Reddit mentions: The best animal biology books

Welcome! First and foremost, I'd just like to say that herpetology is such an underrated and generally unknown science by most of the world. Herpetology comes from the Greek word herpetón, which means creeping thing or essentially just something that crawls. The world has insane diversity of herpetofauna and you can find animals pretty much anywhere you go, so it's a great hobby that doesn't cost much at all.

And of course, we all like to catch the animals and look at them and admire them, but it is important to have a good understanding of the effects of doing this. Picking up animals brings a risk of spreading disease, hurting the animal, or causing them stress. This is especially true of our amphibious friends. I'm not going to preach about some protocol wearing nitrile gloves and whatever, but when dealing with these animals you should thoroughly scrub your hands with just water beforehand to remove as much oil as possible. It would be wise to look up more guidelines -this looks like a decent site. For reptiles, it's a good idea to ID whatever you catch before grabbing it, ya never know what might be venemous or painful.

When flipping logs (the best way to find most salamanders and lots of other herps), be sure to flip the log, remove the animal from the log, and put the log back in place. Then when you're done looking at the animal, place it directly next to the log. This will prevent any animals from getting squished. It's also a good idea to reposition the leaf litter around the log so that no moisture escapes.

Know your local fauna! I live in the Northeast U.S., so I don't really have to worry about venemous snakes except for copperheads and maaaayyyyybe a rattlesnake. But northern water snakes still bite! Aside from knowing what can hurt you, it's good to know basic information about each species that lives there, such as their range, behavior, habitat, and IUCN status. For example, if you find a really endangered herp, it might be important that you report it's location, or at the very least take care to not harm it. Knowledge about local fauna will come with time, but it's good to get some basics, which can come from a lot of googling.

Speaking of that, it's also good to get a nice field guide if you can afford it. If you're in the U.S., I definitely recommend this guide. Other than that, always just pack a bag with hiking essentials and you should have all the necessary supplies to get started-no need to buy a fancy snake hook or anything like that yet.

The most important thing is to just get out there and gather as much knowledge about your local fauna as possible. This will only come by spending hours in the field. For example, at a certain point you might begin to recognize that the terrain may be too inundated with water for a terrestrial salamander to live there, or there might be a frog species which prefers a specific type of evergreen tree. The brain is magnificent in its ability to recognize and learn these hard to describe patterns. So yeah, just get out there and have fun. Keep us updated!

EDIT: and one last thing, try to learn terminology! Actively try to use scientific words to describe behaviors or morphology, as it will naturally expand your vocabulary and knowledge of this science and you will be able to speak very clearly about the animals that you study.

Please don't kill snakes - they are a natural part of the ecosystem and even species that use venom for prey acquisition and defense are beneficial to humans. One cannot expect outside to be sterile - if you see a snake you're probably in or around their preferred habitat. Most snakes are legally protected from collection, killing or harassment as non-game animals at the state level.

Neighborhood dogs are more likely to harm people. Professional snake relocation services are often free or inexpensive, but snakes often die trying to return to their original home range, so it is usually best to enjoy them like you would songbirds or any of the other amazing wildlife native to your area. Commercial snake repellents are not effective - to discourage snakes, eliminate sources of food and cover; clear debris, stacked wood and eliminate rodent populations. Seal up cracks in and around the foundation/base of your home.

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There are a number of resources for snake ID and this list is nowhere near comprehensive.

Globally, comprehensive species lists are available via Reptile Database Advanced Search. Reptile Database is mostly correct and up to date in terms of taxonomy. Another worldwide resource is Snakes of the World which, in addition to being comprehensive for extant snakes, also provides a wealth of information on fossil taxa.

Regional guides are useful. If you're in North America, the Eastern Peterson Guide and Western Peterson Guide are great tools, as is Snakes of the United States and Canada. While plagiarized and problematic, the book Snakes of Mexico is the best easily accessible information for the region. For Central America, the Kohler book as well as Savage's Costa Rica book are excellent resources. South America is tough but has a diagnostic catalog. Australia has Cogger as a herp bible. SE Asia has two guides one in German and one comprehensive. For Europe, you simply can't get better than the three volumes of Handbuch der Reptilien und Amphibien Europas. Africa is also difficult - no comprehensive guide exists but there are a few good regional guides like Reptiles of East Africa and Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa. Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar is a good source for that distinct region. For the Indian subcontinent, use Snakes of India

Remember, species names are hypotheses that are tested and revised - old books become dated by the nature of science itself. One of your best resources is going to be following /r/whatsthissnake, or (for North America) with the SSAR Standard Names List for the most recent accepted taxonomic changes.

Here is an example of a small personal herpetology library.

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Snakes aren't know for 'aggression' or 'territoriality' but have developed impressive defensive anti-predator displays. Striking, coiling, hissing and popping are all defensive behaviors. The first line of defense in snakes is typically to hold still and rely on camouflage, or flee. Some species will move past people to get away - sometimes interpreted as 'chasing'. Cottonmouth snakes Agkistrodon piscivorus and A. conanti are among some species that may aggressively flee, but if you leave a safe distance between yourself, any snake and the snake's intended destination, there is no reason to expect to experience it.

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Gregory Paul's Field Guide to Dinosaurs is pretty big and scientifically accurate for the most part. Some of the length is just brief descriptions of dinosaurs, however, and I wish it went into more depth.

I'm a big fan of Mark Witton and hope to order Recreating an Age of Reptiles soon. For some reason Amazon says it isn't out yet, but it was published a while ago. I find that Witton always does very meticulous research and does a great job of acknowledging and explaining disagreements. While not about dinosaurs, his book Pterosaurs is my favorite paleo book of all time. I love the artwork and it's clear that he has a real passion for these animals. He really goes into detail about different groups of pterosaurs, too. I felt like I learned a lot about pterosaurs reading the book and it really made me excited to read anything else he has written. His blog is also fantastic if you are looking for something to read!

As far as up-to-date, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs was just released and seems really interesting. It's has less of a textbook/encyclopedia feel than the other books I've recommended here and it seems like it might follow more of a narrative compared to the others which jump between types of dinosaurs. I haven't read it but I've heard good things and am excited to read my copy soon.

>What am I allowed to collect?


For the most part the vast majority of what you collect will not be treated or listed and you are totally allowed to collect them. Collections normally consist mostly of adult insects and since most insects have short lives so you are likely killing them after they have already reproduced and are near death anyways. It is all worth noting that insect population are also so large that when you are only take a small number for a collection you are not affecting the species very much at all. That being said there are only a few insects that are listed as endangered and you should avoid collecting. I assume you live in the US so you can look up endangered species here.


>Can I collect at a state park?


State parks are normally not ok to collect in but it depends where you are. A good rule of thumb is to collect on private property (your own or with permission), Bureau of Land Management land, and National Forests (not National Parks) link for more info and exceptions.


>Where's the best place to learn about preserving and mounting?


Short videos (scroll to the bottom of page for videos)
text
bugguide
more info on traps and advanced methods

I didn't notice this mentioned on the links but make sure to keep some sort of poison inside of the box you stope insects in. If you do not carpet beetles (dermestids) will eat your collection. My favorite method is to crush up a mothball (made with para-Dichlorobenzene not naphthalene) and sprinkle it in the box replacing when scent is gone. Also if you live someplace with high humidity consider putting in desiccant packs to keep things dry and help prevent mold.


>How's, uh, the odor of a mounting workbench?


I work on my collection in my bedroom and the smell is fine. Some big beetles can stink as they dry (insides rotting) and if you pin a stink bug or darkling beetle you will smell them but it isn't bad enough to warrant putting them in the garage and most things will have no smell at all. I would also encourage you not to store insects in the garage since it is best for pinned insects to stay dry and garages can be moist. The things that do smell, however, will be poison (ethyl acetate, acetone, and PDB) so store those in your garage.


