Book of the Week: Bumblebees

Continuing our selection of the very best titles available through NHBS:

Bumblebees

by Oliver E Prys-Jones and Sarah A Corbet

What?

Revised 3rd edition of this guide to bumblebees, no. 6 in the Naturalists’ Handbook series.
Bumblebees jacket image

Why?

Bumblebees are appealing insects, and a great subject for study. They are more approachable than honeybees and easy to observe in the garden or the open countryside. This revised edition of the classic Naturalists’ Handbook looks at species identification, ecology and conservation, and the variety of behaviours and lifestyles.

The information is presented in such a way that anyone with an interest in the natural history and conservation of bumblebees will be able to undertake their own useful investigations and add to the body of research which will hopefully allow these important pollinating insects to survive and thrive for future generations.

As well as colour plates for basic identification, there are further keys showing anatomical detail and species variation, and detailed range maps for regional identification.

Who?

Oliver E. Prys-Jones studied zoology at the University of St. Andrews and furthered a long term interest in bumblebees and their life histories with doctoral and research fellowship studies at the University of Cambridge. He subsequently qualified in medicine at Liverpool University and remains absorbed by bumblebees while working as a medical practitioner in North Wales.

Sarah A. Corbet has taught entomology and ecology in London University and the University of Cambridge. Her research interest is in pollination ecology, with a special focus on bumblebees.

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Nick Baker reviews the Stealth Gear One Man Chair Hide for NHBS

“I think this hide is great value for money.”


“If, like me, you’ve spent time trying to conceal yourself from your wildlife subjects, then doubtless you will have found yourself wrestling with scrim, and swearing and cursing as it gets caught on tripods, zippers and Velcro. The other extreme – and until now the only solution – would be to buy a ‘blind’ – a wildlife hide with many of the complexities associated with putting up a tent – a puzzle of poles and guy ropes. As well as often confounding the wildlife watcher/photographer, the whole set-up was both expensive and heavy.

I’ve been aware of these Stealth Gear hides for a year or so now and judging by the high demand, they seem to have caught on – and for good reasons.

It’s a robust camping chair design with a fan of hoops that unfurl from behind and over the seat. This in turn drags with it the polyester fabric of the hide itself. There is a little mesh pocket on one of the arms for your beer, which also can function as a lens holder – pity it doesn’t have two of them! The whole caboodle comes in a Camo-Tree design (photo-realistic leaves and bark, and woodland scenes) which in my experience works, pretty much anywhere, to break up the outline of the unit – and, almost as importantly, hides the contraption and the watcher from the unwanted attentions of his own species!

I found it best to sit in the chair with my gear in front of me and simply flip the hide over my head. Once inside it can be a little fiddly, and your personal organisation is tested a little, but so it is in any blind. If you have big elbows, lots of gear, a mate or intend to be waiting a long while, consider the two-seat option, otherwise you might find it a little too cosy for comfort. But the one-man works very well for me.

There are five apertures through which you can peer or shove a telephoto lens, all of which can be opened or closed easily with Velcro attachments, either opening them fully or leaving a printed mesh panel in place which enables the hide user to see out, while nothing can see in. The five windows are adequate enough, but you can’t see behind – which would on occasion be useful. That said, it would be a bit challenging to turn around even if there were a rear-facing window, especially with a hide full of gear. If full, all-round vision is what you require then this is available in the two-seat version.

The hide comes with a bag of ground pegs, also in a Camo-Tree design. Come on guys, you put the bag down in the long grass because you are in a rush to set up, and of course the wind starts to blow and where are your pegs to secure the thing to the ground as it fills up like a balloon and its skirts start to ruffle uncontrollably in the breeze? In a camouflage bag! Which is where? Somewhere in the long grass, doing its best to be not to be seen… I’ve attached a piece of orange baler twine now I’ve recovered it, so hopefully this won’t happen again.

Slight niggles: stitching holes let through pinpricks of daylight, and water does come spattering through in a torrential downpour. Leaving the hide is difficult – keeping your set-up and not totally blowing your cover requires agility and contortional abilities that are beyond most naturalists over 40! But having said that, all these problems can be applied to all but the most expensive hides and blinds I’ve used, so on balance I think this hide is great value for money.

