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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.
If you're planning on pinning:
Get a decent set of insect pins! They work quite a bit better than sewing pins. Don't let insects dry out before you pin them, by the way; I've had the best luck with freezing, then thawing and pinning. I was doing most of this in a very dry environment, though, so take that with a grain of salt. This method keeps the water in the body and lets you move things around before you let it sit to dry (for example, using a bunch of extra pins to gently hold the legs out slightly so they don't curl under as the insect dries).
I'd also definitely recommend a spreading board (that's just a google search link), you can buy one or make your own, but either way they help you make pinned insects look a lot better once they dry.
Nice! For Christmas 2 years ago my father in law got us one of those bug a salt guns BUG-A-SALT Reverse Yellow 2.5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GFFXTLT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0M0AS15JRH6RJQS67ZRY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I took my kids to the park down the street and went full John Wick on them.
This guy I've bought a couple butterfly shadowboxes from. He does an absolutely phenomenal job, and the prices are pretty reasonable.
Edit: words
I haven't heard of any good insect field guide apps, but this is my favorite field guide:
National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America https://www.amazon.com/dp/1402741537/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_kbj-tb1X4SW2Z
This is a close second:
Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America (Kaufman Field Guides) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618153101/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_zfj-tb1ZVGNYF
Edit: it's probably worth getting both for those prices.
I love the jewelry made from these beetle elytra... I have a few pairs of these and think that they are amazing. Link is only an example, you can find lots of other ways that these elytra are used to make jewelry on Etsy or another similar site.
Here is a paper that mentions use of debris to soak up liquids (search for 'sponge'). The lizard isn't sticky on the outside, but it will likely get stickier as it putrefies... or if it is a salamander, they are plenty sticky.
Edit: gah. url has parens that mess up reddit's markup so take the long ugly link:
Thanks. Its good to remind oneself once in awhile that the work we're doing is noble if not difficult. To keep your fighting spirit up:
A poem written over a thousand years ago by an anonymous Irish monk about reclusive scholarship.
An infographic showing the drive and push of the Ph.D.
Keep searching.
Not my photo, they're not native where I live, but I just found out about this species and thought this was an excellent photo to share. I believe this is the original source of the photo.
Where do you live? If you're in North America, you might enjoy <em>Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity</em>. It's basically an enormous field guide to insects of Northeastern NA. It's filled with thousands of great color photos, and I highly recommend it. The author has also released two similar books focusing on just flies and beetles.
If you search for the full title "Hemolytic activities of stinging insect venoms" on google scholar, you'll see that there aren't any freely accessible copies. But for other papers, there are. So that's a good first step: figure out the full title, search google scholar, look for pdf links in the rightmost column.
If you search for the full title in a general google search, you'll find this page where you can request a copy from the authors. This is usually more effective with more recent work and younger authors, but it can't hurt to try.
You can get specific articles that are behind paywalls via wikipedia's resource request. There's sort of the idea that you may use the resource to improve a WP article, but you don't have too.
Your local public library in the USA probably does not have access to e.g. Journal of Applied Entomology, but they might. If not, they probably can get you a photo copy within a few weeks, the key words here are inter-library loan.
Another option is to pay for a library card at your local university library. Many/most of them have a way to allow you to get access to research materials for a fairly low yearly prices.
Finally, if there's some specific research paper you really want to read, I might be able to get you a copy if you send me the bibliographic record.
I don't work on them yet (finishing my M.S. right now), but I will be working on them (more specifically the American Burying Beetle) during my PhD. I have started lab colonies of Nicrophorus carolinus, Nicrophorus marginatus, Nicrophorus orbicollis, Nicrophorus pustulatus, and Nicrophorus tomentosus.
Google Scholar is a great source of peer reviewed information. If you have any questions I will do my best to help, feel free to PM me.
Here is another essential text for bees. The Bee Genera of North and Central America by Michener, McGinley, and Danforth. Despite being slightly dated (Anthophoridae is still recognized as a separate family from Apidae) it is far and away the best (if not only) key to the genera in this part of the world. Presented in both English and Spanish with illustrations. Enjoy!