>apparently a good starter's kit is ~120$


If you want to spend that much that's fine but you can really start a lot cheaper. You can start with only a few dollars by collecting things in jars then putting them in the freezer to die. I suggest that you buy directly from BioQuip, pretty much the only entomology supply company. I think this starter kit would be perfect for your needs and only costs $40. I believe you were looking at this which is nice and if you are wanting nicer quality things it works, I personally liked starting with the basic kit then upgrading piece by piece once I knew what I liked and wanted.

Identifying:

When IDing here are some good resources

• bugguide.net
  
  
• Peterson Guide for common families
  
  
• the ultimate intro to entomology is Borrer and DeLong it has a lot of issues and some of the keys leave a lot to be desired but with it you can key out any North American insect or arachnid to family as well as get familiar with entomological terms and anatomy. The downside its it ranges from $200-$500
  
  If you can't ID something try:
  
  
• /r/whatsthisbug
  
• contact your local entomology museum or department
  
• if you don't have a local one you can reach UC Davis' at bmuseum@ucdavis.edu just attach a photo
  
• or PM me :)
  
  Happy collecting!
  
  
  
  

Downvote to everyone recommending bear bells.

Bear bells are NOT a good idea, but a terrible one, as they give people a false sense of security. Bears need to hear you coming. But particularly, bears need to hear YOU coming. Human sounds are what make a difference. The way you walk alone is relevant, but the absolute best thing you can do is make noise. If you are chatting along the trail, you're doing what you need to do. Your voice carries farther than a bear bell, and is a distinctively human sound.
In places, that might not be enough - tight bushes, where you can't see what's ahead, and neither can a bear, berry patches, where a bear might be busier and inattentive, along a creek, where the water makes noise, when you are hiking into the wind, and such. In those places, you want to give out an occasional loud yell, and keep yourselves additionally aware.

Bear bells are not loud enough to carry far for a bear, and they are not a distinctively human sound, so if a bear does notice it, he is at least as likely to become curious and investigate as he is to move off. But again, the upside of that is that the fact that they don't carry means you're pretty good.

The only thing bear bells protect you against is hiking partners.

If you can hike with more people, that is a good idea. But if the two of you are aware and making human noise, you're in pretty good shape.

If you really want to save your breath, an air horn has been shown to possibly help, but really, if you're not able to give an occasional shout, maybe slow down and take it a little easier.

Bear spray is a last-chance effort. If a bear is actually charging you, and gets within a few metres, you can spray, and it has a good chance of stopping the attack. It is a nice idea to carry as a last option, but you should change none of your other choices on the basis of whether or not you are carrying bear spray. It's something you don't want to use, but have just in case.
If you do want it, you can purchase at most gear stores.

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Since this thread insists on filling up with terrible bear advice, I recommend you the definitive book if you want to get the proper word.

> /u/kona_worldwaker: Do they see 8 images of what they look at or does each eye see an 8th of what they see all together?

> Do they see in color?

> I know in general spider vision is considered poor, but what does this mean? Blurry? No depth perception?

A lot of this information comes from Biology of Spiders, and I would encourage you to get a copy of this book if you want to learn more about spider anatomy, physiology, and behavior.

In short, how well spiders can see depends on species. Not all spider eyes are created the same. As noted in Biology of Spiders, "the efficiency of any eye is determined by the design of its optics and by the structure of the retina."

Most spiders don't rely heavily on vision but tactile and chemical cues. For example, web dwelling spiders like orbweavers, cobweb spiders, and funnel weavers can only see differences in light levels, which helps them entrain their circadian rhythms to the day/night cycle. Their eyes don't form clear images, and they rely mostly on the vibrations transmitted through their webs to know what is going on around them.

Hunting spiders (such as jumping spiders and wolf spiders) tend to have better eyesight, which is usually indicated by the presence of two large median eyes. The input of these two eyes is probably merged into one image, with the slight difference between the eyes helping with depth perception. (Just as we see only one image even though we have two eyes.) The other six eyes, which are much smaller, do things like sense motion and light levels.

Jumping spiders have the best vision of any spider. Not only do they see in color and have binocular vision for gauging distance, but they can see ultraviolet and polarized light. However, even they can only see sharp images within a relatively short distance (we're talking inches, not feet).

Look into local chapters of the mycological society or mushroom hunting groups/clubs in your area. This site lists a few options. Looks like the one in Albion may be near-ish to you.

I've also found many of the links in the sidebar helpful, especially mushroom observer and the mushroom hunting and identification forum on The Shroomery. The Shroomery's ID forum is where I go to confirm my suspected ID's after keying out specimens on my own.

I use Mushrooms Demystified, by David Arora, as a my post collection ID book. It's both huge and dated (i think it's latest edition is from the early or mid 80's) so it's functionality as a field guide or the final word in ID is lacking. Even so, it is good to learn to work through dichotomous keys like the ones that it employs and it usually gets you headed in the right direction. Other guides like Rogers Mushrooms, All the Rain Promises and More, and The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms are good resources, too (I'm sure other folks can add to this list, I'm just dropping the names that first come to mind).

As much as I clash with some of his professional/ethical decisions, Paul Stamets has contributed a ton to the accessibility of Mycology to the masses. Check out Mycelium Running and Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms as introductions to the Fifth Kingdom.

I'm also really enjoying Tradd Cotter's new book, Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation

Fungi for the People and The Radical Mycology Collective have also been hugely influential in my personal growth as an amateur mycologist. If you ever get a chance to attend any of their events, I would recommend doing it.

Best of luck and enjoy your journey!

For beetles north of Mexico, I recommend the old favourite, Peterson Field Guides: Beetles of North America. People who complain that the book should have photos instead line drawings don't know what they're talking about. Line drawings are superior for identification because diagnostic traits are more visible. The purpose of a field guide of identification, not to a pretty coffee book (if you want a pretty coffee book, The Book of Beetles is my favorite, and I have it in my living room at the moment).

For insects in general north of Mexico, I recommend the counterpart from the same series.

If you insist on photos, I recommend the National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America (which, by the way, was written by a member of BugGuide.net). Since it has photos, I'd recommend it for beginners. Once they feel more comfortable with insect taxonomy, they should add the Peterson Field Guides to their collection. Avoid the popular Audubon series because it values pretty photos over practicality.

The Peterson Field Guides are great because they provide keys, diagnostic traits, similar families, collecting methods, and a plethora of amazingly detailed line drawings (and color slides). They also have great introductory material. The taxonomy is outdated, but it's not a big issue when you have online guides, like BugGuide.net, that keep their taxonomy current. The more important takeaway is that these guides will quickly teach you insect taxonomy, and you quickly develop a big-picture sense--that is, the diversity--and a granular sense--that is, the subtle difference between similar clades.

As for "state by state" guides, I have the California Natural History Guides: Field Guide to Beetles of California. There aren't line drawings like those in the Peterson Field Guides, but you do have some photographic slides in the middle section. For this, I would only recommend the book for those with enough familiarity with beetles.

Like you said, "the scope of insects is way too huge for a simple, small field guide." Many reviewers don't understand this, and complain about the lack of specificity. To satisfy their specificity, you'd probably need a guide at the city or county level (without exceeding a million pages, and assuming an entomologist is willing to take on that task LOL). Insects are so grossly misunderstood by most people (that is, most people compare the taxonomic scope of insects with that of let's say, mammals, which is like comparing travel guides for the Vatican with that of Russia--or the United States), you are better off ignoring most laymen reviews if your goal is to actually learn.

It's nothing crazy. Went for the Telluride Mushroom Festival in 2011. Had an amazing time, learned a lot, and met just about every big name in the field of mycology, including Paul Stamets, who is one of my science heroes. I also got to mushroom hunt with Gary Lincoff who literally wrote the book on mushroom identification.

