Insects and arachnids

Discover this fascinating animal group with our authoritative guides on insects and arachnids. Visit our Animals section for books on other animals.

Find out about our insects and arachnids books below.

A Field Guide to the Smaller Moths of South-East Asia

This is the first general work on the rich Microlepidoptera fauna of the region, describing and illustrating 650 species.
A New Taxonomic and Geographical Inventory of World Blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae)

This work offers a complete inventory of the Simuliidae of the world known to have been described at the time of publication. A total of 1660 living species and ten fossil species with formal and scientific names are listed as valid and just over 600 formal names as synonyms.
Animal Migration

Explore the mysteries of animal migration over land, through oceans and by air. Lavishly illustrated with more than 300 colour photos, maps, and illustrations, the book traces the routes of 50 remarkable migrations.
Animal Records

Animal Records is the definitive guide to the most exceptional creatures on Earth, from the strongest and shortest to the longest and laziest. This paperback edition has been fully revised and updated with new records and all the latest facts from the animal kingdom.
Aphids on the World’s Crops

Written by leading authorities in this field, Aphids on the World's Crops is an essential reference tool for economic, applied and agricultural entomologists at universities, research institutes and advisory centres throughout the world.
Arachnids

This comprehensive guide to the world of arachnids dispels common myths and misconceptions to reveal the truth about these weird, wonderful and often beautiful creatures.
Arthropods of Economic Importance

This interactive CD-ROM on the preparation of genitalia of Microlepidoptera is a teaching tool that aims to facilitate the procedures of dissecting genitalia and the making of genitalia slides for relatively inexperienced users.
A Sound Guide to the Grasshoppers and Crickets of Western Europe

A boxed set of two CDs, produced as a companion to the book, The Songs of the Grasshoppers and Crickets of Western Europe, with a commentary by David Ragge. The disks include some 170 species and 352 song excerpts.
Avispas Sociales del Paraguay

This is a guide to the twelve genera and sixty social species of wasps so far reported in Paraguay. The publication is written in Spanish and illustrated with line drawings throughout.
A World Catalogue of Families and Genera of Curculionoidea

This important reference work is essential for Curculionologists. It contains updated systematics, including many taxonomical changes, new tribes, genera, subgenera and their geographical distribution.
Big Bugs Life-size

Big Bugs Life-size is the first book to feature life-size photographs of all the world’s largest and most spectacular bugs.
Butterflies

This fully illustrated book is written by a leading lepidopterist and provides a complete and absorbing natural history of butterflies.
Butterfly Jungle Sticker Book

This colourful activity book is the ideal introduction to the wonderful world of butterflies for children.
Canopy Arthropods

Canopy Arthropods brings together for the first time a wide range of the most recent studies of arthropods living in forest canopies and comes from a truly international team of contributors.
Close-up

See animals, plants and crystals in a whole new light in this stunning book, full of amazing images created by scanning electron microscope (SEM).
DK Eyewitness: Butterfly and Moth

Looking at butterflies and moths from prehistoric times through to the present day, this book gives a complete visual story and is a self-contained module of information on these insects.
Dragonflies

Dragonflies is fully illustrated with colour photographs that reveal the beauty and hidden complexity of these intriguing insects.
Dragonflies of the World

In Dragonflies of the World, Jill Silsby presents a comprehensive and accessible overview of one of the world's most popular insect groups, the Odonata.
Eyewitness: Insect

Bees, beetles, bugs, butterflies and more – love them or hate them insects are everywhere. Discover the different varieties, body-structure, life-cycles and behaviour – from why bees make honey to which insects have ears on their knees.
Field Studies Council Chart

This 12-panel laminated fold-out chart covers 16 damselfly species and 28 dragonfly species found in Britain.
Field Studies Council Chart

This 8-panel laminated fold-out chart covers the adults of the grasshoppers, crickets, bush crickets, ground hoppers, cockroaches, earwigs and stick insects found in the field in the British Isles.
Geometrid Moths of the World

The Geometridae is one of the most species-rich families of Lepidoptera. This outstanding book is the first comprehensive catalogue of the 35,000 names of these insects.
Hawkmoths of the World

Covering more than 3,800 family/genus and species-group taxa of hawkmoths, this book provides a much-needed foundation for research into these insects' systematics and biology.
Hostplants of the Moth and Butterfly Caterpillars of the Oriental Region

This book is an indispensable tool for anyone interested in the moths and butterflies of the Oriental region and their biology. It is also of significant relevance to agriculturalists, foresters and ecologists.
Identifying British Insects and Arachnids

An essential reference book for anyone involved in insect and arachnid identification, from interested amateurs to professionals dealing with unfamiliar groups.
Interactive Catalogue of World Chalcidoidea, 2001

This electronic database provides comprehensive information on the biology, hosts, distribution, biological control uses and taxonomy of this important group of parasitic insects.
Medical Insects and Arachnids

This is an in-depth and accessible guide providing information on both the identification and practical aspects of tropical and western insects and arthropods
Rarity

This book focuses on rarity, its spatial and temporal dynamics, causes, and interaction with conservation.
The Afrotropical Tiger Moths

The 411 currently recognised and described species of tiger-moths of the Afrotropical Region are catalogued in this comprehensive book.
The Hawkmoths of the Western Palaearctic

A detailed study of the sphingid species found in the Western Palaearctic – an area bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Sahara Desert to the south, the Arctic to the north, and Siberia to the east – with emphasis on their biology, ecology and breeding.
The Hymenoptera of Costa Rica

This book covers the classification, biology, morphology, and economic importance of the hymenoptera group of Costa Rica, and includes illustrated keys to families and subfamilies. It is the first book that includes comprehensive coverage of the hymenopterous fauna of a tropical country.
The Ichneumonidae of Costa Rica

The Ichneumonidae is the largest family of all the parasitic wasps. This series of books describes each species found in Costa Rica, and illustrated keys are provided to enable them to be identified by the non-specialist.
The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity

This is the only single volume reference work on the biology and systematics of butterflies and moths. Written by an expert at the Natural History Museum, it is an indispensable reference work for naturalists and professional entomologists alike.
The Mealybugs of Southern Asia

This is a comprehensive review of 354 species of Pseudococcidae.
The Royal Entomological Society Handbooks For The Identification Of British Insects

The aim of these handbooks is to provide illustrated identification keys to the insects of Britain, together with concise morphological, biological and distributional information.
The Songs of the Grasshoppers and Crickets of Western Europe

This reference work on the songs of grasshoppers and crickets covers Europe as far as the eastern borders of Germany, Austria and Italy, but nevertheless includes the vast majority of species found in Eastern Europe.
Ticks of North-West Europe

This unique Synopsis will help unlock the secrets of a much maligned, yet very important group. In all 28 species of tick are featured including Hyalomma aegyptium which has been found on imported tortoises.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 20

This is the latest memorable collection of images from the prestigious annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition featuring all winning and highly commended photographs from the 2010 competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 21

Presenting the very best wildlife images of 2011, Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio 21 is the latest memorable collection of photographs from this hugely popular series.