I just did a quick check online, and though finding a website that offers to make stamps for you will take some research, simple stamp making kits like this one can be bought on amazon.
Thank you! I just use an iPhone 7, and this clip-on macro lens that makes all the difference when taking pictures of small subjects. Honestly one of the best things I've ever bought.
This one? I've used it a lot and it's quite good. Edit: Amazon says "May 31st 2007" so I'm not sure if that's the publication date or just the date it became available on Amazon but that makes me think it's probably not this one. This is a good guide so if you can't find the one you had in the 90's I'd recommend either this one or the Kaufman field guide.
Blacklight / "moth sheet" is the easiest. Just hang up a white sheet on a wall/fence in your yard/patio/whatever and shine a blacklight on it and see what comes. I've photographed hundreds of species of arthropods here in the last couple weeks. It's not a "trap" but it's an easy way to sample and take pictures of what lives in your area. I bought a couple cheap blacklights from Amazon, this is the one they seem to like best
Here's a little photo album I put together a couple weeks ago with a sample of what came to the light in my yard in Texas:
I appreciate spiders are scary to most people, but you're a person, with a big, beautiful brain in your bone vault. Spiders, if you take the time to learn about them, are really interesting, and you'll feel better about your world if you take the time to learn about and appreciate our arachnid friends. Or if you're super arachnophobic and don't wanna do the work right now, maybe just take in the culture around spiders. It's a very cool thing to check out, and every arachnophobic person I've ever met says they don't regret it.
Think about it, okay? There's no pressure from me here, and I can recommend a good book if you are interested (without too many pictures of actual spiders!). It's never a bad idea to have more information on a topic!
Book! I think you can only get it used, but it's very good.
Good luck if you choose to travel that path! It's not well-traveled, but very beautiful. Have a lovely day, lovely person!
The North Texas Master Naturalists and TPWD are hosting an entomology workshop on Dec 3. I think it's $20 for the Zoom course. Also, you might look in the the Texas Master Naturalist program in your area and see if they're doing a junior MN program.
For Love of Insects is a book that has been recommended to me several times, but I haven't picked it up yet, mostly because I don't want to buy it on Amazon.
Also, get a net and some petri dishes and go out insect hunting! It's one of my favorite pastimes!
Under rocks for sure. Also don't forget about looking for signs left by insects - galls, egg cases (I'll bet you'll find some mantis oothecae), paper wasps nests, bagworm cases. (Here's a guidebook in case you want to get super nerdy)
Sounds like you need a systemic insecticide, meaning the plant takes the poison up through its roots, and only the sucking bugs get killed https://www.amazon.com/Bonide-Product-951-Systemic-Control/dp/B000BX1HKI
As were recommended to me:
Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America
Peterson First guide to Butterflies and Moths of North America.
You should invest in a vacuum chamber like this : https://www.amazon.ca/BACOENG-Degassing-Chamber-Silicones-Essential/dp/B07KQTD6JL/ref=sr\_1\_112?keywords=Vacuum+Chamber&qid=1661860894&sr=8-112
There are some tachinids that are metallic, but not as commonly and brilliantly as calliphorids. Most tachinids are rather drab or darkly colored. I don’t know much about life history of calliphorids, but they aren’t known for parasitizing insects that I know of like tachinids.
If you’re interested in Flies, a great book is Flies by Stephen Marshall. Hundreds of beautiful photos and a description of all families. Great key in the back if you want to identify a specimen to family.
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.
It is! You can find it on Amazon
You can order ladybugs. I lived in a 3rd floor apartment and noticed a line of ants carrying aphids up to deposit onto my balcony plants. I was livid and ordered a bag of of them (800 or 900) and over 95% were alive upon receiving them. I sprayed water on the plants to help them rehydrate. I sprinkled them on the plants, they drank, then they slaughtered. I took videos, but this was before cloud storage was popular. Regrettably I lost the videos when I lost my phone. Ladybugs are cold killers. I don't know if I've ever been happier with a purchase. Here's an Amazon link.