(Note: if you have children and are fed up with the gaudy primary coloured plastic wendy house that jars with your aesthetic sensibilities then there is a hidden bonus to this hide – 4 year olds love them! And being made of camouflage material, you can sit it in the corner near the shrubbery and barely notice it’s there. It kept my daughter occupied for hours!)”

Two great new bird field guides, in stock now at NHBS

Field Guide to the Birds of Macaronesia jacket imageField Guide to the Birds of Macaronesia: Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde
Eduardo Garcia-del-Rey

This is a brand new field guide from Lynx Edicions, the publishers of Handbook of the Birds of the World, and Handbook of the Mammals of the World.

A quality compact hardback field guide, with detailed distribution maps and carefully illustrated colour plates. It covers all 573 species and subspecies of resident, nesting, migrating and vagrant birds.

Birds of Trinidad and Tobago jacket imageHelm Field Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, 2nd Edition
Martyn Kenefick, Robin Restall and Floyd Hayes

Helm do as they do best with this new second edition of Trinidad and Tobago (first published in 2007). Following a general introduction to the region and its habitats, tips for the birder, and a ‘where to watch’ section, is the ID guide in full. The essential identification of each occurring bird species is complemented by illustrated plates showing colour variations. 500 new or replacement images have been included in this edition.

NHBS Ornithology Catalogue Summer 2011

Book of the Week: Animal Tool Behavior

Continuing our selection of the very best titles available through NHBS:

Animal Tool Behavior

by Robert W. Shumaker, Kristina R. Walkup and Benjamin B. Beck

What?

A revised and updated edition of Benjamin B. Beck’s inspirational 1980 volume, which was the first to bring together and analyse the research on non-human tool behaviour.
Butterflies of Britain and Europe: A Photographic Guide jacket image

Why?

This fascinating area of research opens up many questions for the behavioural sciences, and this collaboration brings the field up to date to 2010.

From the Preface:

“This book provides precise definitions of tool use and tool manufacture, a complete catalog of all reported cases of tool use and tool manufacture by extant non-human animals…This edition cites about 1,750 sources from roughly 3,000 articles…”

Who?

Robert W. Shumaker is the vice president of life sciences at the Indianapolis Zoo, the author of Orangutans, and coauthor, with Benjamin B. Beck, of Primates in QuestionKristina R. Walkup is an adjunct assistant professor at Drake University. Benjamin B. Beck is the director of conservation at Great Ape Trust.

Available Now from NHBS

Book of the Week: Butterflies of Britain and Europe: A Photographic Guide

Continuing our selection of the very best titles available through NHBS:

Butterflies of Britain and Europe: A Photographic Guide

by Tari Haahtela, Kimmo Saarinen, Pekka Ojalainen and Hannu Aarnio

What?

The definitive photographic guide to all 444 species of European butterflies.
Butterflies of Britain and Europe: A Photographic Guide jacket image

Why?

The macro photography in this volume is simply stunning. The immediacy of the images and the vitality of the colour contrast will make butterfly identification even more of a pleasure. Species are generally pictured in the context of their habitat, with insets highlighting colouration details or sex differences, and the identification data and range maps are very user-friendly. Later in the book there is a focus on European Islands and Eastern European species, to cater for travellers who are looking for easy on-the-spot identification. And it all fits nicely into the average-sized jacket pocket!

Who?

Tari Haahtela, Kimmo Saarinen, Pekka Ojalainen and Hannu Aarnio are a team of dedicated Finnish naturalists that specialise in macro photography. They have travelled the length and breadth of Europe in search of butterflies for this book. Having already written several books on moths and butterflies in Finnish, this is their first English-language title.

Available Now from NHBS

NHBS Ornithology Catalogue: Summer 2011

As usual, the NHBS ornithology list has expanded over the last year to incorporate many fantastic new books for birdwatchers, conservation workers, and ecologists. We hope you enjoy browsing these, alongside featured classics and bestsellers. The Editor’s Choice selections pick out the very best recent and forthcoming titles in each main subject area.

