Entomology Bookshelf
by Roger Rohrbeck
The last several years have seen increasing interest in entomology,
particularly from those who have recently started flyfishing. At least,
that seems to be the case, based on postings from various flyfishing forums.
However, there has not been much comparative analysis of the
various flyfishing entomology books. Hopefully, this article will provide
the reader with sufficient
information to make more-informed choices.
First, lets talk about categories of information:
- Some books cover most aquatic insect orders,
some even cover other aquatic vertebrates, while others focus on a single aquatic insect order, mayflies
for example.
- Some books cover only the immature (nymphal/larval/pupal) life stages, whereas
others also cover the adult life stage (or stages).
- The (taxonomic) level (of description) for books covering
multiple insect orders tends to not be below the family
(or genus) level. Conversely, the level of description (for books covering a single order
or insects) is more likely to go down to species level.
- Most books are rich in illustration. This
may include drawings or photos, and in black & white and/or color.
- Some books deal with imitation by suggesting patterns, presentation techniques, and emergence timing, while others dont.
- Also, these books can vary greatly in such other characteristics
as: their scope of geographic coverage; the degree to which their taxonomy
has become out-of-date (largely a function of publication date); their
availability new (still being published); and their size as measured in
number of pages.
So, in order to present all this information to the reader in a consistent
manner, use of a matrix was chosen. The column headings include the (above)
information categories, and the rows are populated with descriptive information
from the entomology books on my bookshelf. The books are listed
alphabetically in title order.
Also, Topic Organization (below the matrix columns for each individual
book) should give you a pretty good feel for the nature of the book's content.
Clicking on the "blue" title of a book listed in the Information Summary will
take you directly to the detailed information for that book.
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