The most thorough treatment of lizards of the United States and Canada when first published in 1946, Handbook of Lizards has become a landmark among herpetologists and lizard specialists. Hobart M. Smith spent years compiling and organizing information on 136 species of lizards for this classic study. With more than 300 illustrations, including black-and-white photographs, labeled drawings, range maps, and illustrated keys, this volume serves as a still-relevant and convenient reference guide to the study of North American lizards. Darrel Frost, a prominent lizard specialist, provides a foreword for the 1995 paperback edition that underscores the work's relevance for herpetology today.In the first section, Smith covers in concise fashion the habits, life history, habitats, methods of collection and preservation, and structural features of lizards. The second section of the book considers each species under topics that are conveniently arranged for studying both living lizards and laboratory specimens: range, type, locality, size, color, scalation, recognition characters, habitat and habits, and references. Smith also discusses problems for further study and gives recommendations for special investigations of each species. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography.

Handbook of Lizards: Lizards of the United States and of Canada (Comstock Classic Handbooks)

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Smith, Hobart

Pets & Animal Care

Comstock Publishing Associates

Dr. Snodgrass is one of the most highly respected entomologists in the country, and this work carries all the authority of its author's prestige. The book describes not only the adult structure of the bee, but also the embryonic development of the organ systems, the anatomy of the larva, and the pupal metamorphosis. Physiology is in general omitted, but special attention is given to the mechanisms of feeding, Hight, and egg laying. Notes on behavior are included whenever necessary to explain structure. The book is also thoroughly illustrated, many of the figures being the author's own clear and meticulous work.

Anatomy of the Honey Bee

Science & Math

Snodgrass, R. E.

Biological Sciences

Over half a century of brilliant scientific detective work, the Nobel Prize-winning biologist Karl von Frisch learned how the world, looks, smells, and tastes to a bee. More significantly, he discovered their dance language and their ability to use the sun as a compass. Intended to serve as an accessible introduction to one of the most fascinating areas of biology, Bees (first published in 1950 and revised in 1971), reported the startling results of his ingenious and revolutionary experiments with honeybees. 
In his revisions, von Frisch updated his discussion about the phylogenetic origin of the language of bees and also demonstrated that their color sense is greater than had been thought previously. He also took into consideration the electrophysiological experiments and electromicroscopic observations that have supplied more information on how the bee analyzes polarized light to orient itself and how the olfactory organs on the bee's antennae function. 
Now back in print after more than two decades, this classic and still-accurate account of the behavior patterns and sensory capacities of the honeybee remains a book "written with a simplicity, directness, and charm which all who know him will recognize as characteristic of its author. Any intelligent reader, without scientific training, can enjoy it."―Yale Review

Bees: Their Vision, Chemical Senses, and Language

Von Frisch, Karl

The Carnivores

"A masterful synthesis of anatomy, physiology, and behavior into a coherent exposition on the ways these highly specialized mammals make their living.... The book is a tremendous addition to the biologist's bookshelf and a 'must' for those who specialize in the study of these most fascinating mammals."―Quarterly Review of Biology"Ewer's equal excellence as an ethologist and paleontologist gives her a better perspective on these subjects―as well as their combination in 'paleoethology'―than almost anyone."―American Scientist"Ewer writes pleasantly and her text is refreshingly free of jargon, so that the book is enjoyable to read for layman and scientist alike. Here and there are personal reflections and anecdotes which not only help to enliven the pages but often also provide a new insight into a problem."―Science

Ewer, R.F.

This book discusses how honey bees are prey for a wide range of enemies from viruses to insects and mammals.  In this work, 16 authorities provide complete coverage of all known threats to the health of honey bees.  Chapters cover viruses, rickettsiae, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, nematodes, insect pests, arachnids, amphibians, birds, marsupials and mammals.   Appendices include discussions of bee disease laws and regulations in the USA and Canada.

Honey bee pests, predators, and diseases

Morse, Roger A.

This useful manual provides a means for easy identification of the native and cultivated conifers of northeastern North America. The territory covered is roughly eastern Canada and the northeastern fourth of the United States, from Maine south to the southern border of Pennsylvania, west to Kansas, and north to North Dakota. Because it includes so many cultivated species, the book treats the great majority of conifers found in the western United States and Europe as well. Twenty-seven genera and 130 species are included.

Native and Cultivated Conifers of Northeastern North America: A Guide

Cope, Edward A.

