A number of books have inspired the making of Arthropedia: An Illustrated Alphabet of Invertebrates.
Some further reading is listed on page 108, but there simply wasn’t room for everything in the book.
The lists below gives a fuller selection of further reading which we will update from time to time.
Key Influences
Three works have been a key influence and are of equal importance:
- Ernst Haeckel’s ‘Art Forms in Nature’, which has beautifully displayed symmetrical plates featuring a wide range of life forms.
- Moses Harris’ ‘The Aurelian’, which contains some of the greatest copperplate engravings of butterflies and moths ever made.
- Maria Sybilla Merian’s amazing depictions of invertebrates and her work on studying metamorphosis.
Art Work
Amazing Rare Things: The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery by David Attenborough, Susan Owens, Martin Clayton and Rea Alexandratos (2007). Royal Collection Enterprises, London. Introduces the art and life of Maria Sibylla Merian (1647 – 1717).
Art Forms in Nature: Prints of Ernst Haeckel by Olaf Breidbach, Irenaeus Eibl-Eibesfeldt & Richard Hartmann (2008). Prestel, Munich. A good introduction to Haeckel’s work, with beautiful plates.
F.W. Frohawk: His Life and Work by June Chatfield (1987). The Crowood Press, Marlborough. A biography of the naturalist and foremost butterfly artist of his day.
The Natural History of the Oak Tree by Richard Lewington & David Streeter (1993). Dorling Kindersley, London. A beautifully illustrated book covering the life of an oak tree through the seasons and the myriad creatures that depend upon it.
Janet Marsh’s Nature Diary by Janet Marsh (1979). Michael Joseph, London. Exquisite watercolours depicting invertebrate (and other) life of the Itchen River valley.
The Aurelian by Moses Harris, with an introduction by Robert Mays (1986). Country Life Books, Twickenham. A facsimile reprint of Moses Harris’ 1766 book, featuring superb copper plate engravings of the life cycles of butterflies and moths, depicted with food plants, many reared and drawn by the author.
Guide Books
For identifying invertebrates some really good books are now available, chiefly those illustrated by Richard Lewington, possibly the greatest entomological artist ever. Digital photography has made huge advances in photographic guides and the internet has some really good websites and Facebook groups.
A Comprehensive Guide to Insects of Britain & Ireland by Paul D. Brock (2014). Pisces Publications, Newbury. A superb photographic identification guide to over 2,100 species of British insects.
Britain’s Insects A Field Guide to the Insects of Great Britain and Ireland by Paul D. Brock (2021). WILDGuides. Princeton University Press, Princeton & Woodstock. A photographic guide.
Britain’s Spiders: A Field Guide by Lawrence Bee, Geoff Oxford & Helen Smith (2017). Princeton University Press, Princeton & Woodstock. A photographic guide.
Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe by Michael J. Roberts (1996). Collins, London. Exquisitely illustrated, with keys.
Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland by Steven Falk & Richard Lewington (2015). British Wildlife Publishing, London.
The Bees of Norfolk by Nick Owens (2017). Pisces Publications, Newbury.
Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe by Michael chinery (1986). William Collins, London. Old, but still good, with lots of information.
Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland by Paul Waring, Martin Townsend and Richard Lewington (2018). Bloomsbury, London.
Field Guide to the Micro Moths of Great Britain and Ireland by Phil Sterling, Mark Parsons and Richard Lewington (2018). Bloomsbury, London.
Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland by Richard Lewington (2019). Bloomsbury, London.
Field Guide to the Ladybirds of Great Britain and Ireland by Helen Roy, Peter Brown & Richard Lewington (2018). Bloomsbury, London.
Britain’s Hoverflies: A Field Guide by Stuart Ball & Roger Morris (2015). Princeton University Press, Princeton & Woodstock. A photographic guide.
Britain’s Dragonflies: A Field Guide to the Damselfies and Dragonflies of Britain and Ireland by Dave Smallshire & Andy Swash (2014). Princeton University Press, Princeton & Woodstock. A photographic guide.
British Soldierflies and their Allies by Alan Stubbs and Martin Drake. Second edition (2014). British Entomological and Natural History Society, Reading.
British Craneflies by Alan Stubbs (2021). British Entomological and Natural History Society, Reading.
Field Guide to the Robberflies of the Netherlands and Belgium by Reinout van den Broek & Andre Schulten (2017). Jeugbondsuitgeverij Publishers, s’Gravenland. A photo guide that covers the species found in Britain.
