Category Archives: Buggy Book Reviews

BOOK REVIEW: “Millipeds In Captivity: Diplopodan Husbandry and Reproductive Biology”

One of the most difficult things in being an invertebrate keeper is finding good information on the very animals you are keeping. Sure you can do a Google search and find pretty much anything you want but then you have to ask yourself, “How reliable is this information?” What is the source? Is this information good for keeping an animal alive for many years or just a few months? Good, reliable information is hard to find, especially when it comes to animals that may not be as widely available as something like a tarantula.

MILLIPEDS7

Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: “Millipeds In Captivity: Diplopodan Husbandry and Reproductive Biology”

BOOK REVIEW: Scorpions Of The World by Roland Stockmann and Eric Ythier

Just before Christmas of 2015 I became aware of two books that I found to be very exciting, “Tarantulas of the World” by Francois Teyssie and the subject of this review, “Scorpions of the World” by Roland Stockmann and Eric Ythier. It had been awhile since a new book on scorpions came out and despite its $95 price tag, I immediately bought it.

Though I primarily keep tarantulas, I have always found scorpions to be fascinating and I have always kept at least one species as pets. Most times scorpions seem to be covered in books having to do with arachnids in general such as “Arachnomania” by Philippe de Vosjoli and “Tarantulas and Scorpions In Captivity” by Russ Gurley. Finally here was a book that dealt with just scorpions and though it wasn’t a book designed for people who keep scorpions as pets, though it is covered briefly, I thought it would be a good reference book. I could not have been more right.

scorps

Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: Scorpions Of The World by Roland Stockmann and Eric Ythier

BOOK REVIEW: The Butterflies of Massachusetts by Sharon Stichter

Being a resident of Rhode Island, I have always wanted a field guide just on the butterflies indigenous to the littlest state in the union. As of this writing no such book exists so I have to be happy with more generalized field guides such as “Butterflies of the East Coast” by Rick Cech and Guy Tudor (reviewed HERE) or “A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America” by Jeffrey Glassberg (reviewed HERE). Just recently I became aware of a book called “The Butterflies of Massachusetts,” by Sharon Stichter. Since Massachusetts is one of Rhode Island’s neighboring states, I figured this would be a pretty good book to have as many of the species between the two states should overlap.

MASSBUTTS

Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: The Butterflies of Massachusetts by Sharon Stichter

BOOK REVIEW: “A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America”

I am a huge fan of field guides and thankfully most of them out there are pretty good. In my last book review (seen HERE) I discussed my favorite of the guides, though it is one that is so large it is impractical to bring into the field with you. Thankfully, this one is much smaller, very user friendly and is perfect to have with you in the field. I must also say that I am quickly becoming a huge fan of Jeffrey Glassberg, who wrote this and many of the best guides available today.

51lZFh+pEZL

Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: “A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America”

BOOK REVIEW: “Butterflies Of The East Coast: An Observer’s Guide”

scan0001Hardcover version.

“Butterflies Of The East Coast: An Observer’s Guide” by Rick Cech and Guy Tudor, is, without a doubt, the best guide to East Coast butterflies. Since I live in Rhode Island, this was a book that I bought when it was released in 2005, and was not disappointed at all when it arrived. This book is everything a field guide should be, even though it is oversized (9″ x 11″ and weighs over 3 pounds) and would be cumbersome to take in the field. If you want a pocket guide, then I would recommend any of the available smaller field guides to take with you but for home study, this book cannot be beat!

Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: “Butterflies Of The East Coast: An Observer’s Guide”