Handbook Of Nature Study

A matchless handbook for decades, this classic work has been the natural history bible for countless teachers and others who seek information about their environment. Written originally for those elementary school teachers who knew little of common plants and animals, and even less about the earth beneath their feet and the skies overhead, this book is for the most part as valid and helpful today as it was when first written in 1911―and revised in the spirit of its authors by a group of naturalists in 1939. After all, dandelions, toads, robins, and constellations have changed little since then! And modern society's concern with the quality of life and the impact of people on soil, water, and wildlife makes this book even more relevant. Nature-study, as used in this handbook, encompasses all living things except humans, as well as all nonliving things such as rocks and minerals, the heavens, and weather. Of the living things described, most are common in the northeastern states, and many, such as the dandelion, milkweed, and mullein, and the house mouse, muskrat, and red fox, are so widespread that people living outside the United States will recognize them easily.Anna Botsford Comstock very appropriately took the view that we should know first and best the things closest to us. Only then, when we have an intimate knowledge of our neighbors, should we, journey farther afield to learn about more distant things. Teachers and children will find the material in this book invaluable in that regard. Details of the most common, but in some ways the most interesting, things are brought out, first by careful, nontechnical descriptions of the things themselves and later by thoughtful questions and study units. Because the most common things are treated in greatest detail, materials for study are easy to find. Whether the reader lives in the inner city or in the rural outback, the handbook is a treasure trove of information. A teacher does not need to know much about nature to use this handbook. The information is there for the novice and the expert alike. All that is needed is an inquiring mind, senses to observe, and a willingness to think about nature on a personal level. To enter this book in search of information about any common organism, stone, or object in the sky is to open the door to a fresh and lively acquaintance with one's environment.

Handbook of Nature Study

History

Comstock, Anna Botsford

Americas

Alexander F. Skutch has spent more than 40 years studying Neotropical birds, mostly in southern Costa Rica, where he makes his home. In this charming book he observes the habits of the tanagers, a family of some 230 species of brightly colored, predominantly fruit-eating birds of the New World.Skutch describes many of the unusual things he has seen tanagers do, and details their behavior: how they forage and feed, vocalize, interact with one another, court, and breed. He tells how they nest, care for their young, and defend against predators, and shows them in such daily activities as grooming and sleeping. His final chapter is devoted to the present status of tanagers in relation to humans and the destruction of their physical environment. Dana Gardener has provided 19 black-and-white drawings of various species, and a set of 24 of his watercolors illustrate the brilliant colors of the birds and of the tropical vegetation they inhabit..Written in Skutch's inimitable style, Life of the Tanager conveys eloquently his views on conservation, ecology, and evolution. It is sound natural history, sprinkled with a unique blend of personal observation and theoretical reflection. It will be treasured by both amateur birders and professionals.

Life of the Tanager (Comstock Book)

Skutch, Alexander F.

Among the most widespread and abundant of the world's larger mammals, deer have been a source of endless fascination for humans beings. Yet over the centuries we have hunted them for sport and for their meat, hides, and antlers, and pursued them as destructive pests.In this richly informative and engagingly written book, Rory Putnam captures the astonishing diversity―in habitat, diet, social organization, and behavior―of the world's 40 species of deer, and tells what is known about their biology and natural history. Rather than simply assembling species-by-species data, he compares and contrasts the characteristics of the various species and accounts for their similiarities and differences in reference to the environments they have come to colonize.After discussing the origins of deer, Putnam describes the species of modern deer and their evolutionary relationships. He considers aspects of their physiology, ecology, and behavior, drawing particular attention to the ecology of habitat use, diet and digestive physiology, and social organization and behavior. He covers the life histories of the different species, population dynamics, and the interactions of deer with other animals.Devoting a whole chapter to an essay on antlers, he ends with an enlightening and entertaining analysis of the relations between deer and humans.Generously illustrated with stunning color and black-and-white photographs, as well as many line drawings and figures, this book will both reward the amateur naturalist and please the professional biologist.

The Natural History of Deer (The Natural History of Mammals)

Putman, Rory

A ROM Publication in Science A Comstock Book Published in association with the Royal Ontario Museum
There is much more to black flies than you can learn in the woods on a warm spring day. This book compiles the authors' previously unpublished research and nearly all of the published information on North American black flies. All aspects of black flies are treated within the context of a worldwide perspective, including natural history and ecology, cytology and morphology, phylogeny and classification, economic impact, pest management, natural enemies, history of research, study methods, and identification. 
Each of the 254 species known from the continent north of Mexico, including 43 new species, is treated in detail. Each species account summarizes all pertinent information on taxonomy, morphology, cytology, physiology, molecular systematics, and bionomics. The book is copiously illustrated with more than 1,100 figures, including color drawings of larvae and adult thoraxes, by some of the world's foremost scientific illustrators. Additional figures and photographs show chromosomal and morphological features, portraits of important researchers, control efforts, natural enemies, oviposition behavior, and cladograms. Detailed distribution maps show the range of each species.
A Comstock Book published in Association with the Royal Ontario Museum

The Black Flies (Simuliidae) of North America (Comstock Books)

Daniel H. Janzen

Adler, Peter H.

Currie, Douglas C.

Monty Wood

Lawrence Zettler

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