Forrest L. Mitchell and James L. Lasswell
Texas A&M University Press
College Station, Texas
2005, 224 pp.
Price: $39.95 cloth
ISBN 1-58544-459-6

 

Dragonflies have joined birds and butterflies as subjects of interest to nature observers armed with binoculars. This interest has resulted in the publication of a plethora of guides for identifying dragonflies and damselflies in the field (e.g., Dunkle 2000, Nikula et al. 2002, Manolis 2003, Mead 2003, Biggs 2004, Lam 2004, and DuBois 2005,). The diversity of dragonfly field guides is worthy of note because modern technical manuals for identifying Odonata taxa have only appeared in the past 10 years (Westfall and May 1996, Needham et al. 2000). 

Dragonfly enthusiasts who are interested in expanding their knowledge soon discover that there are fewer choices when it comes to books on Odonata biology and behavior. The magnum opus by the dean of odonatologists, Philip Corbet (1999), is an encyclopedic guide to what is and is not known about dragonfly natural history and ecology, but it is heavy reading for nonspecialists. The late Peter Miller’s wonderful little book (1995) would fill the bill, but it is not as well known or widely available in North America as it is in England. Dragonfly enthusiasts have thus been left to surfing the Internet for information.

Many find their way to Mitchell and Lasswell’s award-winning web site, Digital Dragonflies (www.dragonflies.org). The site contains wonderfully detailed close-up digital portraits made by scanning living dragonflies at high resolution on a flatbed scanner, a technique the two authors perfected. The images attracted much attention, and the authors note in the introductory chapter of A Dazzle of Dragonflies that they answered many questions about dragonflies in response to e-mail enquiries from their web site. This book was inspired by the interest shown in the web site; it is generously illustrated with dazzling color scans and photographs that bring these photogenic insects to life on the page.

A Dazzle of Dragonfliesis fascinating and useful not only to novices, but to experienced students of the Odonata as well. After a brief introduction (Chapter1: The World of Dragonflies), the authors launch into an extensive review of dragonflies in the folklore of many cultures, including Native Americans, Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, and Filipinos (Chapter 2: Dragonfly Tales). The authors cover the fossil history of dragonflies (and their Carboniferous precursors, the Protodonata) in a concise but accurate and current account in Chapter3: The Prehistory of Dragonflies. Chapters 4 (Dragonfly Lives) and 5 (The Natural History of Dragonflies) provide an overview of odonate biology and life history that is supplemented in Chapter 6 (Watching Dragonflies) with information on behavioral features that are characteristic of different taxonomic groups.

For readers who wish to actively pursue dragonfly study or conservation, the authors provide detailed information on “Collecting Dragonflies” (Chapter7 , and Appendix C: “The Dragonfly Society of the America’s Collecting Statement”),”Water Gardening for Dragonflies” (Chapter 8), and “Picturing Dragonflies” (dragonfly photography and imaging, Chapter 9). Dragonfly students who travel will find Appendix B (“Colloquial Names of Dragonflies”) useful.

It is refreshing to see information on responsible collecting covered in this book; often field guides give the impression that only binoculars are needed to study dragonflies. Some species certainly can be identified in the field by using binoculars, but several genera of Odonata in North America can be difficult to separate to species even in hand. Also, as specimens of widespread taxa are gathered from poorly collected geographic regions, new species are still being described in North America (Cook and Laudermilk 2004).

A brief but well selected list of references and a detailed Index top off this beautifully illustrated, useful, and educational volume. I recommend this book for Odonata specialists, nature enthusiasts with an interest in dragonflies, entomologists involved in extension work or in cultural entomology, photographers interested in digital imaging of insects, and anyone who appreciates those dazzling dragonflies.

References Cited

Biggs, K. 2004.Common dragonflies of the Southwest. Azalea Creek Publishing, Sebastopol, CA.

Cook, C., and E. L. Laudermilk. 2004.Stylogomphus sigmastylus sp. nov., a new North American dragonfly previously confused with S. albistylus (Odonata: Gomphidae). Int. J. Odonatol. 7: 3–24.

Corbett, P. S. 1999.Dragonflies: Behavior and ecology of Odonata. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.

DuBois, B. 2005.Damselflies of the North Woods. Kolath-Stensaas Publishing, Duluth, MN.

Dunkle, S. W. 2000.Dragonflies through binoculars: A field guide to dragonflies of North America. Oxford University Press, New York.

Lam, E. 2004.Damselflies of the Northeast. Biodiversity Books, Forest Hills, NY.

Manolis, T. 2003.Dragonflies and damselflies of California. University of California Press, Berkeley.

Mead, K. 2003.Dragonflies of the North Woods. Kolath-Stensaas Publishing, Duluth, MN.

Miller, P. L. 1995.Dragonflies (2nd ed.). Richmond Publishing, Slough, UK.

Needham, J. G., M. J. Westfall, Jr., and M. L. May. 2000.Dragonflies of North America. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, FL.

Nikula, B., J. Sones, D. Stokes, and L. Stokes. 2002.Beginner’s guide to dragonflies. Little, Brown, Boston.

Westfall, M. J., Jr., and M. L. May. 1996.Damselflies of North America. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, FL.

Roy J. Beckemeyer
Johnston Geology Museum
Emporia State University
Emporia, KS 66801-5087
E-mail: royb@southwind.net
American Entomologist
Vol. 52, No.4, Winter 2006