title: 500 Insects: A Visual Reference (Firefly Visual Reference)
author: Stephen Marshall
description: The quality of the photographs makes this volume a stunning work. The author selected 500 insects from his studies and travels around the planet. Each is presented in a high-quality, full-color, magnified image. These are single-page entries with accompanying information of approximately 100 words or less. The book restricts itself to the class Insecta. The entries are arranged by Insecta's scientific orders. Generic and species names are given in italics.... The eight-page introduction gives information on insect distribution, basic insect biology, collecting and photographing insects, insect structure, and taxonomic names. A small glossary and resources for further research and reading are provided. An index completes the volume. School and public libraries as well as individuals with entomology collections will find the book a welcome addition. (Elaine Ezell <i>American Reference Books Annual</i>)<br /><br />Incorporating several newly identified species, this insect field guide provide single-page entries describing 500 of the world's reported one million recognized varieties. The detail of each full-color, highly magnified photograph is so stunning that, if you're not fond of bugs, it will doubtlessly incite your flight reflex. Nevertheless, the vivid photographic detail is essential to the book's scientific value: nothing is lost in creative translation.... Highly recommended for entomology collections. (<i>Library Journal</i> 2008-12-15)<br /><br />Entomologist Stephen A. Marshall offers insect enthusiasts a glimpse of the remarkable diversity in the insect world. It's like going on a bug safari from the comfort of your couch! 500 Insects makes a great gift for anyone who likes bugs, from the natural history buff to the professional entomologist. (Debbie Hadley <i>About.com</i>)<br /><br />Designed primarily to highlight the magnificence of insect diversity rather than to serve as an identification guide, this compact volume presents 500 vivid, close-up photographs of insects. (<i>SciTech Books News</i> 2009-12-01)<br /><br />Terrific... The photos are a pleasure to look at, and the small amount of information given with each adds up to a lot of painless learning. There is a lovely contemplative quality to this work... This would be a great book to have in any elementary school classroom and in any biology or entomology library. It is a good book to buy for the budding young naturalist in your life. It also is an excellent reference work and could be inspiration for artists. (Linda Wiener, St. John's College, Santa Fe, NM <i>Science Books &amp; Films</i> 2009-06-01)
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  I noticed it was beginning to get dark. And for a couple seconds, it was scary
  — like that meant the world was breaking, or expired, or bruised, or something
  worse. It was really scary for a couple seconds but then I calmed down. Up
  above, the moonlit clouds looked rippled, like the ribcage of some giant thing
  digesting me.
  
  
  And I wondered if the direction I was going went down into the digestive
  system or up out of it. Wondered what difference it made. There was a bug
  hovering over a small pool of ice cream on the sidewalk. Like a firefly, but
  it wasn’t a firefly. And I could’ve stepped on it and killed it. But I didn’t.
  Be thankful, little bug. For in my world, you are just a little bug.
  
  
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    * Sam Pink
      * [IN THE DOORWAY OF AN ABANDONED BUILDING](index_split_002.xhtml#TOC_idm140591678883552)
      * [DANNY, DUKE, SPIDER-MAN, AND EVERYONE ELSE AT THE WIG PARTY](index_split_003.xhtml#TOC_idm140591671578192)
      * [PIÑA COLADA](index_split_004