Peterson First Guide To Caterpillars Of North America: A Field Guide to 120 Species with Illustrated Host Plants and Adult Forms

Peterson First Guides

by Amy Bartlett Wright, Roger Tory Peterson

Here is the first and only guide to a subject of great interest to gardeners, small children, and caterpillars, the immature form of butterflies and moths. This guide describes 120 common species of these fuzzy creatures. All the caterpillars, their adult forms and many of their host plants are illustrated.

Genres: Nature, Field Guides, Reference, Gardening, Biology, Guides, Wildlife

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Missy LeBlanc Ivey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small field guide for identifying caterpillars and the butterflies they become. Published in 1993 (with 128 pages). I picked up this awesome little book for $.25 at our local public library book sale on 9/1/2022. The pictures are quality colored drawings, not photos.

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to like this book. It has an excellent organizational key and beautiful illustrations. That said, I have never found it useful when I was actually was looking for an ID and often found five caterpillars in a row that aren't in this book. It only covers 120 species by design and so I can't really fault it for that, but it does limit its usefulness. And even for a "beginner," there needs to be some balance between brevity and coverage (I do realize that there are thousands of species that can't all be covered). I wonder if this book sort of misses any ideal target audience (ie. too complex for children and not really quite advanced enough to be extremely useful among a serious amateur adult). I give it 3 stars because I like it in concept even though I've found it frustrating.

[Kim Browers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best guide I've found for Lepidopterists who need images of all metamorphic stages. It's not a large cross-section, but at least the author provides common names, food plants, larva, pupae, and adult images so it becomes easier to identify these common specimens. I wish it was more comprehensive and for some reason the scientific names are only listed in the index, but overall it's a handy little pocket guide. Great for kids who are nature explorers, or hobby entomologists looking to sharpen their identification skills.