Anyways, I have like 4 days of this amazing, fantastic time, meet all these amazing, fantastic people. The time comes to go home after vacation, and I knew that I wasn't going back to my shitty Wal-Mart job. Something had to change. So I called my boss, told him "I'm not going to be coming back" and enrolled in college. About to start my 4th year of school at the University of New Mexico, and yeah, it's been a bumpy ride, but I'm completely happy with the path I took. Sometimes I don't feel that way, but then I think on what life was before, and how much more I value it now, and I'm glad I did it.

Ever since, I've just had the itch to live in Colorado. It's beautiful, the people are super, duper friendly (I do a lot of hiking up in Durango and the surrounding mountains) and the beer is second to none. It's the kind of place I fantasized about living in for the last 10 years.

The two you've listed are my personal favorites. I also make use of National Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, 100 Edible Mushrooms, North American Mushrooms: A Field guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi (not my favorite, but a useful cross reference at times), and Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America (this one has fantastic photos. While it is never recommended to ID by appearance alone, the cross cuts and underside photos in this book can be very useful). If you live in the southern east coast then I'd recommend Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States if you can find it affordably (as far as I know it is out of print and even used coppies are pretty expensive, but it is a fantastic book for southeastern mushrooms).

As far as websites I am a pretty frequent visitor of MushroomExpert.com. It offers some good keys and there are a lot of mushrooms listed.

Well, first we have to acknowledge that rocks are different than minerals. And both require different identification. For minerals, u/guaranic has given a good start. Other things to think about to add to u/guaranic are, crystal structure (what shape does it form naturally) and cleavage (how does it break, does it break straight along one plane, two?). The good news is often, though not always, these are observable and most times related. A mineral that does not break along a plane also has no cleavage which also may be a tell.

Now a mineral is composed of one type of element or compound. A rock is composed of minerals. With rocks, in order to learn identification you must first have an understanding of the three main types of rocks: Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Each produces a different rock with different things to look for.

Igneous: Igneous rocks are formed from cooling magma, literally liquid minerals. I've is a naturally forming mineral, water is its magma. When you see frost condense on a windshield on a cold day you can see points where the ice began to freeze and grow outward untill it touches another forming ice sheet. Those center points are where the crystal is seeded and how large that seed can grow will corespond with how cold it is. The colder it is the more seeds will start and more crystals with less room to grow means many small crystals. Slower cooling allows larger crystal formation with less crystals to get in the way. In igneous rocks, often crystal size is a good place to start. Are there large crystals? Than this rock most likely formed deeper in gound. Lots of tiny crystals? This probably cooled more rapidly as it approached the surface. Another thing to look at when beginning is the color of the rock over all. basltic lava is less viscous and very dark, often black. It forms oceanic crust . Andesitic lava is a mix between basaltic and rhyolitic, and produces brown and grey rocks like andesite! Rhyolitic magma is the most viscous and most common for us. It's magma doesn't flow like the stereotypical lava in movies. It forms lighter rocks, think granite. With crystal size and general mineral composition, you should be able to tell most types of igneous with some observation.

Sedimentary: sedimentary rocks are made up of broken down rock and minerals. Identification mostly comes down to partial size. However once you grab the basic size differences, the source of the material may also have a play in identification.

Metamorphic: Metamorphic rocks are igneous and sedimentary rocks that have been exposed to hi heat and pressure. This changes the organization of the crystals often times makeing foliation, a good indicator of metamorphic rock. Yet non foliated rocks do exist and are out there and may be hard to distinguish.



The best way to learn how to identify rocks and minerals is to honestly study, and practice. I like this book as a place to start. With good pictures, clear descriptions and fun facts, it was where I got my foot in the door. As well as the Audubon guid. But really once you read a little to get to know what your looking for you can start to figure it out. Although it may not always be as simple as looking at something and knowing what is. You may need to get samples and test things. Minerals may look similar. Some metamorphic rocks you might mistake for igneous. You just got to start by knowing where to look to get a good hunch and an educated guess.

Get him one of the small rock id books with lots of pictures (like http://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-American-Minerals/dp/0394502698/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368484350&sr=1-1&keywords=rock+guide). Even if he's barely reading, he can match pictures to the rocks and you can read it with him.

And yeah, don't throw away his rocks. If space in the house becomes an issue, help him create a rock garden in the yard and mark off an area for him.

My parents have cute pictures of me when I was really little walking holding up pants with pockets bulging and so full of rocks that they wouldn't stay up. If he wants to bring too many home, you can make a rule about only the top 3 or 5 or give him a specific box or bag and he can't bring home more than will fit in that item from each trip.

When you travel, look online for cool rock spots or neat geology opportunities where you're going to tie in his hobby with family events. It will make him feel special and feed his love.

Very cool of you to work to support your kid's inquisitive nature.

I disagree with much of this advice. I live and hike in black and grizzly bear country and have never had a bad encounter with a bear. We have to respect them and take precautions, but fear of bears shouldn't keep people out of the woods. They're really not rampaging monsters waiting to attack people.

Forget cans of rocks or ineffective "bear bells". Use your voice to alert bears to your presence. Talk loudly when necessary. "HEY BEAR! COMING THROUGH!" They can recognize a human voice and will usually avoid us. If you're really worried, try to travel in groups of 3 or more.

If you see a bear, stop and stay calm. Don't run. Don't immediately act threatening. Threatening a bear that's defending a carcass or that has young cubs nearby is asking for trouble.

Bears and bear encounters are too complicated for a TLDR. If you want to know how to live and play safely in bear country you have to put some time in learning about bears. They're amazing animals, so in my opinion, it is time well spent.

The best scientific examination of bear encounters is Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance by Dr. Stephen Herrerro, I'd recommend it for anyone living or playing in grizzly country. I read through my copy every spring.

Here's what Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks has to say about encountering a bear.

I guess it comes down to perspective, but I love seeing bears (from a safe distance) and I'm thankful for every opportunity I've had to observe these amazing animals.

I have a few geology guide books, but by far my favorite is my Audubon society field guide to rocks and minerals. It encompasses many different kinds of rocks and minerals, and has clear pictures of each one along with more information about various characteristics of each one, how they are formed, how to identify them, etc... The Audubon society always does a great job with their field guides, and for someone interested in geology I guarantee it will not disappoint.

Here is the link to the guide on amazon. I know the book is geared toward North America but I imagine it will still work in Europe. Enjoy!

A specific regional guide will usually be more meaningful to own than a general guide that covers all of North America.

That been said, I personally own and recommend the National Wildlife Federation's Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America. It's packed with pictures and organizes everything by order, and then by family (to really understand the groupings, you should familiarize yourself with taxonomic rank). For each order, it includes some basic anatomical diagrams to help you distinguish one order from another.

It's also printed on some pretty durable gloss paper and has a water resistant cover, as icing on the cake.



I have not compared it to the Kaufman guide, since my book store does not carry it.

Comparing it to the Audubon version, I find that the NWF's guide is better for beginners due to having a picture for everything it lists. I also noticed the toner was coming off on my hand on the audubon guide while I was flipping through it in the book store.

I scarcely use it now because I've gotten good enough at identifying orders and a good number of families to use bugguide to narrow things down, but it was nice to take along on a camping trip.

Note that if you want to learn how to differentiate families of beetles or butterflies or spiders based on their anatomical traits, you'll probably need a specific field guide pertaining only to that bug. I can't recommend any, since I don't own any. Or use online references - again, bugguide is pretty good for a lot of things, but I have learned a ton from just googling for the information on a specific taxon.

Same-sex behavior is frequent in many animal species but an evolutionary benefit may not be immediately obvious. For example, you share about the same amount of genes with each parent, your siblings and your children. Therefore, if the cost of raising your own children was too high you'd have a higher chance of spreading at least some of your alleles by investing your resources in supporting your family instead (the theory behind this is called kin selection). What I'm trying to say is, sexual reproduction isn't the only possible way for you to spread your alleles in a population.