Families of Flies with Three Pulvilli by Theo Zeegers and Andre Schulten (2022). Jeugbondsuitgeverij Publishers, s’Gravenland. Covers species found in North-west Europe, including the British Isles.
The Bumblebee Book: A guide to Britain & Ireland’s bumblebees by Nick Owens (2020). Pisces Publications, Newbury.
The Field Studies Council (FSC) publishes AIDGAP keys, guides and fold out leaflets on invertebrates, covering subjects from Aphids to Vespoid Wasps. Arthropod topics covered include Woodlice, Pseudoscorpions, Springtails, British Plant Galls, Caddisflies, Aphids, Beetle families, True Bugs, Centipedes, Fleas, Harvestmen and Lacewings. https://www.field-studies-council.org/product-category/publications/.
Other
Wildlife of a Garden: A Thirty-year Study by Jennifer Owen (2010). Royal Horticultural Society, Peterborough. Reveals the amazing diversity of life that can be found in a suburban garden.
My Side of the Fence: The Natural History of a Surrey Garden by Jeremy Early (2013). Jeremy Early, Reigate. (Available from the Nature Conservation Imaging website.) A fascinating account of wildlife in the author’s garden. Full of great photographs.
The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland by Jeremy Thomas & Richard Lewington (2014). British Wildlife Publishing, Oxford. The ultimate book on British butterflies.
The Wood for the Trees: The Long View of Nature from a Small Wood by Richard Fortey (2016). William Collins, London.
Bugs Britannica by Peter Marren & Richard Mabey (2010). Chatto & Windus, London. General information and folklore on all sorts of invertebrates.
The Garden Jungle or Gardening to Save the Planet by Dave Goulson (2019). Jonathan Cape, London. Dave Goulson is also the author of A Buzz In The Meadow, A Sting In The Tale and Bee Quest, all of which are highly recommended.
The Secret Life of Flies by Erica McAlister (2017). Natural History Museum, London.
Emperors, Admirals and Chimney Sweepers: The Weird and Wonderful Names of Butterflies and Moths by Peter Marren (2019). Little Toller Books, Toller Fratrum.
In Pursuit of Butterfles: A Fifty-Year Affair by Matthew Oates (2015). Bloomsbury, London.
The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy by Michael McCarthy (2015). John Murray, London.
The Royal Entomological Society Book of British Insects by Peter C. Barnard (2011). Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester. An overview of the wonderful diversity of British insect life.
Pollinators & pollination: Nature and Society by Jeff Ollerton (2021). Pelagic Publishing, Exeter. A very readable overview of pollinators, their relationships with flowers and their conservation.
New Naturalist books began life in 1945 with Butterflies by E. B. Ford. They cover a wide range of natural history subjects, with recent titles such as Beetles by Richard Jones and Grasshoppers and Crickets by Ted Benton covering arthropods. See https://www.newnaturalists.com.
Naturalists’ Handbooks are published by Pelagic Publishing (https://pelagicpublishing.com/collections/naturalists-handbooks). Arthropod titles include Ground Beetles, Solitary Bees, Leaf Beetles and Insects on Nettles.
Web Sites and Facebook Groups
Facebook has some very helpful groups for arthropod identification, including UK Bees, Wasps and Ants, UK Hemiptera, UK Hoverflies, UK Diptera, UK Spiders and UK Butterflies. There are also groups that operate at county level – three for Norfolk include Norfolk Wildlife, Norfolk Moths and Norfolk Butterflies and Moths. The Wildlife Gardening Forum Facebook page shares useful information on managing gardens for wildlife, as does the group’s website, http://www.wlgf.org.
The British Bugs website includes lots of species accounts for Hemiptera (True Bugs): https://www.britishbugs.org.uk. The BWARS website, https://www.bwars.com, has useful information on bees, wasps and ants.
Steven Falk’s superb collection of photos on Flickr covers insects (https://www.flickr.com/photos/63075200@N07/collections/72157629222209764/) and arachnids (https://www.flickr.com/photos/63075200@N07/collections/72157631637876481/).
The Naturespot website, https://www.naturespot.org.uk, specifically records the wildlife of Leicestershire and Rutland, but its species accounts and photographs are also useful for people based outside those counties.
The iRecord website, https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/, provides a useful way of submitting wildlife recordings.
Buglife, the Invertebrate Conservation Trust, https://www.buglife.org.uk, is campaigning to prevent the decline of British arthropods and Butterfly Conservation, https://butterfly-conservation.org, is campaigning for Britain’s butterflies and moths. Other conservation organisations are worth supporting too, including county wildlife trusts, https://www.wildlifetrusts.org.