C & C 1500 Live Ladybugs for Garden - Bag of Live Ladybugs - Ladybugs for Sale - 1500 Ladybugs - Guaranteed Live Delivery https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WNKGSMV/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_3EWV6WQJ4HHACDGCVRKF
Depends on your use case. If you're okay with textbooks, I think The Insects: An Outline of Entomology is generally well-regarded. Borror and DeLong's Study of Insects is a much more dense and technical book.
There's the UK guide that would cover a percentage of european species, but without knowing what's missing you'd struggle to be certain.
https://www.amazon.nl/Falk-Field-Guide-Britain-Irelan/dp/1472967054/
No problem! Glad I could shed some light on the subject (pun so very intended).
This pointilism technique is also used by some very tricky berries to look ripe and juicy despite the fact that they have absolutely no caloric value. It's thought to be a way to trick birds into eating them without having to invest the resources in actual berry production.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022519311003912
May give you a place to start? Seems to have some nice descriptions of the leg movements. Try checking out the references in that paper and other papers that cite it for similar stuff.
Hey guys! For those that wanted to purchase prints, a Patreon page is live! You can still inquire with me personally by PM and email, but if you'd like to make it easier by using the Patreon platform, you're more than welcome. Also, you can support lots of other creators! Cheers! https://www.patreon.com/boffrey?ty=h
I have read before that Ants are attracted to electrical equipment, like laptops, toasters, wireless routers, so it doesn't surprise me that they are attracted to your FIOS battery.
There are two types of males for this species - an oranged-winged variety and a hyaline (clear-winged) variety - differing in wing colour and thorax colouration.
See the hyaline variety HERE.
This article seems a bit discouraging, but has a lot of information on what it takes to become a forensic entomologist. It'd be a really cool career, one I wish I had broken into.
There have been a couple of instances where insects have been identified through the use of photos but these are rare, here are 2 ( http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=6143 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Josip_Skejo3/publication/291351065_A_hidden_pygmy_devil_from_the_Philippines_Arulenus_miae_sp_nov_-A_new_species_serendipitously_discovered_in_an_amateur_Facebook_post_Tetrigidae_Discotettiginae/links/56a2043a0... ) I wouldn't rest your hopes on being able to find a new species in one trip, like a lot of people have said it requires a lot of knowledge of insects in the area and a taxonomist would be needed.
As for your Youtube channel, patience is needed (there are a lot of channels out there) Regular uploads are ideal for building up a subscriber base as people will often leave if there are large gaps in upload times.
Awesome upload! Here is the link
This is what is generally called a daddy long legs...https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/daddy-long-legs-opiliones-61922068 See? No wings and 8 legs. Also see an academic usage of the name: https://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html
There are some good books about bees This google book excerpt from Bumblebee Economics is pretty good. The Colony Cycle
Check out the website Z-Library. I have gotten all of my textbooks for university on their for free. Ecology the 4th Edition by William D. Bowman is what Im reading right now for my fundamentals of ecology class and could be really helpful for you. If you can find Biology in Focus by Campbell that’s also a really great introduction to biology. Use https://z-lib.org/ to search for any free books
You can try using a series of soil sieves (For example, check out here:) http://www.carolina.com/catalog/detail.jsp?prodId=GEO9310&s_cid=ppc_gl_products&gclid=COKb5NWF68oCFQyNaQodzvwA8w
Or try out this technique that Buffington & Gates came up with:
People at the Canadian National Collection came up with a series of wire baskets made of different mesh sizes, although I'm not sure if they put out a web page or not on the most efficient way to use them.
Note: I have not used any of these method myself.
Even the small insect model kits are pretty expensive like this is only 10cm and is over £100. Is it something you could make as a class project maybe from junk?
Hm ok, I will give it a try. I will just leave some at the bottom of the case and hope for the best. The bugs would need to come into contact with it though and I think they mostly live on/in the corkboard and the bugs.
You mentioned surrounding it with water haha, but I don't think they are coming into the case from the environment I think they were placed inside along with the bugs because I have seen them on the corkboard I use to position the insects before I put them in the case.