Also, sexual orientation (among many other traits, like general intelligence) is thought to be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors so saying that children can be rewired willy-nilly is just plain wrong.

source: molecular biology and psychology double major, parents are medical doctors.

edit: in case you're interested in evolutionary biology check out Evolutionary Analysis (or Human Evolutionary Genetics for humans in particular).

edit 2: How Children Develop is a nice book on Developmental Psychology and might be worth a look, too. However, I only read a translated version so your experience may differ.

Get him "A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians." There's a couple of different editions out there that depend on where you live (you wouldn't want the West Coast edition when you live on the East Coast). It's informative and very helpful if he's into catching and learning about different kinds of reptiles.

Here's one version from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Reptiles-Amphibians-Peterson/dp/0395904528

If you live in the western half of the US and Canada, I'll send you my copy of the book! Here's a pic of the area covered in my book: http://imgur.com/0K4VV1I.

I got this book for one of my last classes in college back in spring. It's brand new, never been opened, and a little dusty from sitting on my self for 9 months. I would much rather see someone more interested in reptiles to enjoy the book, use it to catch reptiles, and to actually learn something from it. And you can have it for free!

If you're interested, just pm me where your address. If not, I hope that you'll find something great for your brother!

I would recommend Snakes by Harry W Greene. A professor of mine gave it to me when I graduated. It is a beautiful book and has a ton of great information. Link to Amazon It only comes in paperback but it is a great book. If they are into going out and looking for herps I would recommend a field guide. Depending on where you are in the US there is a field guide, one for the Eastern and Central US and one for the Western US. The scientific names are outdated but the range maps and photos are still handy for learning about all of the herps in your area. Hope this helps!

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!

You said you wanted to get away from non-fiction and read more thrillers, but here is a non-fiction book that IS a thriller. John Vaillant's The Tiger: a True story of Vengeance and Survival.

As for fictional thrillers, the Agent Pendergast series by Preston & Child is suspenseful and fast moving. Relic is the first. If you saw the movie based on it from the 90's with Mira Sorvino, don't let that stop you from reading. Of course the book is better.

Good luck!

Sounds like a good start, lol. r/bettafish has lots of good info in their sidebar - just cycle the aquarium first - which the sidebar here has the info. 5.5gallon sounds great. Only exception being the petco "king" bettas which I'd suggest 10g or larger. Get a good pellet (omega one or new life spectrum) add once a week frozen daphnia (prevents bloating and is yummy).

Also, if you want to put yourself through another emotional wringer with fish read What a fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe.

The identifying features of spiders are more subtle than they are for birds or butterflies - like eye arrangements, length and number of hairs on their legs. Also, consider there are about 900 species of birds in the U.S. vs. about 3,000 spider species. Just trying to help you understand why you're having a hard time finding such a guide.

My favorite spider field guide is the Golden Guide to Spiders and their Kin. Though the book includes spiders worldwide, it focuses on American species, and the description of family features can inform ID anywhere. There is a 1990 edition available in full online. Some of the taxonomic names have changed since then, but you can get the idea. You can't beat it for the money.

I don't have this one, but browsing it, it looks pretty nice.

Otherwise, the technical standard is SONA.

Alternatively, invest in a camera: take pictures and share them with us -- we are always here to help. Bugguide.net has detailed descriptions at almost every taxonomic level.

For a general bird guide, I like the Sibley guide (you can use the Sibley East field guide, or the larger Sibley guide for all of North America). There are also those who swear by the National Geographic guide and insist that it is superior.

That should be good to get you started – eventually if you get more into birdwatching, then there are more detailed guides for specific groups.

For insects, I love this massive photographic guide. For a smaller book you can take into the field, the best one I know of is Kaufman. There is also a Kaufman guide for butterflies, specifically.

I'm afraid I don't have any recommendations for mammals, reptiles, or amphibians for your area.

The best thing you can do is become familiar with the terminology. This book was useful for looking up various nomenclatures on certain body parts or regions, like which veins are which on wings. Otherwise This book had some good keys in it, but it's primarily description based, and many other keys I've used beyond it are this way as well. For the book, it was convenient that it had many pictures to reference in earlier chapters if you wanted some visual confirmation you were on the right path in the key. Otherwise, I'd suggest getting with the professor and asking for sources they might suggest to become better with the terminology.

The keys I've used with as many pictures as descriptions were constrained to species-level ID of one insect. There might be some sources you can find with some internet searches, though those aren't so easy to find all the time.
Bugguide.net might be a resource you can consider, though it doesn't act as a key, and is more useful if you are already familiar with the different types of insects and their classifications.

Please don't.

Most likely those were water snakes. They can be aggressive if confronted and mimic the colors of moccasins. However they're essentially harmless, except they will bite you and poop on you if caught.

Snakes are not bad guys, and help keep small rodent populations down. (much better than cats, feral cat populations do a lot of harm) You want to encourage proper native species to flourish in your area, and help maintain that balance otherwise you have to deal with the side effects. As a hunter this should be very important to you, imo.

Also, you might bear in mind that any large-ish snake you see took a few years to get that size, they don't grow fast like mammals tend to do. I recommend learning more about snakes and reptiles, especially species that live in your area.


Maybe next time, borrow or buy a field guide take it with you and see what you discover.

Depending on his interests, here are a few options:

• Model dinosaurs: There are several companies that sell accurate scale models of dinosaurs and other prehistoric life; Safari LTD and Collecta are two of my favorites. Beasts of the Mesozoic are some slightly higher-end poseable raptor models.
  
• If you think he'd be interested in a print of professionally-made dinosaur art, a couple of paleoartists whose sites I could find are Emily Willoughby and Mark Witton.
  
• If he might be into stickers, shirts, or other assorted dinosaur-themed merchandise such as mugs or phone cases: Permia sells shirts, stickers, and cards. Some paleoartists have Redbubble pages or similar. A few I recommend looking at: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
  
• If you think he'd be interested in scientifically accurate plushies, Palaeoplushies might be worth looking at.
  
• Books: There are a wide variety of paleontology-related books. Depending on what he's read, and what he's interested in, here are a few possibilities:
  
  • Books about prehistoric life (mostly dinosaurs) in general:
    
    • Pterosaurs by Mark Witton
      
    • A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs by Matt Martyniuk
      
    • The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
      
    • The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory Paul
      
    • Dinosaurs: How they Lived and Evolved by Darren Naish and Paul Barrett
      
  • Books about paleoart:
    
    • Extreme Dinosaurs 2: The Projects by Luis Rey
      
    • The Palaeoartist's Handbook by Mark Witton
      
    • Recreating an Age of Reptiles by Mark Witton
      
    • All Yesterdays by John Conway, C. M. Kosemen, and Darren Naish

Yeah, Googling is hard without knowing some of the common families and such. There are nearly 50 thousand spiders in the world, and that's a lot to sift through!
Bugguide has some helpful pages, including this one that goes over some of the different eye arrangements you see in North American spider families.
If you're at all interested, there's a very nice new book full of vivid drawings of spiders, would probably be nice to flip through with the kiddies.
Spiders are a fun thing to get into!

