John Acorn
University of Alberta Press, Edmonton
2004, 156 pages
Price: $22.50 (Paper)
ISBN: 0-88864-419-1

Entomologists who know John Acorn’s earlier work, Tiger Beetles of Alberta, need only to be told that this work is similar in format and quality to that book. Those who have not had this good fortune should know that both books combine a light, conversational style with sound science and excellent photography. The book is accessible to beginners and is aimed at the amateur naturalist, although it is equally useful to the professional entomologist. Acorn has made a special effort to avoid technical terms where possible. For instance, he finds it convenient to refer to the two pairs of appendages at the end of the male abdomen as the “upper and lower claspers” without entering into the controversies about their homologies. However, he always gives the equivalent terms used in other works to which the reader might refer.

Alberta has 22 species of damselflies, 14 of which are also found in northern New England. The other eight are western or far northern species. This means that the book and especially the pictures are useful in the northeastern United States, although some additional species are not covered here.

Six introductory chapters cover several pertinent topics. The first chapter focuses on the relationships of damselflies to other insects, their larval stages, and features of the adult useful in field identification. In subsequent chapters, Acorn discusses what can be learned of damselfly biology by observing them in the field, and he includes a chapter (5) on collecting, field identification, and rearing larvae. Using the history of damselfly study in Alberta, Acorn discusses the historical interactions of amateur and professional entomologists. Finally, in separate chapters, he describes the habitat preferences for different wetlands and habitats, and includes an excellent chapter on damselfly conservation. This final chapter has themes that could easily be applied to insect conservation in a broader sense.

Each species has a set of informative details and is equipped with a high-quality photograph of males and females. Distinguishing characteristics, particularly color markings observable in the field, are given for each species. Sexual dimorphisms, color patterns, and color changes with age also are presented. The ecology of each species is discussed in some detail, including habitats, life histories, ranges, and suggestions of places where each species can be found. One unique feature of this guide is that Acorn has included notes on a variety of topics for each species. These notes present historical and contemporary accounts from other collectors, Acorn’s anecdotes, discussions of the distribution and range changes and speculation as to their causes, and specific behaviors. Finally, distribution maps for each species show ranges in Alberta and in North America.

Appendices include a checklist and key of Alberta damselflies. Also, a list of useful sources to professional and amateur damselfly aficionados includes supply houses, entomology societies, and museums. Finally, a glossary, bibliography, and gallery of damselflies (a diagrammatic comparison of color patterns) are included.

I highly recommend this book and find little to criticize. In addition to the information content, the witty style of the author makes it a good read. An index would have been helpful, and I would have liked a bit more information on larval stages, but these are very minor criticisms. Finally, I look forward to seeing the later books in the series, of which the next planned will focus on “lady bugs” (Coccinelidae).

 Ross T. Bell
Biology Department
University of Vermont
Marsh Life Science Bldg.
Burlington, VT 05405-0086
E-mail: Ross.Bell@uvm.edu
American Entomologist
Vol. 52, No.4, Winter 2006