The best Biology of Insects & Spiders books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

It’s called Secrets of a Devon Wood: My Nature Journal. I just preordered a copy.

NHBS(UK/Ships International) or Amazon (UK)

Honeybee scouts, in the days leading up to a swarm, will hold what are essentially debates when selecting a new home. Scouts will fly up to several miles away from the hive (individually) and search for a proper dwelling; inspect them once found, and return to the hive to tell the others where and what they’ve found. Only until the majority of the other scouts have themselves flown to, inspected, and agreed upon that site does the swarm pick up and travel together to start a new colony. These discussions can go on for several days.

See: Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley https://www.amazon.com/Honeybee-Democracy-Thomas-D-Seeley/dp/0691147213/ref=nodl_

$130 on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Ants-Bert-Holldobler/dp/0674040759

It's really an amazing book though. Hardcover, full size, images, drawings, everything you'd ever want to know about ants. Great coffee table book for weirdos (like me) who love ants

I strongly recommend Honeybee Democracy by Thomas D. Seeley. It surprised me as being pretty heavy in data, details, and science, but there is a lot to be learned about bee behavior from this book. I haven't read any other books on apiculture so I can't compare this to another books of this nature. I don't believe that it is a starter book nor a how-to book, but it sure gives some insight to their behavior.

• ISBN-10: 0691147213
• ISBN-13: 978-0691147215

Justin Schmidt has a book covering stings of various insects similar to Coyote and his stinging adventures called, "Sting of the Wild". In the book is a similar categorization of the feeling of the sting.

I'm not sure what you mean by "scientific standing" regarding categorization of the sensation of a sting. At any rate, sensations are largely subjective as some are more sensitive to a certain venom than others may be, not to mention the folks who may have very low sensitivity.

If I had to suggest a more objective way to categorize insect venom I would probably start with how destructive the proteins/enzymes in the stings are to the compounds they interact with. For example, if a certain venom is painful because of a protein that destroys cell walls, then there may be a way to categorize its rate of destruction of cells, and from that infer a sense of pain that could be felt. However, problems start to occur in trying to relate different types of venom having different modes of action, like one that destroys tissues while another acts as a nerve agent to excite muscles to induce cramps and/or paralysis.

As for my opinion on Coyote, he's managed to capture interest in casual observers of the natural world and doesn't seem to be doing it in a way that is unethical or excessively exaggerated. I think that's a good thing as it can help people engage with the natural world where they otherwise might not.

On the off chance you or someone else reading this thread might be interested in knowing how swarming works, Tom Seeley's poorly-named book Honeybee Democracy is available on Amazon.

I think this is the best science-focused ant book as long as they have a higher reading level: Amazon link

I'd also love to know more about your wasp keeping!

I recommand this source:
https://www.amazon.ca/Sting-Wild-Justin-Schmidt/dp/1421419289

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It has explanation about types of venom , their methods of deliveries, etc...

I 10000% recommend Journey to the Ants by E.O. Wilson and Bert Hölldobler, I got this when I was in 8th grade and it is by far my favorite book on ants and their behavior/biology

Honeybee Democracy is a great book about this subject in bees, and there are a lot of parallels with ants. There's just been much more studies in honeybees than any other animal.

Anyway, they come to the same conclusion the other commenters are saying. The "queen" is really an egg laying machine that is as subject to the will of the colony as a whole as the rest of the ants are.

"Journey to the Ants" is probably the first book I'd recommend for an ant enthusiast. Along with its larger, drier, more expensive cousin "The Ants", it is the magnum opus of the most important two myrmecologists in the field. Really the gold standard for ant books, and for science non-fiction generally: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Ants-Story-Scientific-Exploration/dp/0674485262

Couple of items come to mind:

1) Beekeeper's Bible - Nice book with tons of information.

2) J-Hook Hive Scraping tool. Always nice to have extra.

3) Leatherman Tool - It helps having a knife, a saw, pliers, and a screwdriver all in one. Doesn't need to be fancy.

4) Bee Tool Belt. I got one made from this guy Kevin in Wisconsin. It comes with a queen cage, which is handy when you want to make a split.

