Beautifully illustrated and approachable, this is the only California-specific, statewide book devoted to all groups of insects. Completely revised for the first time in over 40 years, Field Guide to California Insects now includes over 600 insect species, each beautifully illustrated with color photographs. Engaging accounts focus on distinguishing features, remarkable aspects of biology, and geographical distribution in the state. An accessible and compact introduction to identifying, understanding, and appreciating these often unfamiliar and fascinating creatures, this guide covers insects that readers are likely to encounter in homes and natural areas, cities and suburbs, rural lands and wilderness. It also addresses exotic and invasive species and their impact on native plants and animals. Field Guide to California Insects remains the definitive portable reference and a captivating read for beginners as well as avid naturalists.

Beautifully illustrated and approachable, this is the only California-specific, statewide book devoted to all groups of insects. Completely revised for the first time in over 40 years, Field Guide to California Insects now includes over 600 insect species, each beautifully illustrated with color photographs. Engaging accounts focus on distinguishing features, remarkable aspects of biology, and geographical distribution in the state. An accessible and compact introduction to identifying, understanding, and appreciating these often unfamiliar and fascinating creatures, this guide covers insects that readers are likely to encounter in homes and natural areas, cities and suburbs, rural lands and wilderness. It also addresses exotic and invasive species and their impact on native plants and animals. Field Guide to California Insects remains the definitive portable reference and a captivating read for beginners as well as avid naturalists.

Insects boast incredible diversity, and this book treats an important component of the western insect biota that has not been summarized before - moths and their plant relationships. There are about 8,000 named species of moths in our region, and although most are unnoticed by the public, many attract attention when their larvae create economic damage: eating holes in woolens, infesting stored foods, boring into apples, damaging crops and garden plants, or defoliating forests.In contrast to previous North American moth books, this volume discusses and illustrates about 25 per cent of the species in every family, including the tiny species, making this the most comprehensive volume in its field. With this approach it provides access to microlepidoptera study for biologists as well as amateur collectors. About 2,500 species are described and illustrated, including virtually all moths of economic importance, summarizing their morphology, taxonomy, adult behavior, larval biology, and life cycles.

A practical pocket-sized guide to the identification and use of precious and semiprecious stones, novelty stones, agates and crystals. The introductory part of the book describes the geology, chemistry and properties of gemstones in clear and accessible terms. The important properties of gemstones are explained, including crystal structures and optical and physical properties, and the book also examines synthetic gems and discusses how to tell them apart from natural stones. It then covers practical aspects of gemmology and the use of stones, including fashioning and cutting, types and shapes of cut, collecting, handling and storing gemstones, and weighing and measuring stones.

The authors revise the genus "Anopina" of the leafroller family, Tortricidae (Lepidoptera). This genus ranges from southern Canada to Costa Rica, with its greatest species richness in the higher elevations of Mexico. The larvae are suspected to be leaf-litter feeders. Sixty-two species are treated, of which forty-nine are described as new to science. The authors provide a hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships of the species, propose a classification, supply a key to species groups based primarily on features of the genitalia, and include illustrations of adults, larvae, and male and female genitalia.

The authors examine relationships within the Chrysoxena group of the tortricid tribe Euliini. They define 54 species among six genera: Chrysoxena Meyrick; Vulpoxena Brown, new genus; Thoridia Brown, new genus; Dorithia Powell; Cuproxena Powell and Brown, new genus; and Bidorpitia Brown, new genus. Using cladistic methods, the authors develop a phylogenetic hypothesis for the genera and species groups of Dorithia and Cuproxena. A systematic treatment of the included species provides appropriate generic assignment for several previously misplaced species and describes many taxa as new.