Maybe you could start by keeping one as a pet like everyone else lol. It's honestly a lot like having a fish. If you're feeling really bold you could try reading the short communications or other papers on the American Arachnological Society website. Good starter books:

1. (easiest to read) http://www.amazon.com/Arachnids-Jan-Beccaloni/dp/0520261402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317949575&sr=8-1
   
   
2. (slightly harder) http://www.amazon.com/Biology-Spiders-Rainer-Foelix/dp/0199734828/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317949592&sr=1-1
   
   3)(really hard spider identification book that goes through collection methods, microscope use and more)http://www.amazon.com/Spiders-North-America-Identification-Manual/dp/0977143902/ref=pd_sim_b5

The original post inspired much discussion about taxonomic differences between "Grizzly Bears" and "Brown Bears." Both are currently classified as the same species as several comments noted. Beyond that significant detail, I'll leave it to taxonomists to distinguish subspecies, etc.. My interest is in differences between these animals in the field and how they respond to human encounters. Many authorities note important behavioral differences between "coastal brown bears" and "interior grizzlies." I have never been close enough to an interior grizzly to see anything but a small blob in the distance. I've had brown bear mothers with cubs walk right though my campsite in Katmai and not take notice of me. Tom Smith, bear expert, described in his 2012 NOLS Faculty talk that bears have a tolerance for close approach that is variable, but generally, coastal bears are more approachable -- not that you should approach them. On the other hand, interior grizzlies react at much greater distance and may be a much greater threat. Smith and Stephen Herrero both suggest that many grizz charges are bluffs. Bear spray, according to these experts, is a better counter-measure for several reasons, not least of which is that you are not wounding a bear that was just bluffing in the first place.

My favorites are:

Roger Phillips Mushrooms and Other Fungi....
https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Other-Fungi-North-America/dp/155407651X

David Arora Mushrooms Demystified
https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Demystified-David-Arora/dp/0898151694

Audubon Society Field Guide:
https://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-American-Mushrooms/dp/0394519922

DK Mushroom Book:
https://m.barnesandnoble.com/p/mushrooms-dk/1127751094/2689838557184

This last one is a big beautiful hardcover book with a lot of different mushrooms from around the world and some excellent pictures:
https://www.amazon.com/Book-Fungi-Life-Size-Hundred-Species/dp/0226721175

Other than that it would depend on your region because I have some guides I love that focus on my region.

Borror, Delong, Triplehornes Intro to the Study of Insects is the standard text for systematic entomology classes... it is not a "guide book" but a series of keys. It will get you to the family level, but you need to be comfortable with keys.

Edit: if you want specific guides to certain orders or families... you're best bet is searching google for posted keys (usually region specific) or searching academic sources for keys.

We recently bought

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition

and

National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition: Now Covering More Than 1,000 Species With the Most-Detailed Information Found in a Single Volume

Off Amazon and I LOVE them! We opted for a Non-Amazon seller and we paid less than $5 each WITH shipping. I am very impressed with the layout, I have found it a pretty fast flip to find a species while looking at it.

I'd also suggest ditching the Audubon guide. Quite frankly, it's rubbish. Poorly organized, and a number of the photos are incorrectly ID'd. I highly recommend the Kauffman Guide to Insects by Eric Eaton for a broad overview of North American insect fauna.

Otherwise, if you're focusing on butterflies, the Peterson guides are quite useful. The eastern and western volumes by Opler are both useful, but lack quality keys.

The recently revised Peterson guide to Northeastern moths by Beadle & Leckie is impressive in its coverage (but by no means comprehensive) but similarly lacks any sort of useful key for identification.

If you're looking for other field guide recommendations, I'd be happy to share!

Well first, I said he was claiming that running away was safe, I noticed that he advocated standing your ground.

But second, the question is, why not run in this case? The two main reasons bears attack are self defence and because they see something as prey. In a bear encounter, you have to balance your activity so that you appear as neither. If running away doesn't make you view the bear as prey, it sure doesn't make them view you as a threat. So it would seem to be by far the best course of action if it were true.

And third, it's false. Running will cause a bear to chase you, as demonstrated by a good number of incidents. I'll try to remember to edit this to cite a few of them when I get back home to my book, which I would incidentally advise for anyone interested in the subject.

I have a couple of books about big game hunters on my list, but I have not read either of these yet:

• Man-Eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett, memoirs of a big game hunter in India in the early 20th century.
  
  
• The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant, about hunting a killer tiger in remote Russia.
  
  As for explorers, the best non-fiction I've read about explorers are The Lost City of Z by David Grann, about Percy Fawcett's attempts to find Eldorado in the jungles of South America, and Endurance by Alfred Lansing, about Shackleton's survival after his doomed polar expedition.
  
  It occurs to me that none of these are set in Africa. Hope that's not a deal-breaker.
  
  I'll also recommend my favorite memoir of all time, Papa Hemingway by A.E. Hotchner. It's about his time spent traveling with Ernest Hemingway, who was something of a hunter and adventurer, and recounts a lot of very exciting trips to exotic locales in which manly deeds were done.

For books:

• Someone the other day posted [this link] (http://earthds.info/) to a basic introductory textbook which may tide you over.
  -I find this field book to be the best newbie friendly to "what's that rock?"
  
• Raiding your local thrift store/used books for anything geology related may help.
  
  Get your students to talk about geology they've seen in their life to connect it to what's being taught in lecture. I'm learning more about the natural history and geology of my home city of L.A. on the opposite coast than I did living there for half my life by talking in class.

Get a good mineral/rock ID book (I suggest buying this one ahead of time).

You will probably have really good mineral specimens in lab so you won't need a hand lens just yet, but you should buy one anyway (I suggest this one).

When the semester starts, spend a lot of time in lab alone looking at the minerals and memorizing a few key characteristics (name, formula, crystal habit, hardness, streak) of each one. Seriously, get used to being in there on the weekend, bring a beer (brown bag it). If you are good at identifying minerals in hand specimen, it will help out tremendously when you get into Petrology and out in the field. Don't rely on your instructor alone, look around for mineralogy websites from other universities. I found this series of lectures by Doug Haywick to be helpful.

https://www.amazon.com/Common-Spiders-America-Richard-Bradley/dp/0520274881

Not cheap at all, but I love this book, detailed descriptions and pages of excellent drawings

I have some more suggestions.

Wolves

Decade of the Wolf: Returning the Wild to Yellowstone

American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West

Wolves at Our Door: The Extraordinary Story of the Couple Who Lived With Wolves

Big Cats

Heart of a Lion: A Loose Cat's Walk Across America

Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature

Lion Hearted: The Life and Death of Cecil & The Future of Africa's Iconic Cats

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival

Bears

In the Company of Bears: What Black Bears Have Taught Me about Intelligence and Intuition

Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness

Animal Attacks

Occasionally sensational, but I firmly believe that respect for animals is necessary for survival, and one of the most important aspects of that respect is remembering that wild animals are indeed wild, and more than capable of putting us in our place.

Dangerous Beauty: Encounters With Grizzlies and Bison in Yellowstone

When Man Becomes Prey: Fatal Encounters with North America's Most Feared Predators

thanks for that recommendation, I'll look it up! I definitely like the idea of not carrying extra things around with me; the only drawback would be using battery on your phone and not being able to make notes in the book. But I'm definitely going to consider that, I like packing light when I travel.

The only suggestion I can give is a bird book for North America, I really like the [National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America] (https://smile.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Field-Guide-America/dp/1426218354/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526682335&sr=8-2&keywords=national+geographic+bird+book); this is the 7th edition, I have the sixth. A lot seems to be based on personal preference of bird organization and whether they use drawings or pictures, but I really like this one!

E.O. Wilson is a great myrmecologist (studier of ants) who has published several interesting books on science and nature. I believe he is still Professor Emeritus at Harvard.

The standard text for intro to ent courses is Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects. If you hope to go on and study entomology I'd recommend picking it up and starting to try to use the keys. And, also, learning the basics of collecting, preserving, and labeling.

I've read this book. It's a fantastic depiction of the strength and intelligence of tigers.

They are truly terrifying creatures.

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival

Markov wasn't the only person this tiger ate. There's an excellent book about this incident, called The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. It's a fascinating read, and is full of information about the plight of tigers and other wildlife in the Russian Far East as well as human struggle for survival. Highly recommended.

A general idea of location would help greatly. For example, Peterson's 4th edition has the most up to date taxonomy for half the the US, and is fairly detailed, but Werler and Dixon's Texas Snakes has a ton of easy to read snake natural history information, but is limited to Texas.

If you can give us a location we can perhaps give better suggestions.

