Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my loving wife, Stephanie, for her unending patience, sense of humor, and support with the countless number of butterflies, caterpillars, and other assorted insects that always happen to find their way into our home as part of projects like these. I would also like to thank my parents for encouraging my early interest in the natural world. It has resulted in a continuously rewarding and always surprising career.
Cover and book design by Lora Westberg
Edited by Brett Ortler
Anatomy illustration by Julie Martinez
Photo credits:
Cover photos: Shutterstock
The following photos are copyright of their respective photographers. Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org: 168 (main) Joseph Berger: 202 (inset) Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org: 202 (main) Ray Brunn: 109 (both) Fitz Clarke, Savannah, GA: 82 (inset) John Flannery: 121 (inset) Bill Keim: 29 (inset) Warren P. Lynn: 30 (main) Jim McCulloch: 96 (main) Copyright 2010 Cheryl Moorehead: 43 (main) Tom Murray: 104 (inset) Brett Ortler: 16 Richard Payne Jr.: 30 (inset) Robert Peal: 194 (inset) Lawrence E. Reeves: 61 (main), 68 (main), 140 (inset) 218 Alan Schmierer: 106 (inset) Yellowstone National Park, National Park Service. J. Schmidt: 195 (inset)
The following (unaltered) images are licensed according to a Creative Commons 2.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/):
Page 54 (main), “Whirligig beetle, Gyrinidae,” by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren. Original available at www.flickr.com/photos/wildreturn/18388506375/
Page 104 (main), “Black and Yellow Lichen Moth” by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren. Original available at www.flickr.com/photos/wildreturn/9887606146/
All other photos by Jaret C. Daniels or Shutterstock
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Copyright 2017 by Jaret C. Daniels
Published by Adventure Publications
An imprint of AdventureKEEN
820 Cleveland Street South
Cambridge, Minnesota 55008
(800) 678-7006
All rights reserved
Printed in U.S.A.
ISBN: 978-1-59193-685-5; eISBN: 978-1-59193-686-2
How to Use This Book
This book is organized by where you’re likely to encounter specific insects. There are seven main sections—At Lights, In or Near Water, In the Air, On Flowers, On Structures, On the Ground, and On Plants. Of course, these aren’t hard-and-fast rules, but they are a good place to start identifying the insects you find.
Within each section, insects are organized by their order—a scientific grouping of similar insects. For example, butterflies and moths all belong to an order—Lepidoptera. Many of these orders are relatively familiar—and we’ve provided example species to help guide you—but some are likely less familiar. To help you, each account includes full-color photos of each type of insect; if you don’t recognize what kind of bug you’ve found, follow these steps.
Look in the section where you found the animal.
If you know what kind of critter it is (a butterfly or moth), look for that grouping.
If you don’t know it, flip through and look at the photos to find bugs with a similar shape to find its order.
Within each order, the insects and other critters are organized by average size, from smallest to largest.
Note: While this book focuses mostly on insects, we’ve also included a number of other “creepy crawly” animals, such as spiders, centipedes and millipedes, earthworms, and slugs. Such animals are often lumped together with insects, and while they aren’t technically insects, they are common and interesting enough to merit including.
Table of Contents
How to Use This Book
Bugs Found at Lights