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Hello everyone,
I'm looking for a good insect field guide for students and as long as it is impossible to tell from the cover whether it is really good, I'd like to ask for some help :)
We've been using german translation, M. Chinery "Pareys Buch der Insekten", published in 1987 and it is so far the best book (as is it's original edition of 1986 in English). And now we need to buy some new books.
So here is my question - have someone seen the:
Collins Field Guide INSECTS OF BRITAIN AND NORTHERN EUROPE by Michael Chinery, pub. date 1993, and is the illustrations comparable with that of 1986 edition? I've seen that there is also "Complete British Insects" by M.Chinery, pub. date 2005, but it is photographic guide and sometimes it is better to have illustrations, not photos.
Maybe someone has 1993 edition or 2005 edition and could send a PM with photo of illustrations, to see how they really look - that would help me a lot ;)
Thank's for the patience while reading this and for any help!

Andrius

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If you mean Collins Pocket Guide INSECTS OF BRITAIN AND WESTHERN EUROPE that was published in 1993, then that probably is the reprint of the 1986 version. I do not think the illustartions will have changed. I do not know the photo version.

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I have a copy of Collins Field Guide of Britain and Northern Europe and there are 60 coloured plates detailing insects. I bought it last year and it is marked as Third Edition 1993. I don't have a scanner but perhaps the attached photo gives you some idea.

Gordon

P.S. As a beginnerI have found it very useful in identifying insects

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These are defenitely less in quality than the other book I mentioned. Sorry, no image.

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Yes, this edition is not as good as was the second... I've attached a picture of that older one - for a comparinson.
Gordon, thank you for the image - now it is clear for me what are the illustrations there :)

Andrius

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Andrius, the one from which you show the image is far superiour image-wise and rpobably much better in the field. The one from which Gordon gave the image has (imao) much worse images but has keys, and general texts as well. So, depending on what you want you should chose for the text, the images or both. :)

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I've spent a considerable part of the day searching for M.Chinery insect guides and I can tell now, that we both were right about the title - there is a "pocket guide to insects of GB and Northern Europe" as well as "field guide to insects of GB and western Europe" :) There were several editions and it is really impossible to distinguish which was better... And finally, there is a new edition of M.Chinery's insects planned to show up in this May, just by other publishers. I guess I'll wait for this one. :D

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Andrius

Chinery's Western Europe is generally considered better than Northern Europe, particularly for those of us in Britain, but with all his guides the complaint is that there are too many moths (his particular interest) and not enough flies. I have the Complete Guide (2005) with the photos, but cannot really recommend it, as it covers far fewer species. Its only advantage for me is distribution maps (and I have discovered that for one of the fly species, the map is wrong, so...). The new edition has been delayed several times, and I am dubious as to how new it is really going to be. I have it on order, so will let you know when it eventually arrives. I heard that it was to have been completely re-written, but that the publishers got cold feet, and so now I don't know what will emerge.

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agree the Chinery 2005 photographic guide 'Complete British Insects' is top heavy with moths- over 60plates against 10 for Diptera. :o

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Western europe is better for plate, but northern europe is far better for identifcation, as its key based