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Insects of Britain and Western Europe
Over 2000 of the most commonly observed and most distinctive insect species of Britain and western Europe, from all orders and most families, are illustrated in this pocket guide. The text summarises key identification points and characteristics.
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2005
About the author
Michael Chinery
260 books10 followersMichael Chinery is an English naturalist.
He studied in Cambridge where he graduated in natural sciences and anthropology.
He edits Cecidology, the journal of the British Plant Gall Society.
Books:
- Animals in the zoo,
- Animal communities,
- Britain's Plant Galls. A photographic
guide (2011) WildGuides. Old Basing, Hampshire. ISBN 978 190365743 0
- Purnell's concise Encyclopedia of Nature,
Forests, Kingfisher, London, 1992 ISBN 0-86272-915-7
Chinery is well known for his books on insects :
Insects of Britain and Northern Europe, 3rd edition, Collins field guide. ISBN 0-00-219918-1
Insects of Britain and Western Europe, Collins Guide, 1986 (reprinted in 1991)
Butterflies of Britain and Europe, Collins Wildlife Trust Guides.
He studied in Cambridge where he graduated in natural sciences and anthropology.
He edits Cecidology, the journal of the British Plant Gall Society.
Books:
- Animals in the zoo,
- Animal communities,
- Britain's Plant Galls. A photographic
guide (2011) WildGuides. Old Basing, Hampshire. ISBN 978 190365743 0
- Purnell's concise Encyclopedia of Nature,
Forests, Kingfisher, London, 1992 ISBN 0-86272-915-7
Chinery is well known for his books on insects :
Insects of Britain and Northern Europe, 3rd edition, Collins field guide. ISBN 0-00-219918-1
Insects of Britain and Western Europe, Collins Guide, 1986 (reprinted in 1991)
Butterflies of Britain and Europe, Collins Wildlife Trust Guides.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 27, 2016
I've been using this guide for the last 3 summers. When it comes to an all-round UK insect book for the enthusiast your choice is pretty much limited to Michael Chinery's books (more on which later). There are several other books about but generally I've found them to be a bit more limited in scope and detail. The main problem with guides like this is what should be included in a pocket-sized guide to a group of animals ~24,000 species strong in the UK alone.
This book still fits into a large-ish pocket while covering about 1,500 species and including many of the most commonly encountered species in the process. It also covers some of the spectacular ones and tries to include at least one representative for the many families out there (once again, hard to do when Brit beetles are grouped into 100 families!). The book even covers a small selection of non-insect arthropods (eg. spiders) to help the beginner out.
In a very small amount of text per species, Chinery fits in a description with diagnostic features, very basic distribution map (represented by a triangle and a symbol), seasonality, food plants and sometimes notes on the larvae. I also appreciate that Chinery has often put the effort in to note when there are many very similar species that realistically need further reference material and a microscope to identify. Later on if you get even more into insects you'll appreciate these pointers.
The illustrations are great. The moth illustrations in particular are beautifully detailed. Extra illustration is sometimes provided for key features (eg. the pronotal keel markings on grasshoppers). Every illustration has a useful multiplier symbol next to it to indicate the size of the actual insect relative to the drawing.
One of my few gripes is that while it could never cover everything, there are some things it doesn't quite cover well enough. The most charismatic insects are generally the relative large or colourful ones - butterflies, moths, dragonflies, ladybirds, bumblebees, crickets and grasshoppers. Of these he really fails to cover the butterflies or ladybirds very well. But these are exactly the kinds of groups that people start out on. For a few extra pages or a dozen fewer of the more specialist species, he could have more comprehensively covered the kinds of insects that make the amateur reach for the ID book.
That said, I frequently refer to it in the field with groups I'm unfamiliar with and have often been surprised when it comes out trumps on stuff like mirid bugs or tachinid flies.
It's worth quickly comparing this book to Chinery's other very similar books:
Complete British Insects
This is largely photographic and appears to cover mostly the same species. In my opinion, photos can often miss the important features that need illustrating on some species.
