I often think that there can’t be any more vacant niches for introductory books telling us how weird and wonderful insects are. Then along comes another with delightful quirks of its own. Julia Rothman is an illustrator and author of several books in this ‘Anatomy’ series. Her drawings are not intended to be perfect representations that may as well be photographs. They are accurate enough for species to be instantly identifiable by those in the know, but with a delightful artistic twist that lightens the mood.
Julia lives in Brooklyn, NY, thus it is no surprise that the chosen subject species are mostly American, although there is a fair smattering from other parts of the world. The vernacular names are American (no Latin names are given) and these sometimes differ from how we know them in the UK. The book has seven chapters, but it’s not always easy to define fully the purpose of each. Chapter 1 ‘Bugging Out’ introduces the seven best-known orders, explains the differences between insects and other arthropods, and outlines their external and internal anatomy and function. I had fun with the page illustrating the shapes of insect wings. I covered up the names of the insect groups and tried to work them out for myself, shamefully getting only about a third right. A great round for next year’s EntOlympics, perhaps! I did little better on the legs and antennae, showing that introductory books always have something to offer even a seasoned, wizened even, entomologist. Chapter 2 ‘Time Flies’ largely covers life cycles. Chapter 3 ‘Hive Minded’ deals with eusociality in the Hymenoptera. Chapter 4 ‘Buzzworthy Features’ majors on attack and defence strategies. Chapter 5 ‘Beyond Words’ is about communication. Chapter 6 ‘Best in Show’ is a convenient one-stop-shop for insect superlatives – fastest, loudest, heaviest, longest-lived, smallest, cutest, weirdest, etc. Chapter 7 ‘They are Among Us’ explains their desirable and undesirable interactions with humans. Each chapter except Chapter 6 includes a diagram of the external anatomy of a particular insect group: beetle, butterfly, bee, grasshopper, mantis and mosquito.
Who is this book for? ‘Insect Anatomy’ is not a title which, in itself, is likely to attract beginners, young or old. It sounds more like a heavy and expensive textbook for university students and experts. This, though, is light (in the depth sense) and cheap at only $18.99. It’s big on drawings, little on words – you can easily read the whole thing in a couple of hours. I only spotted one error: the common misconception that moths only fly at night.
Don’t be put off by the title – buy this for someone who you think needs just a little nudge to get them over the line.
