Collins guide to the insects of Britain and Western Europe

by Michael Chinery

Genres: Reference, Natural History, Nonfiction, Science

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Michael 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.

Reviews

[Esdaile · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was given to me as a birthday present in 1986 and it has been a faithful companion ever since. It provides an excellent overview of West European insects with an uncanny gift in choosing the species which the amateur entomologist is likely to encounter. The illustrations are accurate and excellent, the name of the insect is always provided in Latin and also in English where the English name is commonly known and accepted. The illustrations are always on the right and descriptions on the left page, so there is no cumbersome shifting from one part of the book to the other looking for the same insect. Distribution is indicated by a series of symbols, necessarily approximate but providing maps would have considerably increased the size of this handy book which packs an astonishing quantity of information in a small space. There are even a few pages devoted to arthropods. It is difficult to fault this book. Perhaps it would have been enhanced by a few addresses, notably the source of authority for Latin names, a thorny question. This book was published for example just after Bombus agrorum was changed to Bombus pascuorum (why? who decides these things?) but before the genus Psithyrus was abolished (I do not agree withe removal of a specific genus for the cuckoo bumble bee myself). Is this book still in print? I believe it is revised from another publisher (very surpising if so becuase it must be a winner) It certainly should be and it is very regrettable that to my knowledge (I may be wrong) the only language into which it has been translated to date is German. The fact is that this book is so well written and so well illustrated that it serves as an introduction to insects even for those who previously had no interest. It therefore serves the admirable purpose of increasing the circle of those who care for insects, especially those so often summarily despised, such as the flies. Many people are unaware of the huge variety of flies and modify their dislike when they learn of the astonishing variety of different species of fly. Perhaps revised editions will or have discarded all mention of collecting insects, which in many areas of etomology no longer serves a useful purpose and replaced that with tips about how to attract insects. Indeed, that lack (describing how to attract insects) might be my sole criciticism of this book, but with the internet and you tube "how to" videos, that criticism too becomes less important. I can't praise this book highly enough.