Collins Field Guide: Insects of Britain and Northern Europe
This appears to be another excellent guide. Slightly different geographical focus. The editions I've seen have been a bit too big and heavy for a fieldguide. On the other hand it does have very nifty keys to the families of most of the insect groups.
It's also worth mentioning that there's a new kid on the block with A Photographic Guide to Insects of the New Forest and Surrounding Area by Paul Brock which I've only had a chance to leaf through but looks like a good alternative if you're a largely southern UK based naturalist/entomologist.
Overall a fantastic book and one that rarely sits on the shelf in summer as it's so often in my rucksack or pocket.
2014 edit:
Since I wrote this review, Paul Brock has put together a Britain and Ireland-wide version of his excellent New Forest field guide: A Comprehensive Guide to Insects of Britain and Ireland. I've only taken it out with me the once so far but I'm already really impressed with it. I'll put up a review of it later in the year after a few more outings.
This book still fits into a large-ish pocket while covering about 1,500 species and including many of the most commonly encountered species in the process. It also covers some of the spectacular ones and tries to include at least one representative for the many families out there (once again, hard to do when Brit beetles are grouped into 100 families!). The book even covers a small selection of non-insect arthropods (eg. spiders) to help the beginner out.
In a very small amount of text per species, Chinery fits in a description with diagnostic features, very basic distribution map (represented by a triangle and a symbol), seasonality, food plants and sometimes notes on the larvae. I also appreciate that Chinery has often put the effort in to note when there are many very similar species that realistically need further reference material and a microscope to identify. Later on if you get even more into insects you'll appreciate these pointers.
The illustrations are great. The moth illustrations in particular are beautifully detailed. Extra illustration is sometimes provided for key features (eg. the pronotal keel markings on grasshoppers). Every illustration has a useful multiplier symbol next to it to indicate the size of the actual insect relative to the drawing.
One of my few gripes is that while it could never cover everything, there are some things it doesn't quite cover well enough. The most charismatic insects are generally the relative large or colourful ones - butterflies, moths, dragonflies, ladybirds, bumblebees, crickets and grasshoppers. Of these he really fails to cover the butterflies or ladybirds very well. But these are exactly the kinds of groups that people start out on. For a few extra pages or a dozen fewer of the more specialist species, he could have more comprehensively covered the kinds of insects that make the amateur reach for the ID book.
That said, I frequently refer to it in the field with groups I'm unfamiliar with and have often been surprised when it comes out trumps on stuff like mirid bugs or tachinid flies.
It's worth quickly comparing this book to Chinery's other very similar books:
Complete British Insects
This is largely photographic and appears to cover mostly the same species. In my opinion, photos can often miss the important features that need illustrating on some species.
Collins Field Guide: Insects of Britain and Northern Europe
This appears to be another excellent guide. Slightly different geographical focus. The editions I've seen have been a bit too big and heavy for a fieldguide. On the other hand it does have very nifty keys to the families of most of the insect groups.
It's also worth mentioning that there's a new kid on the block with A Photographic Guide to Insects of the New Forest and Surrounding Area by Paul Brock which I've only had a chance to leaf through but looks like a good alternative if you're a largely southern UK based naturalist/entomologist.
Overall a fantastic book and one that rarely sits on the shelf in summer as it's so often in my rucksack or pocket.
2014 edit:
Since I wrote this review, Paul Brock has put together a Britain and Ireland-wide version of his excellent New Forest field guide: A Comprehensive Guide to Insects of Britain and Ireland. I've only taken it out with me the once so far but I'm already really impressed with it. I'll put up a review of it later in the year after a few more outings.
August 13, 2012
This is a revised edition of one of my favourite ever field guides. I have to say the revisions are not very obvious — it appears to be almost exactly the same book with red on the cover instead of green — but it's hard to tell without going through line by line checking for differences. And I don't begrudge the cost of a second copy because it's a terrific book and it's great that it's still being published.
