Amazing Insects: Images of Fascinating Creatures

Through stunning, high magnification photographs and clear explanatory text, insect expert Chinery (a British naturalist, lecturer and author of several Collins Guides to insects) introduces readers to the complexity of insect anatomy and behavior. This beautifully printed photographic celebration, featuring more than 250 pictures, deserves to gain Chinery—and his subject matter—a much wider fan base. Chinery took many of the photos himself in climates ranging from deserts to rainforests, though the most stunning images were taken not with cameras but an electron microscope, which allows for a magnification so large that the individual scales of a butterfly’s wing look like pop art. Though not specifically aimed at children, the book would appeal to them as, in addition to the photographs, Chinery’s easygoing, friendly captions provide accessible information. The book’s chapters center on different aspects of insect life—moving, eating, camouflage and so on—and though Chinery dips in and out of some subjects very quickly, the power of the images more than compensates. (Apr.)