I also have some of this spray I got previously so I will try spraying that on the pinned bugs and corkboard: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003PRI6OC Do you think that would damage my specimens though?
Idk what that is, but if you’re interested you can buy a microscope for your phone camera
They’re sold to see if your money is legitimate, but they work on anything
For the black marker I used sharpie. The aqua-like color on the sunset tiger moth in the middle was from Michael’s and it was their brand. The rest was from this company called ibayam? Here’s the link.
Acrylic Paint Marker Pens, 21 Colors Oil Based Painting Markers for Rock Painting, Stones, Wood Ornaments, Glass, Metal and Ceramic Painting, Halloween Decorations Christmas Ornaments Pumpkin Painting https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H2WPQXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MN46XTH8CXBKQJ0NJFCE?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
The bigger ones I made myself but the smaller ones I got off amazon, there's a bit of a selection here. They work well but i'm not a big fan of the top-opening ones as you often find the mantis hanging from it when you wanna open it!
Best books are local to your area typically. Makes it more immersive since you can find the things in the book. iNaturalist is a great app to submit your finds. If possible a top and side shot work best for IDs but it's not always possible. Either of those shots are best but from the front, back, or underside are virtually useless on their own. If you're in NA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0618153101/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-ZimFb5AP4ZBW is good and for something more substantial https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1770859624/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_O0imFb9GR6775 is another personal favourite. The latter book happens to be written by a person in my hometown.
The one book I would recommend is "insects: Their natural history and diversity". When I worked in an ecology lab dealing with insect identification and had to help a lot of non-insect ecologists get by I picked up this book.
The book starts with the basic "what is an insect" but then delves into each order. Then in each section for the orders, they have a brief explanation of popular families. Then after descriptions, they have pages and pages of just pictures to show how each of the families they explained look. Even showing sometimes immature stages, eggs, and pupae. The book also has an easy to follow and very basic keys to help you determine what insect you have on hand.
This author also has these same kinds of books dealing with just beetles and flies which I have been wanting to get.
Even though these are from 1999, they are still available for sale on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Insects-Spiders-33-Cent-Postage-Stamps/dp/B008QN7T66
Here's how I survived college (virtually every subject): The Memory Book. These are techniques that memory champions use (those dudes who memorize Pi to 1000s of digits and stuff like that). Surprisingly easy to learn.
Fantastic! Also I went away and came back and realized I'd said the wrong book - I meant to suggest the Smithsonian Handbook of Insects (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0789493926/?coliid=I3CYLCZJO1VXU&colid=1V8VOEPLL0OQ7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it) - I don't think it's specific to North America (which, maybe erroneously, I have assumed you are) but it's laid out really accessibly, I think.
Sorry but I want to jump in and disagree with this advice. Plastic bags are never going to preserve scales as well as glassine its hard to prevent the staticic electricity problem and the lack of rigidity compared to glassine can mean accidentally damaging specimens. Fact is glassine is already cheap. Decent pair of tweezers from cvs will never do as good of a job as spade butterfly forceps. These are not expensive items but make a world of difference for prepping specimens. Good tools for any hobby or job make a huge difference.
I know hard when you can't afford a whole kit, but if you collect tools one at a time when you can afford them its worth it to spend an extra dollar here or there
For butterflies the best way to dispatch them is buy pinching their the thorax right beneath the wings. It takes some practice to get the pressure right but once you do it it works every time.
For moths I see different opinions. it can be hard to get them into something while they are alive that will be able to be frozen later. They flap around and the wings can become damaged. I have satisfactory results with Ethel acetate but sometimes it will break down fatty tissue and cause the specimen to be greasy.
