Reddit reviews Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America
We found 2 Reddit comments about Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
I agree with the other post. AntsCanada is a great place to start, same with AntsAustralia. As for study material, I've been told this is the text book you'd use in year one entomology. I have a copy and it's great.
[Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America] (https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1770859624/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_pMSRBb4VQ83QE)
It's not that cheap, but compared to many other textbooks it's really a good price.
Also starting a dry collection will help you a lot. You get to know insects better and you get really good at getting things down to family or genus just with a quick look. This is a good skill to have since you commonly have to take an identification course (so I've been told). I'm a hobbyist but I've been reading a lot about what people usually take in school.
For a general bird guide, I like the Sibley guide (you can use the Sibley East field guide, or the larger Sibley guide for all of North America). There are also those who swear by the National Geographic guide and insist that it is superior.
That should be good to get you started – eventually if you get more into birdwatching, then there are more detailed guides for specific groups.
For insects, I love this massive photographic guide. For a smaller book you can take into the field, the best one I know of is Kaufman. There is also a Kaufman guide for butterflies, specifically.
I'm afraid I don't have any recommendations for mammals, reptiles, or amphibians for your area.