Dragonflies: Wild Guide

by Cynthia Berger, Amelia Hansen

First title in Stackpole Books' new Wild Guide seriesA complete, expert introduction to the world of dragonflies and also covers damselfliesDetailed color drawings of different species and behaviorsDazzling in appearance, idiosyncratic in behavior, dragonflies and damselflies have long captured the imaginations of nature lovers. In this illustrated natural history guide, Cynthia Berger takes the reader on a whirlwind trip through the lives of these intriguing insects, from their birth underwater (where they actually spend most of their lives as ferocious nymphs) to their miraculous transformation into free-flying adults. Features a field guide to the most common North American species--including life-size silhouettes for easy identification--as well as tips for observing dragonflies in the wild and attracting them to your backyard.

Genres: Field Guides, Nature

136 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not bad, but not great either. On the positive side, it teaches you a lot about dragonflies that you might not get in a run-of-the-mill field guide. It has an unusually detailed section about nymphs and lots of interesting information about the mechanics of flying, eating, and breeding. However, it has too few species to be a very useful field guide, it has no actual photography, and the information is organized a bit poorly.

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

As my very first introduction into Odanata I'd say this is pretty good book. The part about how some dragonflies can shoot their poop up to 23 feet away is pretty dang cool.

[Andria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overwhelming amount of info, which is good sort of but really all I wanted was to be able to identify the dragonflies.