Book Review: Spiders of North America

It is “Spider Sunday” on this blog, so what better to post than a rave review of the newest spider identification resource, the Princeton Field Guide to Spiders of North America, by Sarah Rose. Yes, I wrote the foreword for this book, but I guarantee that this is an unbiased review. There is far more to recommend this book than my mere two cents at its beginning.

Spiders have faced an uphill battle in the widespread appreciation of these arachnids, in part due to few easily available, and easily affordable, resources for non-scientists. The most reasonably priced books are either outdated, full of errors such as mislabeled images, or both. Until now, the only current guides to spiders have been regional in nature (California and the Pacific coast, for example), or so expensive, and/or scientifically technical, as to discourage their purchase.

Finally, we have a true field guide, organized in a manner that respects the scientific terminology, and understands the limits of macrophotography, and facilitates the identification of many spiders by non-scholars.

One example of Rose’s innovative approaches is her color-coding of spider eyes. The eye arrangement of a given specimen is often key to its identification, but if you do not understand the jargon of “posterior median eyes,” or “anterior lateral eyes,” you are left spinning your wheels, if not throwing the book in the garbage. By associating the different pairs of eyes with different colors, it allows the user to make quick assessments of the creature they have in hand. The only drawback would come if you happen to be colorblind, and that is a consideration few, if any, publishers take into account.

Another way that the author organizes her book is by “guilds,” a term that in this case means the hunting lifestyle of the spider. Some spiders build two-dimensional sheet webs or orb webs, while others are “space web weavers” in three dimensions. Still others are ambush hunters or “ground active hunters.” This works well except maybe for mature male web-weaving spiders that leave their snares to look for mates, but the combinations of characteristics highlighted for each family of spiders overcomes those hurdles.

Each species entry in the book includes a range map, and verified state records. Our collective knowledge of spider distribution is relatively weak, and spiders excel at hitching rides on commerce and vehicles and other belongings, ending up far from their “normal” ranges, but here you have a good reference point for assessing the identity of most spiders you will encounter.

The images in the book are of living individuals, so all the colors and shapes are undistorted. Usually there is more than one image, to illustrate the dorsal (top) and ventral (underside) of the spider, and the color variations that the species might exhibit. Additionally, webs, egg sacs, and young spiders may be depicted, the better to demonstrate the full range of a species’ appearance and lifestyle.

The first part of this field guide provides an excellent overview of spider anatomy and biology, gives a brief and effective lesson in how spiders, and all organisms, are classified, and shares tips for observing spiders safely, ensuring that both you and the arachnid will be unharmed. Need to know the benefits of having spiders around? They’re in there. How do spiders fit into the larger picture of ecosystems? That information is also included. Did I mention there is an illustrated glossary in the back? Additional references are listed in the bibliography.

Before I end, I must offer an apology to all of you. This reference should have been available much sooner. I was the original author contracted to write this guide. It soon became apparent to me that I was not qualified to execute the project. Unfortunately, I procrastinated in disclosing that to the publisher. The least I could do was recommend a replacement, and I could not be more delighted that Sarah Rose agreed. This is a far better book than anything I could have written. If you have even a smidgen of curiosity about spiders, this reference will ignite it into a flame of passion. All the common species are in there, plus ones that you will see and say “Oh, I have got to find one of these!” Happy spider seeking, friends.

Book Review: Silent Sparks

Sara Lewis won me over from the very beginning of her book Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies, then kept me captivated right through to the "Notes" in the back. This offering from Princeton University Press is literally the gift that keeps on giving. More on that in a moment, but prepare to be dazzled and amazed in the meantime.

The thing that got my attention right away occurred in the preface. Dr. Lewis writes "Confessions of a Scientist Enraptured," and strikes a chord with the major reason I dropped out of college:

"And I've tried hard to retain my sense of wonder. But wonder, it turns out, doesn't garner much respect within the realm of academic science. We academics are rewarded for our scholarly productivity----getting research grants and writing technical articles that report our discoveries. Few scientists openly admit to being motivated by wonder. By some unspoken rule, a scientist's feeling of awe for the natural world must be kept under wraps; to acknowledge wonder is tantamount to unreason, and therefore treason."

