I love butterflies. They are one of the easier insect species to see in a garden and are very beautiful to examine up close. Observers will quickly learn that being easy to see doesn’t mean that a butterfly is always easy to identify.

The Complete Field Guide To Butterflies Of Australia aims to help readers learn how to identify various species. The guide features all of the butterfly species on Australia’s mainland and remote islands. This review explores whether the guide is useful for beginners.

The introduction is information overload.

The readability of the introductory chapters in insect field guides is often varied. Authors have to tie a fine line between providing enough information for both the amateur and professional entomologist. This guide leaned towards the more advanced audience.

My main struggle was the lack of space. The authors condensed a lot of information into a short amount of space and didn’t have many page breaks. I understand the need for brevity, especially when you consider that this book is one of the longer guides at 397 pages. The sheer amount of information, however, was quite overwhelming.

The section on the adult structure was adequately explained. The first image, which showed the main parts of the body of an adult butterfly, was simple compared to the later ones. It very quickly gets complex, especially when you look at the adult wing structure. In some cases, you had to flip over the page to find an image that matched the description on the previous page. Those who are new to insect identification are likely to struggle and will need to return to these pages.

The section of habitats was four pages of information, followed by five pages with images of habitat examples. This would have been more practical if the images were included with the original text. The life cycle section was more helpful in this regard.

Species profiles

One of the problems when creating a comprehensive guide is that you have to be aware of space limitations. The authors were limited to three species per page, which limited the amount of information they could feature. The notes are still pretty comprehensive.

Profiles feature notes on the butterflies other names, wingspan, similar species, variations, behaviour, habitat, status and larval food plants. The length of each section varies depending on the species. In some cases, the ‘similar species’ section has a brief sentence explaining the features that make that particular species unique. In more complex cases, the section can take up half of the profile.

With most profiles, you get four colour plates. These show the underside and upperside of both genders. In some cases, a third column is added to show variations such as subspecies, regional forms and seasonal forms. Where necessary, the line drawings of critical structures needed for identification are included.

The various species are organized into the six different butterfly families: swallowtails, skippers, whites and yellows, nymphs, metalmarks and blues. There is also a smaller section on species found on Australia’s islands. No further information is given on the families with these sections; you have to refer to the lone paragraphs in the “How To Identify Butterflies’ section in ‘How To Use This Book.’

How does it differ from the first edition?

In the original text, 416 butterfly species were recognized, with 398 known from the continent. The remaining species were found on the remote island territories. By the publication of the second edition, those numbers had risen to 435 and 408 respectively.

The sections on higher classification, distribution and habitats, and life cycle and behaviour in the introduction have had substantial revisions. There is a new chapter on collecting and preserving butterflies and, for most species, the flight charts and distribution maps have been updated. There are also 106 new colour images of set butterflies that have been added to the colour plates. In some cases, these images have replaced the previous ones.

Do I recommend it?

I wouldn’t recommend it for most beginners. The content is brilliant; however, the comprehensiveness can lead to overwhelm. Instead, I’d recommend tracking down a regional or statewide guide to build up your knowledge of butterflies.

I would recommend it to those who are sure they want to focus on butterflies and those who are likely to travel to multiple parts of Australia.

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Many people associate cockroaches with the pest species found in households and workspaces. This is understandable; cockroaches can carry disease and are associated with unhygienic conditions.

When you look beyond the pest label, however, they are quite fascinating. There is a lot of variation among the Australian cockroaches; with some species having beautiful markings. David Rentz has created a brilliant guide that helps readers identify most of the 550 described species found locally.

It is useful for both the amateur and the expert

I have reviewed a lot of field guides for this site. I’ve noticed that most guides tend to target either the amateur or the professional entomologist, but rarely both.

A Guide To Cockroaches is one of those rare books that find the balance between audiences. It is accessible and newbie-friendly but doesn’t shy away from the complicated details. Readers will be able to identify most Australian species; however, some may require significantly more work. It is the type of guide that will always be relevant.

The introductory content is very comprehensive

Rentz passion is evident throughout the whole book, however it was most noticeable during the chapters that weren’t about identification. He covered a lot of ground in just 72 pages.