Our wildlife equipment range is always growing – now over 2000 items – and you will find all the best bird-related gear on the Nest Boxes and Wildlife Kit pages of the catalogue.

A Birdwatcher’s Guide to Malaysia – last three copies

A Birdwatcher's Guide to Malaysia jacket imageA Birdwatcher’s Guide to Malaysia by John Bransbury – only three copies now available.

First published in 1993, A Birdwatcher’s Guide to Malaysia has proven to be a perennial favourite with our globetrotting birding enthusiasts, with its comprehensive annotated checklists and abundance of practical advice.

The book covers both West (Peninsular) Malaysia, and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). Each site section is introduced with a well-crafted and interesting written portrait of the area and its habitat, and a hand-drawn map – which makes this more than just a convenient reference.

Sadly, this  compact, detailed and informative guide has come to the end of its print run, and we now have just three copies left – so if you, or anyone you know, has an interest in, or is off to discover, the birds of this area, we recommend taking Bransbury along as a thoughtful guide and travelling companion.

Available now from NHBS


Book of the Week: The Private Life of Adders

Continuing our weekly selection of the very best titles available through NHBS:

The Private Life of Adders

by Rodger McPhail

What?

An account of the life and behaviour of the adder – one of the UK’s six native reptile species.
The Private Life of Adders jacket image

Why?

Full of his own close-up photographs, this book is the result of McPhail’s own investigations into the natural history of the adder. The succinct chapters cover the range of subjects from basking, sloughing and venom to predation and the life-cycle. There are also appraisals of habitat management and conservation, and an appendix providing details of further resources. His love and enthusiasm for the countryside and its birds and animals are evident throughout this work which is brought to life by the rich variety of portraits – of adders, and their neighbours.

Who?

Rodger McPhail has had a life-long fascination with adders. Born in Lancashire in 1953, he studied at the Coventry Art College at Lanchester Polytechnic for one year before being accepted at Liverpool Art College in 1972. He is widely known as one of Britain’s most outstanding wildlife and sporting artists. His work is sought after internationally.

Available Now from NHBS

Woodland Creation for Wildlife and People in a Changing Climate – reviewed in Antenna

“Its comprehensive coverage of the issues associated with woodland creation in Britain cannot fail to be of value”

Despite a slow increase in broadleaved woodland cover in Britain during the last 20 years, woodland species diversity is decreasing and woodland’s potential for enhancing our quality of life is unrealised. In view of the current public and political will to increase woodland cover in Britain, and the need to ensure that newly-created woodland is of the highest possible ecological quality, this book is most welcome.

It is a formal, often detailed and sometimes technical text aimed at countryside planners and practitioners, landowners, conservation organisations and community groups. Its entomological content is limited but, given the potential benefits of newly-created woodland and its associated habitats for so many insect taxa, it fully deserves a mention here.

The main text is divided into two parts. The first five chapters cover the general principles of woodland creation and provide necessary background to a consideration of woodland creation practice in the remaining four. Topics include an overview of woodland cover in Britain, some of the organisms that it supports and its importance for people. Issues associated with climate change and the planning, design and management of new woodland are also considered. Two case studies effectively draw together the various topics discussed in the text.

For invertebrates, the importance of woodland rides, glades and edges is emphasised, and the value of dead wood, neglected coppice and bramble is noted. A table lists invertebrate habitat in woodland. Butterflies receive the most detailed treatment. Survey and monitoring protocol is described and there are tables describing those species likely to occur in newly-created woodland, the colonisation potential of habitat specialists, and larval foodplants.

The book concludes with a useful glossary and lists of acronyms, species mentioned in the text and cited references. The latter represent a wide range of published and unpublished material. Unfortunately there is no index, and the list of species would be more valuable if page numbers referred the names to the text. Nevertheless this is an extremely useful and attractively presented handbook. It is generously illustrated with many figures and 170 images in full colour. Its comprehensive coverage of the issues associated with woodland creation in Britain cannot fail to be of value to its target readership. It also appears to be well-suited as a text for Further Education and foundation degree students studying countryside planning and land management. Certainly, many insects are likely to benefit from its sound advice.

Glenda Orledge,

Antenna – the journal of the Royal Entomological Society

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