If you live in eastern North America, I highly recommend Stephen Marshall's Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity. It has a brief written overview for each insect order, and is filled with tons of captioned color photos showcasing common or interesting species. It's basically a mega field guide, so don't expect a huge amount of written discussion, but I love my copy so much!

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival seems like a good book to submit to my book group for consideration. Thanks for the comment.

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.

Sure thing. These are my favorite guides.
Pretty exhaustive, good details on habitat, color, and range, and lots of pictures of different phases and regional color morphs.

Don't know of a great app, but there are lots of great books on the subject. They are all location-specific, so recommendations may be based on where you dive.

For the Caribbean, I can highly recommend this book:

Reef Fish Identification - Florida Caribbean Bahamas - 4th Edition (Reef Set)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1878348574/

It is part of a set that includes books on fish identification, other creature identification, coral identification, and then a book on fish behavior.

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.

Evolution occurs over many tens of to hundreds of thousands of years, and even then, at the scale of single proteins such as haemoglobin that you are talking about. The development of an entirely new organ in response to an environmental change occurring over one organism's lifetime is preposterous. Cancerous tumours do not suddenly turn into new organs that can metabolise carbon, go and read a book, specifically, if you are remotely interested: This and this. These are undergraduate level textbooks so even with as basic an understanding as you seem to have, you should be able to pick them up from the start if you stick with it. Your grandma isn't going to grow an extra arm because a new video game controller comes out that has 3 joy sticks and you want to play it, do you understand?

PETA has long had a campaign against fishing.

["What a Fish Knows"] (https://www.amazon.com/What-Fish-Knows-Underwater-Cousins/dp/0374537097/) is a really great book about how fish should get greater consideration. I highly recommend adding it to your summer reading list.

[Plants of Coastal British Columbia: Including Washington, Oregon and Alaska by Jim Pojar]
(https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1551055325/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1977604502&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1594853665&pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_r=ZE56QP0A00SH8K6G23SM)This book here is my holy bible for foraging and IDs. I know you are in Oregon, but I'm on Vancouver Island which is practically in the US and as west coast as it gets. Many of the plants growing where I am grow in parts of Oregon too. Consider fining this book or one similar. IMO a good Id book with images is the most important thing to carry with you (aside from gloves and a pocket knife).



Here are a few books I do not own but have read or heard people recommend.

Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West by Michael Moore

Pacific Northwest Foraging by Douglas Deur

Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt to Plate by John Kallas

Check out "What a Fish Knows" by Jonathan Balcombe (https://www.amazon.com/What-Fish-Knows-Underwater-Cousins/dp/0374537097). I just started reading it, but so far it's been a fun look at fish intelligence.

https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Vengeance-Survival-Vintage-Departures/dp/0307389049

On of the best books I've ever read. It describes the utter amazement of the wildness and intelligence of the tigers (what I'd imagine most of humanity feeling towards large predators throughout time) and additionally fitting for the time, how the Russian mindset was going through the nineties.. I'd suggest reading Bill Browder's book right after this one for the follow up....

It's also a masterclass in writing about a flawed person ala Krakauer in the portrayal of the main character.

The subject matter is a little narrow, but you should read "The Tiger" by John Valliant. Very well constructed and i learned some stuff... not about deep things like life and why we live and where we came from... but certainly a learning experience.

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

They still do in certain parts of the world. Check out The Tiger. It's one of my favorite books. It's about game wardens in Siberia and Amur tigers, and a great history of the whole area.

The Peterson Field Guide to Insects: America North of Mexico should suit you just fine. Of course it covers a wide range and isn't specific to just your area but you should still be able to get to the family level with this book. The only downside of this book is that it was written a while ago and so some names and classifications have changed, but other information is valid and accurate. I personally have this and would recommend it. I am not aware of other field guides for insects that are specific to eastern/central North America except where specific orders or insect types are concerned, like the Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America, or perhaps something relating to specific geography like the Rockies or PNW or something.

Personally I'm a big fan of Steve Marshall's book:
http://www.amazon.com/Insects-Natural-History-Diversity-Photographic/dp/1552979008

It's well written in plain english, with tons and tons of pictures. I found it extremely easy to read when I was first getting into entomology, yet very accurate and informative. Covers all the major families you're likely to run into, and works well as a field guide too (except it weighs a ton!).

Plus, since it's not technically a textbook, it's relatively cheap.

I used Human Molecular Genetics by Strachan and Read for a Human Genetics university course a while back. It has the basics in the early chapters, but also goes into more depth regarding the topics you're interested in. It looks like the newest edition has a new section on Human Evolutionary Genetics: https://www.amazon.com/Human-Molecular-Genetics-Tom-Strachan/dp/0815345895/ref=asc_df_0815345895/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=265989256760&hvpos=1o15&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11363577135974897694&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9023224&hvtargid=pla-645787829197&psc=1

​

Human Evolutionary Genetics by Jobling et al has a more specific focus, but is a bit dated (2013): https://www.amazon.com/Human-Evolutionary-Genetics-Mark-Jobling/dp/0815341482/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=human+evolutionary+genetics&qid=1571693034&sr=8-1

This article is highlighting this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Vengeance-Survival-Vintage-Departures/dp/0307389049

Totally legit, a very enjoyable read.

The best possible outcome is to never see a tiger in the wild. You'll live longer that way.

I fricken love field guides and my favorite Herp guide is Peterson's Eastern and Central North America or Peterson's Western North America depending on your location, assuming you live in North America.

There’s a book about this, it seemed really interesting because the tiger stalked him for days I’m pretty sure.


Edit: found it https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Vengeance-Survival-Vintage-Departures/dp/0307389049

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.

You will need boxes for keeping your pinned insects in, and vials for your alcohol-preserved ones (wingless). 70% isopropyl alcohol is what I have used for preserving wingless insects, so you'll need a good bit of that too. Don't forget the pins, and maybe a couple mothballs for keeping the dermestid beetles out of your lovely collection.

For field collecting, you should have a charged kill jar (http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/4h/unit1/mkjar.htm) and a butterfly net at the very least. I also carry a large jar of alcohol for wingless specimens which I later separate into vials at home.

Be careful with anything you use as the active agent in the kill jar- it IS poison. Always wash your hands after handling specimens.

Oh, almost forgot books. There are a lot of good bug books but you probably want a cheaper one to serve as a field guide. Kaufman's will have a lot of the more common insects that you find (assuming you are in North America). http://www.amazon.com/Kaufman-Field-Insects-America-Guides/dp/0618153101 It's my favorite. Others swear by National Wildlife Federation's or Audubon, which are slightly more advanced. It's a personal preference.

Here is a great little (PDF) guide for Ohio that covers a lot of common NE species

The 2 most popular books are these:

Common Spiders of North America (Bradley)

Spiders of North America (Ubick, et al.)

The Bradley book is probably the more accessible of the two.

edit: fixed first link

My favorite parts of the post;
"Always wear gloves  – It’s surprisingly easy to absorb toxins through fingers" and " the data was drawn from The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms"

In general you should set up your shelter away from where you prepare and cook food, never store any food in your shelter, and store your food away from your shelter. The distance varies, but it should be at least 50 feet and possibly much more if you have really dangerous animals (grizzly bear, for example) in the area. Also, be a bit noisy around your campsite and when you're hiking to alert the local bears to your presence. Most bear attacks are not predatory in nature, but because a bear was surprised by a human suddenly appearing. They really do prefer not to deal with people. You should also consider (in fact, I'd strongly suggest) asking the local camping organization what tips they have for camping and hiking on the island. It's probably a good idea to bring bear spray and a powerful flashlight to deter any unwanted advances into your campsite.

/edit-some other things to consider-non cook meals, bring a partner, and please leave a detailed itinerary with a trusted person before you leave. For what it's worth, bears very rarely attacks groups of people-a camping buddy not only provides an extra pair of eyes and ears but is a deterrent by himself/herself. Also, get a copy of Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance which is the classic on how to deal with bears.

