INSECTORAMA

Introductions to over three dozen common insects from pea aphids to praying mantises, along with helpful advice for observing and identifying them.

Originally written in French and published in Switzerland but still featuring insects easily found in North America, this guide follows Voisard’s Arborama: The Marvelous World of Trees (2023), both in general format and in offering a broadly appealing mix of background basics and specific detail. After an overview of insect morphology, pithy profiles appear of representatives from the eight major insect orders, commonsensically grouped by habitat. Each insect entry features large painted portraits (including male and female specimens in cases where the differences are easily visible), with labels for distinctive features, images of metamorphic stages and favorite foods, and even depictions of similar-looking related species. The accompanying descriptive notes are as colorful as the art: Seven-spotted ladybug nymphs “look like tiny brains,” while beneath an adult’s “cute exterior lurks a true predator.” The author advises young observers on where and when to look for insects, then presents broader pictures of migration, metamorphosis, and other relevant topics before closing with eco-friendly tips and activities. Overall, the book has more than enough material not just to kindle and feed an abstract interest in our six-legged neighbors but also to push any young nature lover out of doors to check them out directly.

Broad, bright, and systematic.