Ethel acetate and a kill jar is an invaluable tool in my opinion for all kinds of specimens, especially beetles. Its worth experimenting with different ways to kill, it takes time to learn.
it was not easy to squish by any means, and i was surprised at how evasive they are. my cat is white with medium-length hair, so they're relatively easy to spot, but not so easy to catch. as soon as they sensed danger they made a dash for it and burrowed down under her fur.
fortunately they seem to be gone after moving some old boxes out + giving her a few sprays of this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Adams-Flea-Tick-Home-Spray/dp/B00JN9H50M/ it smells terrible and arrived leaking all inside the Amazon box. but it's cheaper than a trip to the vet and/or buying flea meds like frontline. better reviewed too.
thanks for the help /r/Entomology
Ive really enjoyed David Quamman's Song of the DoDo and E.O. Wilson's The Diversity of Life They both follow similar themes of Island Biogeography, extinction, and biodiversity. They also explain a lot of fundamental concepts in Ecology really well. E.O. is obviously an Entomologist so most of the large concepts he goes over are explained using insect models.
I use the Kaufman field guide to insects of north america to identify insects at least down to the family level. It doesnt have every species, but it has the most common ones from each family and very good pictures imo. It can be ordered on amazon here https://www.amazon.com/Kaufman-Field-Insects-America-Guides/dp/0618153101
I use the National wildlife federation's field guide. It is by no means exhaustive but it helps me identify most things. The pictures are great. https://www.amazon.com/National-Wildlife-Federation-Insects-Spiders/dp/1402741537/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1402741537&pd_rd_r=CYNBQ573JKYM4SCS4W21&pd_rd_w=7e5Oe&pd_rd_wg=VTINW&psc=1&refRID=CYNBQ573JKYM4SCS4W21
It was me! Sweet dragonflies.
We should swap tips as we learn because I know next-to-nothing.
Edit: I got a great display box from Amazon (intended for jewelry) that I would recommend for about $15.
Go and pick up "Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects" (https://www.amazon.com/Borror-DeLongs-Introduction-Study-Insects/dp/0030968356)
It is where all entomologist begin and this book is essential in the field (i.e. you will always use this book, need this book). Stay away from field guides at the beginning if you're serious about becoming an entomologist, they have pretty pictures and are good for outreach but honestly, kind of useless unless you only want to identify the charismatic taxa that you'll likely already know. Eventually you'll figure out that a field guide leads to more misidentification than accurate identification.
First thing you'll want to learn is the structure of taxonomy and the Insect Orders, that'll put you on the path to learning Latin. Get to a point that you can identify any insect to order almost immediately. Once there pick an order to focus on learning families, pick something you like. If you want a challenge go for Diptera.
So, get the book and learn the orders, go out and look at bugs and practice identifying to Order. Honestly you probably won't have any luck volunteering at a museum or research laboratory. It's just not worth a researchers time to train a volunteer, sorry but it's the truth. Good luck!
I'm assuming she wants a scope for identification use, with the ability to take pictures when she wants. I was in the same position last year.
If she has a decent cell phone, I'd honestly skip the camera and spend more money on a nicer scope. You can get an adapter like this that'll help her get nice shots through the scope with her phone. Better optics almost always trumps the use of a camera, really. It sucks not being able to ID something because you simply can't see it clearly enough. I'd also really try to find something that doesn't use interchangeable objectives; entomology typically requires a lot of switching mag, so physically removing and replacing the objectives each time could get pretty tedoius.
All that said, I like my Amscope a lot.
This is the scope I have, with this camera. Within your budget, I think a zoom scope will be pretty difficult to manage; consider used scopes, but if you go that route make sure you go through a reputable dealer. Interchangeable objectives really aren't that big a deal, though, it just might get a little annoying with some specimens; it certainly beats no scope at all!
Leptoglossus looks pretty close. It seems the standard introductory text that everyone uses is this book. I would recommend trying to find it used.
The material in older editions is very much the same, and those can be purchased for under $10. If you really can't spend the money, just get a fourth edition. Things may be a little different, but you should be able to figure it out.
Thanks! It was fun to collect! I very carefully gave the web a generous coat of black spray paint. I covered a sheet of card stock paper with a thick coating of spray glue and pressed the page into the web from the back side. I very slowly pulled the page towards me, putting extra pressure in spots where the web didn't appear to be sticking to the paper. I let the web break itself, and viola! I do wish I'd have let it sit for a few minutes instead of putting it straight into the frame and I wish I'd given the top a coat of spray adhesive as well but I'm sure I'll get to practice again soon. Good luck in collecting your own super cool webs!