The fact that Lewis is able to not only maintain her own sense of wonder, but actively spark it in her readers, is the whole heart of this book.

Photinus sp. firefly on a farm

Lewis does not talk over the head of her audience, but neither does she talk down to non-scientists. There is a glossary in the back of the book, but she defines technical terms the first time she uses them in the text. While the book is not lavishly illustrated, her words paint vivid pictures on the pages that lack graphics. You are transported to the dewy meadow at midnight, and the laboratory back on campus. You gaze with new perspective off the back porch at your own lawn; and travel to far-off lands to witness synchronous spectacles that defy your imagination.

Photuris sp. firefly

You also meet a number of Lewis' colleagues and mentors, and get a feel for who they are and what motivates them to study fireflies. It would be easy to go overboard and focus mostly on the human element in the story of any invertebrate, as many authors do (Sue Hubbell, Richard Conniff for example), but Lewis recognizes the ability of organisms to be sufficiently captivating in their own right, and retains focus on the fireflies, not the scientists studying them. I heartily applaud this aspect of her writing.

Because fireflies are so diverse, and with few exceptions not impactful to humans in the economic sense, we consequently know very little about them. Most of the advances in our collective knowledge have come within the past couple of decades, thanks in part to our ability to deconstruct DNA sequences and reconstruct new paths of evolutionary relationships. Silent Sparks provides an outstanding summary of our history of scientific inquiry into the Lampyridae, and then encourages the reader to enlist herself or himself as a citizen scientist to expand our horizons even more. By the end of the book you will be writing the author in application to be on her lab team.

Pyropyga sp. "dark firefly"

There are few errors or omissions in this book to even bother to nit-pick, but one baffles me completely. In the chapter "A Field Guide to Common Fireflies of North America," the genus Pyropyga, one of the "dark fireflies," is inexplicably omitted entirely. Pyropyga is by far the most common firefly where I live on the Front Range of Colorado, and also in the southwest U.S., but species are found across the entire continent. I have seen them virtually every place I have ever lived.

Pyractomena sp. firefly

Ok, so how does this book keep on giving? Lewis has complemented her treatise with an interactive book blog that is an ingenious way of keeping you up to date on the latest scientific findings, providing more information for specific species and genera, and otherwise involving her readers in the process of discovery. She has also given a TED Talk on the subject of fireflies. Oh, and don't forget the book itself has a whole chapter called "Stepping Out - Further Firefly Adventures." There you will learn how to become your own scientist and contribute to what we know about fireflies. The "Notes" are rich in additional publications, links to online resources, and other material.

Ellychnia sp. "dark firefly"

This hardcover work, priced at $29.95 U.S., is a must addition to the library of every naturalist, even if they specialize in other organisms. It is a brilliantly organized volume rich in both content and inspiration. Well done, Sara Lewis.

Book Review: Beetles of Eastern North America

Full disclosure: Dr. Arthur V. Evans is a good friend and colleague, but our relationship exerts no influence on my review of his work. I have come to expect great diligence, accuracy, and attention to detail in Art’s books and articles. Beetles of Eastern North America (Princeton University Press, 2014, $35.00 US) is no exception, and reflects Evans’ continued professionalism and enthusiasm for his subject of choice.

When I received my review copy of the book, I was a bit surprised to find that it was not a field guide, at least in terms of size. It is 10 x 8 inches and, despite being a paperback, weighs in at a hefty 4 pounds, assuming the bathroom scale is accurate. No worries, this only means that the images can be larger, and this is of great benefit to those of us with failing eyesight.

Inside the front cover is a pictured list of the “Ten Most Commonly Encountered Beetle Families,” with the page number for easy reference. The roster certainly touches on the most frequently noticed families, and is an excellent way for a beginner to address a “mystery beetle.”

Few entomologists are also skilled at writing for a general audience, but Evans makes it seem effortless. He has a real gift for simplifying concepts so that they are not intimidating to an amateur naturalist yet not condescending to veteran entomologists. The introductory section is as well-illustrated as the remainder of the book, and explains many puzzling physical features of beetles. The metamorphosis of beetles is covered in good detail, as well as some of the odd behaviors exhibited by various species.