Knowing what state or region would really help. Salmon fishing on coastal Alaskan rivers is different than hiking in Wyoming.

For lots of reasons, people think of guns first as bear protection. Guns are definitely an important and valid tool (when I worked in Alaska, I carried a shotgun at all times in the backcountry), but they are not your first line of defense. This is going to sound cliche, but it's absolutely true: knowledge is your best defense.

When you're hiking, are you aware of the wind direction? Or how wind or creek noise could make it hard for a bear to hear you approach? Are you thinking about seasonal food sources and where bears are more likely to be? Do you have a good understanding of black bear vs brown bear behavior, and common reasons for attacks? Beyond just "if it's black fight back, if it's brown lay down". Can you tell the difference between them, even with a black bear that has a brown coat? I've also seen brown bears with a black coat.

This is the best book I've seen on the subject. I highly recommend it.

https://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-Causes-Avoidance-revised/dp/158574557X

It's kind of like self defense classes. Everyone wants to learn cool moves to disarm a knife and stuff, but realistically the most helpful practice is just being observant and avoiding high risk situations.

Of course, even with good awareness and best practices, there's still a chance of getting attacked. It happens (rarely). That's the point where you need to decide between bear spray, handgun, shotgun, etc, but if you're not starting out from a solid base of knowledge you're doing it wrong.

Handguns are terrible, but better than nothing. They're hard to aim, especially under pressure, so if you're not interested in target shooting regularly, this is a bad choice.

Shotguns are powerful, easy to reload, and fairly easy to aim, but are a bitch to carry and still require some practice.

Bear spray is just about ideal. It's nonlethal, so you're more likely to actually use it in time. With a gun, there's going to be hesitation: if a bear is just sauntering towards you, ignoring your yelling and attempts to retreat, at what distance do you decide to kill it? With bear spray, there's no worry. Hose it.

It's also lightweight and requires virtually no practice. You should practice drawing it, and consider buying a practice dummy canister to see what the range/spread is, but that's about it.

There have been instances where it's failed to stop a charge. They're rare, but they happen. But guns fail too, especially if you're not a practiced shot. Nothing's perfect. That's why good behavioral practices have to come first, it'll avoid 99% of possible encounters.

TL;DR- keep carrying bear spray, but you need to study. Read the book I linked, then email or visit your local ranger station or fish and wildlife office and ask about bear populations, known encounters, and high risk areas.

For reference, grizzly bears are brown bears. Grizzly usually refers to interior bears, while brown bears usually refers to the larger coastal Alaskan bears. But they're the same species.

Oh, and bears can swim faster than you.

I'm not certain about what kind of detail you are looking for, but this book is really the only I use. I have a minor in entomology, and I have several textbooks that have much more detail, but this is the one I pick up most often, especially for helping folks in /r/whatsthisbug. :)

If you want a scientific work that really covers all the topics of

>the transition and rise that brought about homo sapiens

I can really recommend Human Evolutionary Genetics from Jobling et al.

Using (and explaining) the tools and methods of modern genetics, this awesome book meticulously traces the development of homo sapiens, even covering topics like the colonization of the world.

Easily one of my favourite scholarly books of all time.

I'm currently reading this one http://www.amazon.com/Pterosaurs-Natural-History-Evolution-Anatomy/dp/0691150613/ It is more of a in depth book and specifically on pterosaurs but I find it highly entertaining in writing and pictures as well.

That was a great book that I also highly recommend. Some other suggestions:

https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaurs-How-They-Lived-Evolved/dp/1588345823


https://www.amazon.com/Pterosaurs-Natural-History-Evolution-Anatomy/dp/0691150613


https://www.amazon.com/Sauropod-Dinosaurs-Life-Age-Giants/dp/1421420287/ref=pd_sim_14_5?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1421420287&pd_rd_r=V3DPH072M1JZWPGQW7JN&pd_rd_w=gjt7n&pd_rd_wg=no70V&psc=1&refRID=V3DPH072M1JZWPGQW7JN

A lot of YNP wildlife has a different attitude about people than you or I would be used to, coming from the midwest. They can sometimes be very apathetic of human presence.

Just take pepper spray into the backcountry with you. It's the best defense. Now you are the skunk.

In 2009 I went into YNP alone totalling many weeks of time spent in backcountry. I was very paranoid and afraid, but reading a few books on the subject helped immensely: Bear Attacks, Causes, and Avoidance for example.

The two times I saw Grizzly in the backcountry, my knowledge gained from conversations and books kept me from getting more upset. I learned how to hone a knife and had a really sharp knife handy, plus the bear spray can, and both times I monitored the wind and tried to get it to smell me, both so it would go away sooner and so that the spray would be on it and not on me. Each bear just moved off with no interest in me or my camp.

You'll read things that seem impossibly strict or contradictory if you try to follow the park's guidance alone. Their guidance on food smells is impossibly strict. They expect you to change into different clothes after you're done eating and hang all that stuff up with your food bag.

Besides reading a few books about being in bear territory, one of the best things for me was to watch YouTube videos of bear encounters, and there are some documentaries with bear encounters in them. Bears and raccoon have a similar manner / personality or what have you.

Basically, you don't want to surprise a bear. Two people have a big advantage because your conversation, mass and movement will generally ward off wildlife. When cresting a little hill or coming into a thicket, just announce yourself. Yell "hey, bear."

Research has so far shown the pepper spray to be more effective than gun shots at warding off a bear. You can purchase the bear spray at many of the stores and gas stations in YNP, or in any of the surrounding towns. A nice knife or hatchet in your fist will make you feel a little better, too.

Bears in YNP aren't bad at all. They're very wild, and that's what we want when we're outdoors in its habitat. The bears that are bad to be around are ones that are quite familiar with human food. Those are dangerous bears. In the Sierra Nevada and along the King's Range coast in California, black bears are real bastards. In YNP and the surrounding ecosystem, excluding bears from food and garbage has been very effective. In the backcountry, your knowledge of bear behavior and motivations is your best resource.

There an amazing book based on a true story of a man eating Siberan tiger's vengeful behavior in Russia by John Vaillant. https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Vengeance-Survival-Vintage-Departures/dp/0307389049

These could be false morels, though I hope they aren't and you can eat a yummy meal. I would check them out on multiple sites and make a shroomery account. Also, if you plan to hunt often, Mushrooms Demystified and the Audubon Society's Mushroom Field Guide are both very necessary guides.

Same here. I just used my old entomology textboook, Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, which is one of the best textbooks I've ever bought. They have a limited section on non-insect arthropods and the Dimorphic Jumping Spider was the closest match I could find.

I also moved mobile homes a couple times out in Bedford as a summer job this year and saw a few of these guys. There were False Black Widows all over the place, but I had these spiders and Bold Jumpers crawling over me all day, too.

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

Well if you like in North America you can check out this awesome book! I have it and it is amazing, warning alittle bit pricey.

I really liked this book, and it's counterparts. This one has all the related books in the "users also bought section"

Reef Fish Identification - Florida Caribbean Bahamas - 4th Edition (Reef Set) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1878348574/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_gkowxbSEPQ258

It's got full color pictures of fish, and a bit of information on them. It's also easy to search for what you saw, and if you want more info, it can give you a name to Wikipedia.

Nope, none of those for my location, but there is this fantastic book which is the bible of most foragers in my neighbourhood. And this one.

This one, I'd assume? Looks interesting, thanks!

I think this is what Mi_lotsa_a's meant. Pretty good book.

I have this one

And

[This one] (http://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418146439&sr=1-1&keywords=all+that+the+rain+promises)

And they are working pretty good to get me started.

I've got one of these, and it's pretty good: Plants of Coastal British Columbia

I've got the Sibley guide pretty well used, and my Nat Geo guide is older than a lot of people I know, so it's probably time to get the updated edition to complement the Sibley guide.