You would think that a pocket guide covering all kinds of insects in Western Europe would inevitably be frustrating to use, simply because there are tens of thousands of species and it can only cover a fraction of them. I was going to say something about the tip of the iceberg, but actually that metaphor is inadequate: for every species included, there are at least 50 that didn't make the cut.
But it focuses on those species which people are most likely to look up — i.e. those which are particularly common or striking or both — and it works surprisingly well. Most of the time, whether you're in Sussex or Provence, if you happen to see an interesting looking beetle or grasshopper, you can find it in the book. And the illustrations are excellent.
It also tries to give at least one example from all the different insect groups, even the really boring ones, so you can at least have some idea of what you're looking at. The fact that the book only has a fraction of the species means that sometimes you are probably getting a misleading sense of precision: you think you have identified the species but in fact you've just found the book's example of a group of dozens of similar species which can only be told apart by an expert. And I think it could be clearer about that sometimes, although the phrase 'one of many similar species' might get a bit repetitive after a while.
So it has its limitations. At the very least, anyone with a general interest in natural history is likely to want a dedicated butterfly guide as well. But it is so much better than you could have any right to expect.
You would think that a pocket guide covering all kinds of insects in Western Europe would inevitably be frustrating to use, simply because there are tens of thousands of species and it can only cover a fraction of them. I was going to say something about the tip of the iceberg, but actually that metaphor is inadequate: for every species included, there are at least 50 that didn't make the cut.
But it focuses on those species which people are most likely to look up — i.e. those which are particularly common or striking or both — and it works surprisingly well. Most of the time, whether you're in Sussex or Provence, if you happen to see an interesting looking beetle or grasshopper, you can find it in the book. And the illustrations are excellent.
It also tries to give at least one example from all the different insect groups, even the really boring ones, so you can at least have some idea of what you're looking at. The fact that the book only has a fraction of the species means that sometimes you are probably getting a misleading sense of precision: you think you have identified the species but in fact you've just found the book's example of a group of dozens of similar species which can only be told apart by an expert. And I think it could be clearer about that sometimes, although the phrase 'one of many similar species' might get a bit repetitive after a while.
So it has its limitations. At the very least, anyone with a general interest in natural history is likely to want a dedicated butterfly guide as well. But it is so much better than you could have any right to expect.
October 17, 2012
Although only skimming the surface of the insects found in the UK, this book focuses well on many of the most interesting and commonly seen. The second edition has some out of date scientific names and classifications which I understand have been updated in the third edition.
Good quality illustrations, taxonomic classifications for those who are interested, a small amount of information on habitat and likely periods of observation. I've not found a better pocket guide to date that covers such a wide range of insects, but anyone keen to learn will definitely need to buy more detailed books to accompany this.
For something a little deeper, consider the Royal Entomological Society book of British Insects for a more technical and thorough guide to all insect families. It is very good but note that this is not for an absolute beginner who, for example, wants to find out which ladybird they have seen. Look at a copy before buying.
Good quality illustrations, taxonomic classifications for those who are interested, a small amount of information on habitat and likely periods of observation. I've not found a better pocket guide to date that covers such a wide range of insects, but anyone keen to learn will definitely need to buy more detailed books to accompany this.
For something a little deeper, consider the Royal Entomological Society book of British Insects for a more technical and thorough guide to all insect families. It is very good but note that this is not for an absolute beginner who, for example, wants to find out which ladybird they have seen. Look at a copy before buying.
October 10, 2011
This guide i found very good for identifying most of the common insects in Ireland. The descriptions provide one with enough detail to distinguish between a similar species and another. the pictures are also nice but they are misleading as some of the colours are not correct. But then if you are serious about identifying the creature you wont be looking at the picture anyway really :D So definitely 5 stars, great book to have and recommend it to any invertebrate enthusiast!
February 9, 2014
One of the best field identifiers in my library, with wonderful illustrations and helpful, concise taxa descriptions. Very helpful for entomologists and enthusiastic naturalists.
April 15, 2014
Una guía de campo muy completa para campo, aunque es mejor la anterior edición
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews