David H. Kattes
Texas A&M University Press,
College Station, TX
2009; 214 pages,
ISBN 978-1-60344-082-0
Price: $27.00 (softcover)

Writing a guide to the most diverse group of animals on the planet for the fauna of any of the 50 states is going to be a challenge, but when that state is the exceptionally diverse Texas, it is a nearly insurmountable task. However, David Kattes is not the first to attempt it. Drees and Jackman (1998) produced a very nice field guide to the common insects of the Texas, and Beck and Garrett (1999), while providing a more superficial treatment of the fauna, provided abundant information on the biology and ecology of the taxa covered, as well as useful information on natural enemies, economic importance, natural control, and organic control.

With an estimated 30,000 insect species in Texas, no one book can cover them all and there is plenty of room for additional resources. In the preface, Kattes notes that the number and diversity of insects can be overwhelming. When I first saw this book, I expected it to be useful for identifying many common species, but instead Kattes makes few attempts at helping readers get beyond the family level. To his credit, however, he states up front, “This book was written for people who have little or no formal training in insect taxonomy but who need or desire to understand more about the classification of insects. This is not an authoritative or definitive book on insect taxonomy, but rather a guide to the more recognizable identifying characteristics of many common insect orders and families in Texas.”

Kattes provides a 15-page introduction that is richly illustrated with photographs and covers taxonomy, the distinguishing features of an insect, morphology, and metamorphosis. This is followed by a section on “How to Use This Book” that contains a key to pronunciation of names, a table showing the classes and orders covered in the book (with page references), and finally a pictorial guide to these same groups with page references. The bulk of the book then covers the orders arranged phylogenetically, but lists the families in alphabetical order by common name. Because the intended audience would presumably not know these common names, I think the families would have been better organized phylogenetically or at least with similar-looking families placed together for easier comparisons when making identifications.  Likewise, if the intended audience is not expected to know (or care) about families, then I question the usefulness of organizing the book around them. Each group covered is presented on a single page and is indicated by common name, with the higher classification and pronunciation of the classification given just below in a smaller font. This is followed by a set of characteristics including size, shape, antennae, mouthparts, eyes, wings, legs, habitat, and food. The remaining space is filled with several photographs and informative text generally discussing the group. The end of the book is rounded out with a brief glossary (89 terms) and a thorough index.

As mentioned earlier, the book is richly illustrated with photographs throughout. Most do an excellent job of illustrating the insect being discussed, though I might have argued for some to be a little larger. My main issue with the photos is that the author only rarely includes specific identifications. Readers will find an occasional photograph identified (mostly within the butterfly section), but most are left with a very generic common name, “Sulphur” for example, when the photos are easily identifiable to species. Many of the photographs are only labeled with a very generic name like “flea,” “termite,” “mayfly,” or “earwig.” Others are given what appear to be names created by the author, such as “Red Skimmer” and “White Skimmer” in the section on odonates. These names don’t correspond to the family name of “skimmer” as he does in most places, implying that these common names are more specific, as in the section on butterflies. As with most of the photographed insects, these are readily identifiable, and the readers would have benefited from correct common names like “Neon Skimmer” and “Desert Whitetail.”  I also found a number of family names that didn’t correspond with the officially accepted name of the group. For example, “Narrow-winged damselflies” was used instead of “Pond Damsels” and “Spread-winged damselflies” instead of “Spreadwings.” For the intended audience, these may be minor or inconsequential gripes, but I think it may take away from the potential of the book to appeal to a broader audience.

Most orders begin with a table that lists the common families treated and additional information (such as habitat preference or feeding characteristics) and indicates the page number for that family. I like that Kattes included page references to the orders and families in numerous places, making this a much more efficient reference. (How many of us have references on our shelves that fail to include this simple addition?) Color-coded pages designate the introduction to each order, but I found it a bit difficult to separate out the sections by simply thumbing through the guide.

I found the accompanying text with some of the families to be enlightening and well written. I also really like the addition of a pronunciation guide to the family and ordinal names. While the author may well have achieved his stated goal of appealing to those “with little or no formal training in insect taxonomy,” I feel he missed a real opportunity to appeal to those with a curiosity about insect taxonomy and even professionally trained readers by not including species names with the photos. I believe the book would have a much wider appeal if this had been done, but instead I find myself still referring students and colleagues to Drees and Jackman’s now 13-year-old field guide to Texas insects.

References Cited

Drees, B.M. and J.A. Jackman. 1998.A field guide to common Texas insects. Gulf Publishing, Lanham, MD.

Beck, C.M. and J.H. Garrett. 1999.Texas Bug Book: The good, the bad, and the ugly. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.

John C. Abbott
Curator of Entomology,
Texas Natural Science Center
Section of Integrative Biology
Brackenridge Field Laboratory
The University of Texas at Austin
2907 Lake Austin Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78703
E-mail: jcabbott@mail.utexas.edu

American Entomologist
Vol. 57, No.2, Summer 2011