Here's the Amazon link for the 7th guide book.

https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Field-Guide-America/dp/1426218354

I read this book a little while ago and was pretty surprised by it. You might find it worth considering.

Mushrooms Demystified is a great reference but when i'm out in the woods I like something a little less brick-like. NAS Field Guide is my constant companion when I venture off into the trees.

Leptoglossus looks pretty close. It seems the standard introductory text that everyone uses is this book. I would recommend trying to find it used.

Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity by Stephen Marshall is a rather large book that gives some information on each of the orders of insects. Following the write-ups there are many pictures detailing the various families among each order with descriptions about those families. Then, toward the end of the book there is a dichotomous key that can be used to ID insects to family.


That is what was recommended in my introductory entomology class for identification, but the bulk of what I learned was from lecture materials that aren't commercially available. Hopefully other folks here might have a good idea for other books/media!

The best field guide in the US is the Kaufman insect guide, hands down

I'm in Eastern PA, and went to PSU Upark. I prefer the Audubon society guides, they tend to have everything that's not rare that I encounter. It worked for me up in State College and is still great here in Berks county. https://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-American-Mushrooms/dp/0394519922/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541772740&sr=8-1&keywords=audobon+guide+mushrooms Also it's not heavy and it's always in my backpack.

There's absolutely such a thing as red elderberries. They were all over our property in Olympia, WA, along with the red huckleberries in the 4th and 5th pictures. The red elderberries are supposed to be edible if they're cooked, but after I smelled them cooking I dumped them out.

Red huckleberries are extremely tart compared to the blue ones, more like a red currant, but they make good jam. They take forever to pick, though.

The first and second pictures are Saskatoon berry, also known as Pacific serviceberry.

The last picture is unripe cascara berry. I've never tried those, but in Plants of Coastal British Columbia it says they're "edible but not incredible."

https://www.amazon.com/Reef-Fish-Identification-Florida-Caribbean/dp/1878348574/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1550494892&sr=8-2&keywords=caribbean+reef+fish+book

​

It's a lot more fun if you do it yourself, and you learn more.

This is an amazing book on tigers.

Buddy of mine spends a lot of time outdoors, have me this book when I went to Alaska. I feel like it was very comprehensive. https://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-Causes-Avoidance-revised/dp/158574557X

This is what i have been reading, unlike most other books this one has excellent photos in it.

Audubon society book on rocks and minerals is an excellent one

This is a valuable book to own:

https://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-American-Mushrooms/dp/0394519922/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1D1IB9DI2107O&keywords=mushroom+identification+field+guide&qid=1559310910&s=gateway&sprefix=mushroom+ident%2Caps%2C136&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

I’m midway through the book “What a Fish Knows,” which pulls together much of what is currently known about some of your questions. You might enjoy it: https://www.amazon.com/What-Fish-Knows-Underwater-Cousins/dp/0374537097/ref=nodl_

If you can get your hand on an Audubon's Guide, they're sort of the gold standard for identifying and harvesting in the PNW.
Here's a link to their mushroom guide

This is the one I use. It’s pretty complete and not too expensive.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guides) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0394519922/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_kWQQBbB92MYGP

This is pretty tight too

Plants of Coastal British Columbia is pretty much the standard for coastal BC tree/plant ID. And the BC Tree Book is a real simple one to understand with only native BC tree species.

Also not specific to just edible plants, http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/1551055325/ref=pd_aw_sim_b_2?pi=SL500_SY115 is one of my fav identification guides & has lots of details on what's edible.

An entomology Textbook would be a good place to start, or even a field guide.
https://www.amazon.com/Borror-DeLongs-Introduction-Study-Insects/dp/0030968356/ref=sr_1_43?ie=UTF8&qid=1479056077&sr=8-43&keywords=entomology

I bought this book and read it. I feel much better after reading it.

http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-Causes-Avoidance-revised/dp/158574557X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451582639&sr=1-1&keywords=bear+attacks

link One of the better sources I've seen on the subject.

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival (Vintage Departures) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307389049/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Y5U8Ab81M6ET2

Peterson field guides... ive got a box full of them lol This is the one i think youre looking for

Take a look at Rainer Foelix's Biology of Spiders:

https://www.amazon.com/Biology-Spiders-Rainer-Foelix/dp/0199734828

It's very in-depth, and covers all spiders with a special section on Theraphosidae.

Tigers are far more badass IMO. Check out this book; https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Vengeance-Survival-Vintage-Departures/dp/0307389049/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518460048&sr=1-4&keywords=tiger

If you just want a reference for IDing rocks in the field. This is a pretty good book for that.

If you actually want to learn about how minerals form/chemistry and structure. This textbook is a good one, but I may be biased because Dexter was my mineralogy instructor.

FYI, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America has a note about this duck as there was a population imported into California that escaped.

I recommend you purchase this book, read it, start a collection, and identify all of your specimens using the keys inside the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Borror-DeLongs-Introduction-Study-Insects/dp/0030968356

I recommend the book "What a Fish Knows": https://www.amazon.com/What-Fish-Knows-Underwater-Cousins/dp/0374537097

Worth a read, just don't freak yourself out. https://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-Causes-Avoidance-revised/dp/158574557X/

I like this book:

http://www.amazon.com/North-American-Mushrooms-Inedible-Falconguide/dp/0762731095/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1409688221&sr=8-6&keywords=mushrooms+of+north+america

I don't like this book:

http://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-American-Mushrooms/dp/0394519922/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409688242&sr=8-1&keywords=audubon+mushrooms

I did this on Friday:

http://www.reddit.com/r/mycology/comments/2f9lbx/prelabor_day_haul_10_variety_30_lbs/

I finally started reading "The Tiger" by John Valliant.

Awhile ago someone posted a TIL and linked to an excerpt of the book, and it was riveting. So I bit the bullet and bought the book, but hadn't found the time to actually start it until a few days ago.

Thus far it has been phenomenal... I can't put it down. And it's added a few reasons to the list of Why you shouldn't fuck with tigers.

This is THE book.

I have it from diving. My girlfriend has an abridged waterproof copy that's printed on synthetic paper that she has actually taken on dives with her.

You can also buy a 3 volume set that includes coral and other reef creatures.

Edit: I just looked at mine. It's great but it talks more about how the fish will respond to divers. I don't see much help on whether or not they're tasty.

Snake head shape is also a bad idea. Most snakes will flatten their head when threatened or preparing to strike. Think of what cobras can do, but not so extreme. This is to puff up and look more threatening. This isn't 100% universal, but a common behavior.

Yes your rattle snakes of the family Crotalidae/Viperidae do have very prominent head shape, but the rattling is such a better way to pick them out. Contrasting, the coral snake, Micrurus tener, has a very round head, looks very similar to milk snakes, however their neurotoxin venom will kill you.

EDIT: Best advice I have is to just pick a field guide of your region and read it. (https://www.amazon.com/Peterson-Reptiles-Amphibians-Eastern-Central/dp/0544129970) Other then that, just let the sneks be sneks and slither away!

You're missing that I didn't feel like gathering the dozen plus articles and books that researchers has been involved in, most of which are behind paywalls, so I linked to a summary figuring anyone actually interested could use the info from the article to find more. But let me Google that for you:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1080603299708483

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/170/3958/593

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2193/2006-452/abstract

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.72/abstract

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3873165?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

https://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-Causes-Avoidance-revised/dp/158574557X
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.342/full
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150925-grizzly-bears-attacks-science-animals-bear-spray/

I think the layered rock is sedimentary, the regular patterns indicate seasonal depositions. So it is sort of like tree rings. There are some good books on rocks, you will learn a lot more by reading a few.

In undergrad, we primarily used the following textbooks:

• The Insects: An Outline of Entomology by Gullan & Cranston
  
• Introduction the Study of Insects by Borror & Delong