The morphology section was really useful. You get images detailing the features of cockroach wing ventilation, their front head, leg details and a fully winged male cockroach. Rentz also provides images of possible variations of features, such as the tarsal claw type and the subgenital plates of males. It probably will still be overwhelming for beginners, but that’s more due to the complexity of species identification

The chapter on collection and preservation was brief but also detailed. Rentz discussed the various ways of collecting cockroaches, detailing both the positives and negatives of each technique. He explored the difference between day and night collecting, as well as how to mount or pin the cockroach. There is also a decent amount of information about preparing genitals.

My favourite chapter was on the personalities of those who had previously studied cockroaches. It was just seven pages but is the type of information you rarely find in a field guide. It was fascinating learning about their history.

Species profiles

There are over 530 species of cockroach found in Australia. Like so much in entomology, the field is poorly studied. The species profiles do a great job of detailing the key identifiable features in just a couple of chapters.

The pictures are of high quality, which isn’t always possible when photographing insects. Most species get one image; however, you can get up to seven where necessary. The photos show differences due to geographical variations, such as with Euzosteria tuberculata. Other profiles show the differences between gender and morph. A map is provided for each species, showing the distribution within Australia and individual states.

The written content is comprehensive, considering the space limitations. The profiles go into detail about the key features and any similarities to other cockroaches. There is information on early instars, preferred habitat and differences between genders. Rentz also includes species that hasn’t been formally studied and mentions any gaps in knowledge.

Do I recommend it?

For most people, no. Like many in this series, there are more practical books for beginners; especially those who stick to suburbia. I would recommend either the guide to beetles or spiders.

If you have the slightest interest in cockroaches, then I recommend this book. David Rentz has done an impressive job both piquing and encouraging the interest of those who want to learn more. I wish all guides were this useful.

The book is now out of print. You can see places to buy a digital copy at CSIRO Publishing.

I never expected to become interested in mosquitoes. The ones I observed around central Geelong seemed dull compared to many other types of insects. This changed when I started following one of the co-authors, Dr Cameron Webb, on twitter. He frequently tweets about science communication, entomology and mosquitoes. I bought this book on a whim after Dr Webbs tweets had piqued my interest. It’s ended up becoming one of my favourite books in this series.

The introductory content is very user friendly.

The introductory chapters cover a wide range of information targeted at different audiences. There is information on the biology, habitats, publish health risks, controlling mosquitoes near homes and how to collect mosquitoes. This means that amateurs, ecologists and public health officials can all get a solid background. Enthusiasts and citizen scientists don’t need to read all of these chapters; however, they are a useful reference.

The main criticism is the two graphics that detail the morphology and general structure of mosquitoes. It would have been helpful if these were accompanied by better descriptions. Multiple graphics are crammed into two pages with little context. Later, it becomes evident that these are visual representations of features that are mentioned in the species profiles. It does make it slightly more difficult for beginners.

Species Profiles

The authors described this book as ‘a pictorial guide to some of the most important, most interesting and most beautiful mosquito species in Australia.’ Around 80 of Australia’s 300 species are featured. I was disappointed that they didn’t include more species; especially as the guide was just 217 pages. However, I can understand the need to limit it to the ones most commonly found or of importance.

1-2 pages are dedicated to each species. The profiles cover the species physical description, habitat, distribution and pest status. Readers will likely need to refer to the morphological descriptions until you get the hang of the terminology.

The number of pictures varies. In some cases, you get just one picture of an adult. In others, you also get the picture of the larva and pupa. These images sufficed for me; however, I’ve only used the guide to identify about 5 species.

The habitat information is pretty comprehensive, considering the limited space. These sections cover:

• uncommon places to find them
• whether little is known about the dispersal range
• how far the species will, or won’t, travel from its larval habitat

Do I recommend it?

I wouldn’t recommend it for most beginners. It pains me to say that, as it is a great book and is very user friendly.

Mosquitoes aren’t as easy to observe in the wild as other species, such as beetles and spiders. In many cases, you will have to collect the eggs and larvae to rear the mosquitoes before being able to identify it. There are also some types of traps you can use. The chapter on how to collect, rear and photograph mosquitoes discusses these in detail.

Alternately, you can try to get a photo of a mosquito while one is biting you. From experience, it can be tricky trying to get a clear macro photo of all the identifiable features.

Some may find it too overwhelming to obtain the mosquitoes to identify them. I would recommend that beginners choose a species that is easier to observe, especially if it’s their first time trying to identify insects.

I would highly recommend it for those who have an existing interest in mosquitoes and want to try to collect them. It’s a brilliant guide if you are prepared for the extra work.

 

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