5) Nuc box from a local beekeeper supply store. Mann Lake will ship $50 wooden nuc box with everything. It is good to have one in case you need to catch a swarm or make a split with a current hive.

Hope this helps!

The Beekeeper's Bible is my absolute favorite book on the honey bee. http://www.amazon.com/Beekeepers-Bible-Honey-Recipes-Other/dp/1584799188/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431387856&sr=8-1&keywords=Beekeeper%27s+bible

Donald Trump has many flaws, but one thing he is is a survivor. If they threatened him or his family, he's not going to risk that just to be the one to expose aliens. No money in it for him.

Old doesn't mean stupid, and crazy, well don't know here you got that from. As for the Israeli part, again not sure of your point.

Sagan was a smart and eloquent speaker, but I'm sure he would have been the first to admit that humanity has not mapped the location and availability of all resources in the universe.

We know a lot about ants thanks to a very clever 90 year-old: Edward O. Wilson in his co-authored book: The Ants.

Nice work... reminded me of Secrets of a Devon Wood by Jo Brown, which I had to buy because it has some of the greatest field journal illustrations I've ever seen.

Keep it up and I just might have to buy yours one day too!

If I may also respond, I would love to recommend the book Biology of Spiders. It is a wonderful resource for spiders specifically. It will help you discern body plans, learn to recognize eye arrangements, and give you a great overview about spider behaviors.

Foelix's Biology of Spiders is the gold standard for biology. Someone uploaded the entire book as PDF.

I'm sorry about your health issues, that sounds really hard. If you get a chance, I would highly recommend reading the book Journey to the Ants by Bert Holldobler and E. O. Wilson, two of the leading ant entomologists of their time. It's a great book about the cool behaviors and natural history of ants. It is really the perfect book for someone who is just getting interested in ants. It isn't too dense and is a really nice read. It's available on Kindle so you would be able to modify the text size if you have an eReader.

Your journal is so inspiring. Have you ever heard of this book called "secrets of a Devon wood"? You might like it, check it out. Amazing nature drawings - life goals for me.

Secrets of a Devon Wood: My Nature Journal https://www.amazon.com/dp/1780724373/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_i_V0V71NZ9VR97A2H9N7Y9

If you're interested, this book is great.

https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Ants-Story-Scientific-Exploration/dp/0674485262

There are quite a few used copies on Amazon for cheap.

Biology of spiders by F. Foelix is the best book out her to know all about the inner workings of spiders. From anatomy to physiology to neurology of the sockets of the setae of the leg 🥴

https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Rainer-Foelix/dp/0199734828?ref_=d6k_applink_bb_marketplace

Check out this book l, it’s gonna be helpful

Wow I love illustrations like this. The attention to detail and the educational aspect is great! You can get a copy of it on Amazon.

Secrets of a Devon Wood: My Nature Journal https://www.amazon.com/dp/1780724373/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MMBRJ30QT2Q3BSACG5HN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I recommend Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley. It's less about beekeeping and more about bees and the science that goes into their decision making. A great book that doesn't read like an instruction manual.

So this has 366 reviews so im not entering but its a book/educational journal. It’s called Secrets of a Devon Wood: by Jo Brown. ITS STUNNING, If you guys are in to nature, just take a peek. I don’t have it yet, but I plan to get it. Book

This reminds me of Honeybee Democracy by Thomas D. Seeley

"Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building."

[this pretty book about Devon wildlife I found recommended on a different sub here ](www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1780724373?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)

Secrets of a Devon Wood: My Nature Journal Jo brown. Can’t get link to work

There are a lot of good book suggestions in here. I would also recommend "The Superorganism" by Bert Holldobbler and E.O.Wilson. It is a large and technical book as well, specifically on how colonies of social insects - mostly ants - organize from separate individuals.

May I suggest "The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses". I used this as source material for writing a thesis on honey bees and I feel in love with them as a result...someday, someday soon I will have my own hive!!

https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Ants-Story-Scientific-Exploration/dp/0674485262/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JSDRVFU09F20&keywords=journey+to+the+ants&qid=1565978249&s=gateway&sprefix=journey+to+the+ants%2Caps%2C235&sr=8-1

https://www.nhbs.com/the-ants-of-central-and-northern-europe-book