This field guide sets a new standard for insect identification, making it an indispensable resource to naturalists, educators, gardeners, and others. Engaging and accessible, Pacific Northwest Insects features detailed species accounts, each with a vivid photograph of a living adult, along with information for distinguishing similar species, allowing the reader to identify more than 3,000 species found from southern British Columbia to northern California, and as far east as Montana. The book features most of the commonly encountered insects, spiders, scorpions, millipedes, centipedes, and kin in the Pacific Northwest, as well as representatives of an amazing variety of unusual and interesting insects living in the area. After more than a decade of research, reviewing hundreds of thousands of museum specimens and scouring the technical entomological literature, Merrill Peterson has brought together for the first time in a single volume a wealth of information on the region's insect life. Detailed identifying information on over 3,000 species Complete description of 1,200 species Organized by insect group for easy identification Up-to-date taxonomy 1,725 color photos, 50 line drawings, and 2 maps "Beautiful and highly effective" -- Edward O. Wilson, Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. "The first regional field guide that allows amateur bug-watchers to accurately identify a broad range of insects to the species level." -- The Seattle Times "This book, without doubt, is the best single guide to the identification of the region's insects." -- Rob Cannings, Curator Emeritus of Entomology, Royal British Columbia Museum and author of Dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon. "Accurate identification of our local insects becomes practical for the first time, thanks to this splendid book from one of our foremost ecologists and educators." -- Robert Michael Pyle, Ph.D., Founder of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, author of The Butterflies of Cascadia. "This is the book I'll be recommending for gardeners and hikers who want to identify the insects that share their garden and woodlands. Thank you Dr. Peterson." -- Sharon J. Collman, founding architect of the international Master Gardener Program and Professor Emeritus, WSU Cooperative Extension. Based on an exhaustive study by one of the region's insect authorities, Pacific Northwest Insects is a major breakthrough in field guides - the first ever to enable readers to easily and accurately identify thousands of species spanning the breadth of insect diversity. This groundbreaking, essential resource for gardeners, farmers, teachers, land managers, scientists, anglers, hikers, and curious naturalists provides: Dazzling color photos of living examples of more than 1,225 species of insects, spiders, harvestmen, scorpions, windscorpions, millipedes, centipedes, springtails and kin. - The information necessary to distinguish and identify over 3,000 of the region's most common, most interesting, and most spectacular species. - Detailed descriptions of range, habitat, seasonality, diet, behavior, and body size. - Coverage of southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, northern California (through the Bay Area), Idaho, and western Montana. - User-friendly, color-coded formatting, with quick-reference guides. - Key information about pests, beneficial insects, and species of conservation concern. - Informative essays on each of the major groups of insects. Merrill A. Peterson is professor and chair of biology at Western Washington University and adjunct professor of entomology at Washington State University.