Are you interested in making a beetle collection? How about observing and photographing beetles? Maybe you would like to rear beetles in captivity for yourself or your nature center, zoo, or museum. Information on all those pursuits is contained in this book.

An illustrated key to common beetle families sets off the bulk of the text and graphics that are geared toward identifying beetles at least to the family level, if not genus or species. All the characters used in the key are observable with either the naked eye or low magnification.

The book does treat all the families of beetles found east of the Mississippi River, and I was surprised to find some entirely new families have been erected, and others renamed. I won’t offer any spoilers, but suffice it to say that this book is the most up-to-date reference of its kind.

In this digital age of “images are everything,” Evans put equal emphasis on how specimens are presented. The results are mandible-dropping. Nearly all specimens depicted are live animals, shown in postures and often habitats that they are likely to be observed in. The list of photo credits read like a who’s who of entomologists and photographers I already know in person or online or both, and they all know how to bring out the best in their subjects.

Despite the regional scope of the book, I was delighted to identify a ground beetle I had recently collected in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Clearly, this volume is going to be useful to anyone living or traveling east of the Rocky Mountains.

The appendix covers the full classification of beetles from order to genus (with selected species). There is also a glossary of terms used, though as far as I can tell all terms are defined in the text when they are first used. Selected references and resources includes published material, online sources, and companies that provide equipment and supplies.

In short, this is the most compact, affordable, comprehensive, and useful beetle book to come along since I can’t remember when. I know that Art is eager to receive feedback from readers to learn about how he can make his books better still. The good news is that he is under contract to do a book on beetles of western North America next. Please be patient, though. It takes a great deal of time and effort to produce the results to which we’ve become accustomed.

My Next Book

I must admit that I have had a hard time keeping this news under wraps, but now that the paperwork is complete I can officially announce that I will be authoring the Princeton Field Guide to Spiders (official title to be decided later). This will represent my first true solo effort, and with that comes a great deal of responsibility.

It is not lost on me that this may appear to be a redundant work in light of recent popular works on North American spiders. I intend for a fundamentally different publication, though. This will be a true field guide, one that is more portable than either a “manual” or other reference book. Emphasis will be on what can be observed in the field without killing a specimen (though confining one to a vial would allow for closer observation). The appearance of webs, burrows, retreats, and egg sacs, as well as the arachnid itself, will be included. Habitat, geographic range, and behaviors will also be highlighted.

My intuition and experience suggest that what a general audience most wants to know is whether any given spider poses a dangerously venomous threat to themselves, their family, pets, or co-workers. Few references of recent vintage have understood this, and so the resulting books have been overwhelming and of little relevance to what is mostly an urban and suburban audience. These books have also been pricey. Princeton understands that a product of this nature needs to be reasonably affordable.

The other side of the ledger means, naturally, that budgets for the author, and compensation for image usage, is a little less than perfect. Ideally, I would like to come in under budget, and before the April 1, 2016 deadline for delivery of the manuscript and graphics. Some of you will hear from me during this process, as I value your knowledge of arachnids, and/or admire your digital photographic skills.

There is no question that many, if not most, spiders can be reliably identified to species (sometimes even genus) only by examination of minute physical characters, including male and female genitalia. This book will freely admit as much, but the overall intent is for a novice to be able to at least tell what family a given specimen belongs to. We will include a “similar spiders” paragraph for each entry to help users compare to other potential candidates.

I can guarantee that my number one priority is accuracy. I have the utmost respect for arachnologists, especially those who have made an effort to share their expertise with the public; and involving citizen scientists in an effort to broaden our overall knowledge of spider diversity and distribution.

At the core, however, is the fact that I am a professional writer, and that is why the people at Princeton University Press selected me for this project. I appreciate an understanding of my role as a communicator, and forgiveness for whatever I may lack in academic and scientific credentials. The “acknowledgements” page is blank. I look forward to adding your name. Thank you.