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Rating: 
Summary: An Exercise in Frustration
Review: Consider the lucky birders. In North America there are less than 900 species of birds. While some may be only 3 or four inches long, others are measured in feet. New birding guides are issued every year. And while a few species, like the empidonax flycatchers may be difficult to tell apart, all of the species are illustrated in most guides, and 90% are identifiable if the birder gets a good look at them.
Now consider the amateur entomologist. There are over 80,000 species of insects in North America. Most insects are relatively small. Telling the difference between species may require examining the vein pattern in wings. The field guides to insects illustrate at most 700 insects. No wonder there are more bird watchers than insect watchers. And no wonder there hasn't been a major insect field guide published since 1981!
A field guide to insects then probably can't help you identify most specific species. The authors feel they have done their job if they can help you identify the family. Unfortunately most, including the Simon & Schuster guide, may not even do that.
To test insect guides I took a series of pictures of each of three insects and then tried to identify them with the help of the guides. They were pictures of a butterfly-like insect, a bee and a fly. Simon and Schuster helped me identify the insect order with a table that provided common features of an order and gave its name. I then was required to flip through the pages describing the orders, which are arranged taxonomicaly, to find a description of the order and the entry numbers of the pictures and descriptions of that order. (It would have been convenient if the table had listed the page where I could find the order description and the pages where I could have found the initial entries.) Next I had to flip through the entries, examining each photograph to find an insect that most closely resembled my specimen.
I should note that some guides use drawings while others, like Simon and Schuster use photographs. My experience is that either method may be more advantageous in a specific case.
For my butterfly-like insect, I immediately identified it as a Brown Skipper. My bee looked most like a Carpenter Bee, an identification I felt more comfortable with after consulting other guides. But I could not identify my fly at any level lower than order.
Of the field guides I examined, I found this to be the least satisfactory, both as to convenience, and as to the number of insects shown. And since one is unlikely to make a precise identification unless on finds exactly the species on is looking for, the more insects the better.
Even though they are only a little better, most people trying to identify insects will probably be happier with the Peterson Guide, "A Field Guide to Insects" by Donald J. Borror and Richard E. White or the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders" by Loris and Margery Milne.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for the Casual Nature Fan
Review: Great general reference guide with photos by renowned insect photographer Dr. Edward Ross. A well done eighty-three page introduction covers such topics as classification, anatomy, behavior and collecting. Not for real die hards as the number of species is limited. Great though for students, naturalists, nature photographers and others interested in a good general introduction that uses top quality photography.
Rating:
Summary: An invaluable quick reference guide for organic gardeners!
Review: It would be impossible for any single book to be a total guide (and I have many!), but this book has EXCELLENT photographs - which is especially helpful with hemiptera (true bugs), since there is a shortage of identifying guides for them. I not only found photos of insects that I (and my county ag agent) had been unable to identify, this book is wonderfully keyed to indicate whether insects are beneficials, pests, neutral, etc. This "at a glance" keying (by color, symbols and single alpha's) is very helpful for gardeners since most books do not give good information on what insects eat (a predator can develop into a pest as an adult, and vice versa), etc., but rather only provide physical identification information. Organic gardeners can frequently find information only on the worst (most common) pests, and may live in areas where they have worst pests that are not indigenous elsewhere, or identification of the most common predators, that may not be universally common. The author give life histories and other valuable information frequently lacking in "identification" books. Scientific names are provided for the more serious reader - and to help in identifying similiar insects in more complete but poorly illustrated books. Because of the beautiful photos, it would be a good "beginner book" for a budding entomologist too! This book is a real bargain!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent insect field guide
Review: This guide is awesome, pictures and illustrations are from very high quality, I found this guide comparable to those guides from Audubon.Two illustration of insects come on left page, and on the right page you have the theorical info, so It easy to read and look at the picture at the same time. Insects are very easy to find, theyre grouped in orders, and by similitudes of course. This is a must have for any insect enthusiast, no mether if a begginer or if an expert on this field. It is very complete.
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