For a hanging light? Or something for scorpion hunting?
I recently bought this because the cost of mercury-vapor lamps (and their setups - sheesh!) are so ridiculous. So far so good, but I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for or not. It's pretty creaky plastic, so I'm not sure how long it'll last, but how complicated can the inner workings be, really?
If you want a REALLY good entomology text I can't recommend enough 'An Introduction to the Study of Insects'. It is pretty much the bible for any entomology major in college. I'm pretty frugal, so I would suggest buying the 6th edition that is a generation old. It still has 99% correct info, with a few out of date taxonomic things such as Hempitera/Homoptera before they were combined. The new edition is $278 on Amazon the old edition is $10.
It has really good keys to US insect families, with good info on each. Any time I have to key out an insect at work I reach for this book. If you are serious about becoming an entomologist, this is the book for you.
I guess I should also have said which is the one I use.
I actually have two, only one of which I would recommend to anyone.
I have the National Audubon Society guide and I really don't like it for most things. Its organization is probably great for someone who has no idea what they're looking at, everything is grouped by its appearance. But that means that if I wanted info about a clearwing I'd have to look for it among the wasps. So it's just not very useful if you do know what you're looking at. It also one section of the book with images and all of the information must be looked up elsewhere, which isn't extremely handy at all.
On the other hand, it has a much treatment of immature insects and non-insects than the other guide I have now.
Also, I have a bunch of other Audubon guides and I love all of those, it's just the insets I don't like much.
The other guide is the Kaufman guide which is just awesome. My only real complaint there is that it would be better if it treated only the western US, but that's only because I live in the west and it would be awesome if there were more insects included that I am likely to encounter. But this is definitely the guide that I would recommend every time.
A Field Guide to Insects: America North of Mexico https://www.amazon.com/dp/0395911702/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_5K2Xvb9A2S3M4
^ recommended for an upper division field ent. class at my university. Posted Via mobil, please excuse unsightly link.
Ok, I'm not technically a specialist, I'm a palaeontologist who just likes spiders (I can recommend this book on all the fossil history of all arachnids including a great section on spiders, they go into it all in good detail, both being insect/arachnid palaeontologists.
But yeah, the group you're calling true spiders there are just the aranaeomorphs, or web spinning spiders.
I'm in the UK. There are a few tarantulas commonly known as the 'mexican bird eating spider' for example which may be where that name comes from, a few are known to take the odd bird including a possible chicken-eating form in the Amazon area where some individuals have learnt to take advantage of nearby farms.
If you're a beginner, and are interested in becoming more interested, so to speak, the Smithsonian Handbook of Insects and Other Arthropods has extensive information in addition to full-color photography of specimens on almost every page. It's not a field guide, but being able to see just how wonderfully varied and colorful every different family of insect there are can really pique your interest.
I picked up the book on a whim in the library one day and it really sparked my interest in entomology so you should give it a try too!
It really is such a weird key. Borrer and DeLong also have a Insect book that has keys in each chapter about the families. I feel like those keys are a little bit more morphologically targeted, so harder to follow, but tend to lead you to the right family. That was always my last ditch effort.
Yes! Definitely need multiple sources. I usually don't use more then one field guide though. I use the field guy mentioned above, Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity by Marshall and then bugguide as another source. Marshall has an interesting key and a great set of photo references.
I personally do NOT like Kaufman. The lay out is funny and the pictures are okay. I am a big fan of the National Wildlife Federation's Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North American.
I'd like to add that you should definitely get a field guide to insects that is relevant to your area. Being able to ID what you catch at least to order or family will make the whole thing more enjoyable and will help you learn what you are catching. If you can afford it this is a FANTASTIC book with a ton of photos that is appropriate to your area.
It's a great book. I can't think of any other that comes close to having as many images of regional insects, plus the text is well written. The one potential downside is that it's very large, so not good for taking in the field with you. However, I never take reference materials outside, with the exception of bird field guides. If you happen to be interested in flies Stephen Marshall recently came out with a massive and excellent book on them too. I don't own a copy yet, but a friend does and it is impressive.