality is very durable.The writing is very easy to read on a less physical level, too. The material truly goes from the very basics, and is still complex enough to keep someone with prerequisite knowledge interested. Castner writes with compassion for a beginner in the field, and keeps the reader actively engaged throughout each explanation of a topic.I am thoroughly enjoying the book, and have used it for identification a couple of times now, as well.I am genuinely looking forward to reading more by James L. Castner, regarding entomology and honestly, anything else he writes about.

This book makes an excellent reference for students of entomology. External anatomy of insects is presented with high-quality color photos accompanied by descriptive text. All insect orders are presented in great detail. Best book I could have bought for my entomology course! Highly recommend.

Processed and shipped quickly. Excellent condition. Beautiful colored pictures and labeled anatomy. Great reference.

This book has excellent photographs of insects and the various stages of their life cycle. Great anatomy and an easy to follow Table of Contents. It also lays flat when opened because of the ring binder. Kids love the photos of the really exotic to the ugly, scary ones. It encourages young readers to try and identify insects they have seen or caught and learn anatomy, metamorphosis and other life stages.