Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000. Quarto, card covers with flaps. pp 298. Colour photos, b&w illustrations, index. Fine copy. "An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles is an authoritative reference in a breathtakingly beautiful volume, one that will leave every reader with a deeper understanding, appreciation, and--yes--fondness for these amazing creatures and their place in nature. In terms of numbers, beetles are the most successful creatures on earth: about 350,000 species of beetles have been described since 1758. They range from tiny to gigantic, occupy sundry habitats, and eat everything--plants, animals, and their own remains. An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles provides an engaging look at these magnificent yet poorly understood creatures and highlights the absolutely essential role they play in the dynamics of nearly every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. And, as this book beautifully demonstrates, the aesthetics of beetle design are amazing. The fantastic colors and shapes of these creatures warrant the gorgeous color photography lavished on them in this book." 1.5 kg parcel

Berlin: Julius Springer, 1931. Second edition (first was in 1927). Green cloth gilt lettered. x, (160), [2, ads] pp. 96 illustrations and photos in text. Contains the author's short preface to this edition, which has slight changes and adds 5 new illustrations. Spine lightly darkened; 1932 pencil inscription to front free endpaper; book a little leaned; some foxing to the first few leaves; VG otherwise. Karl von Frisch, the important Austrian-German zoologist, is best known for his work on bees. Drawing on Pavlov's work on conditioned reflexes, he learned something about how bees saw colour, about how bees communicate with each other through a sort of dance, and how bees in flight orient themselves by the direction of the polarization of light in the sky. Text is in German. Note: lighter parcel, any default postage rate may be reduced.

Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005. Squarish octavo, card covers. pp viii, 344. Colour and b&w illustrations, index. Fine copy. This is the first guide to dragonflies and damselflies of the south-central United States. The book covers 263 species, representing more than half of the North American fauna. The area of coverage significantly overlaps with other regions of the country making this book a useful aid in identifying the dragonflies and damselflies in any part of the United States, Canada, or northeastern Mexico. More photographs of damselflies in North America appear here than in any other previously published work. All 85 damselfly and 178 dragonfly species found in the region are distinguished by photographs, numerous line drawings, keys, and detailed descriptions to help with identifications. Features include: * Discussions of habitats, zoogeography, and seasonality * Details on dragonfly and damselfly life history and conservation * An introduction on studying and photographing dragonflies and damselflies * An entire section devoted to the external anatomy of dragonflies and damselflies * Species accounts organized by family into sections on size, regional and general distribution, flight season, identification, similar species, habitat and biology and ecology * Range maps for each species, as well as an extensive bibliography and a list of resources for further study. Note: 1.5 kg parcel, extra postage may be required.

Edinburgh / London: W.H. Lizars / Henry G. Bohn, 1852. Small octavo, leaf height 15.8 cm. pp [2], (8), (17)-229, [3] + frontispiece portrait + series title with hand colouring + 3 black & white plates + 28 colour plates (complete). Bound in half tan calf and marbled boards, spine with black and red labels, raised bands, gilt ornamentation, marbled page edges and endpapers. Broken joints internally repaired with rice paper; spine is worn, with chip across head, botom two inches lacking; 1936 ink name on front blank; plates trimmed close at top and fore edges, with loss of about 1 mm to some images; offsetting to the leaves facing the plates; externally only fair, internally clean and unworn, plate colouring vivid, and text block now firm in the binding. Volume XXXII (Entymology) in The Naturalist's Library, under the general editorship of Sir William Jardine. Includes a portrait and life of Latreille.

Priceton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. Tall squarish octavo, cloth textured card covers (durable). pp xvi, 656. Fine copy. "Garden Insects of North America is the most comprehensive and user-friendly guide to the common insects and mites affecting yard and garden plants in North America. In a manner no previous book has come close to achieving, through full-color photos and concise, clear, scientifically accurate text, it describes the vast majority of species associated with shade trees and shrubs, turfgrass, flowers and ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruits--1, 420 of them, including crickets, katydids, fruit flies, mealybugs, moths, maggots, borers, aphids, ants, bees, and many, many more. For particularly abundant bugs adept at damaging garden plants, management tips are also included. Covering all of the continental United States and Canada, this is the definitive one-volume resource for amateur gardeners, insect lovers, and professional entomologists alike." 2.5 kg parcel.

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1889. Second edition, corrected and enlarged (first was in 1883). Brown cloth. pp [2], 436, [2]. 440 woodcut illustrations, index. Book a bit leaned, with scratches to the front cover; partial crack to front inner hinge; erasure on front pastedown and ink name on front free endpaper; ink ownership inscription on front fly leaf of an Ontario Agricultural College student; yellowing to page edges; else a VG clean and tight copy. "William Saunders, druggist, naturalist, agriculturalist (b at Crediton, Eng 16 June 1836; d at London, Ont 13 Sept 1914). Saunders established the Experimental Farms Service (now Research Branch) of the federal Dept of Agriculture. He moved with his family from England to Canada in 1848 and apprenticed as a druggist, opening his own store in 1855. His concern about insects attacking pharmaceutical plants led him to help found the Entomological Society of Canada in 1863."