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Ethan Bright

Replacement copies for AINA, 4th Edition - Important!

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Dear Colleagues:

 

Dr. Marty Berg, one of the editors of the Merritt et al. 2007, "Aquatic Insects of North America, 4th Edition," has sent a message to me today that Kendall/Hunt, the publisher, will now be processing replacement orders:

 

Message to Purchasers of 4th edition (2007), first printing of “An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America” by Merritt, Cummins, and Berg from Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

 

Thank you for your purchase of AN INTRODUCTION TO THE AQUATIC INSECTS OF NORTH AMERICA by Richard W. Merritt, Kenneth W. Cummins, and Martin B. Berg. This message is to notify you that the above book (4th) edition has been reprinted and Kendall/Hunt is now offering to replace your beta version with a new updated printing at no cost to you as a purchaser. The beta version you now own contains significant errors in both content and printing and should not be used. These errors have been corrected and thus the reason for the updated reprinting. Please contact Kendall/Hunt's Customer Service Department at 800-228-0810 for instructions about how to receive this new printing, ISBN 978-0-7575-5049-2. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, and we trust that you will be pleased to trade your beta version in for the updated printing.

Sincerely,

 

Richard W. Merritt

Kenneth W. Cummins

Martin B. Berg

 

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As a follow-up to my previous post, I just called Kendall/Hunt (KH) regarding the replacement. Because I purchased my copy from Bio-Quip, KH charged my credit card for the new copy of the book. With the shipment is a mailer packet included, so that one can mail free-of-charge the old (defective) copy back to KH, who then will credit my credit card for the cost of the new copy (plus any additional charges). This is to prevent cheating KH by one keeping both new and old copies. If you bought your copy directly from KH, I assume you'll have a different experience.

 

I'll try and post a further follow-up on my experience with the replacement, and a short review of the "revised" book (i.e., see if all the errors I've noticed have been corrected).

 

Additional comment: In KH's announcement, I was a bit annoyed that they referred to the first printing as a "beta". This is the first time I've ever purchased a "beta book," especially one that cost almost $100; in fact, I don't recall myself having purchased beta software. If that was their beta, I hate to see what the alpha looked like! Well, it appears I'm now getting the gamma version: I hope I don't need to purchase a delta version, much less any further Greek letter versions of the book.

 

However, I wish to end this on a positive note. The people at KH who answered the phone were very courteous, and the woman who answered wrapped up the replacement order in less than 10 minutes. KH is to be commended for offering to replace the book (acknowledging their screw-up) at no charge, indicating the company does care about the customer. (At least those buying this book). It is a great book, and I still highly recommend it - it is the BEST aquatic insect book for North America, and as of 2007, it's up-to-date.

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Well, that was fast. I received the new copy (I guess the "gamma" version) yesterday, and it seems if a lot of errors have been corrected, including misprinted figures and errors in the keys and tables. Kendall/Hunt also quickly sent me a UPS shipping label to return the "beta" version of the book (i.e., no charge for return shipping). So far, so good!

Cheers, Ethan

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Ethan-

 

Am still struggling with the price of $124.95 plus freight. It appears the publisher must be attempting to recover the cost of replacing the "beta" version by bumping the priced by $30 to purchasers of the "gamma" version. Somehow, that strikes me as a rather short-sighted business practice, which would simply result in depression of sales, but what do I know!

 

Anyway, just out of curiosity, do the Summary of ecological and distribution data for Ephemeroptera tables in the Fourth Edition contain the following N. American genera, which were either not included in the Third Edition, or were listed as subgenera:

 

Family Genus

Baetidae Americabaetis

Baetidae Baetopus

Baetidae Moribaetis

Baetidae Plauditus

Baetidae Pseudocloeon

Baetidae Varipes

Ephemerellidae Dannella

Ephemerellidae Dentatella

Euthyplociidae Euthyplocia

Heptageniidae Ecdyonurus

Heptageniidae Maccaffertium

Heptageniidae Spinadis

Leptohyphidae Ableptemetes

Leptohyphidae Allenhyphes

Leptohyphidae Asioplax

Leptohyphidae Homoleptohyphes

Leptohyphidae Tricoryhyphes

Leptohyphidae Vacupernius

Leptophlebiidae Hydrosmilodon

 

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceburg regarding the aquatic insect genera, which should be included in the tables of the Fourth Edition, and were not included in the tables of the Third Edition, mostly as a result of classification changes during the past ten years. However, I am hoping the information, should you be willing to look it up, will help me decide whether (or not) it makes sense to spring for the Fourth Edition.

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Here you go Roger!

 

Baetidae Americabaetis Lotic-erosional, swimmers;clingers;collectors-gatherers;widespread

Baetidae Baetopus trishae Lotic-depositional, swimmers;clingers;collectors-gatherers?; North Carolina

Baetidae Moribaetis Lotic-edges of channels; swimmers-clingers;collectors-gatherers?; extreme s. US

Baetidae Plauditus Lotic-erosional and depositional; swimmers-clingers;collectors-gatherers; widespread

Baetidae Pseudocloeon (=Labiobaetis) Lotic-depositional; swimmers-clingers;collectors-gatherers; widespread

Baetidae Varipes lasiobrachius Lotic; swimmers-clingers?;collectors-gatherers?;

Ephemerellidae Dannella Lotic-depositional; swimmers-sprawlers;collectors-gatherers; East, widespread

Ephemerellidae Dentatella coxalis Lotic-depositional, lentic-on ledges; clingers-sprawlers; collectors-gatherers; E. Canada, New Hampshire

Euthyplociidae Euthyplocia hebuca Lotic-erosional; sprawlers; collectors-gathers; Extreme s. Mexico

Heptageniidae Ecdyonurus Lotic-depositional; clingers (swimmers?); scrapers (facultative collectors-gatherers); western and eastern Canada, western US

Heptageniidae Maccaffertium Lotic and lentic, erosional (depositional); clingers (under loose cobbles and boulders); scrapers (facultative collectors-gatherers); widespread

Heptageniidae Spinadis simplex Lotic erosional and depositional; sprawlers?; predators (engulfers of midge larvae); Northeastern Canada, ne and se US

Leptohyphidae Ableptemetes distinctus - Lotic; sprawlers?; extreme s. US

Leptohyphidae Allenhyphes vescus Lotic; sprawlers?; collectors-gatherers?; extreme s. US

Leptohyphidae Asioplax Lotic - erosional (cobble with silt); sprawlers?; collectors-gatherers; sw US

Leptohyphidae Homoleptohyphes Lotic; sprawlers; collector-gatherers?; w and s US

Leptohyphidae Tricoryhyphes Lotic; sprawlers?; collector-gatherers; w and s US

Leptohyphidae Vacupernius packeri Lotic-depositional; sprawlers, clingers; collector-gatherers?; extreme s US

Leptophlebiidae Hydrosmilodon primanus Lotic-erosional; slingers, sprawlers; collectors-gatherers?; extreme s. US

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Like I posted some time ago, the information contained should be updated through mid-2007. Considering the Third Edition came out in 1995 (i.e., the information was probably good through some part of 1994), it's a 13 year update. And, in science, that can be a long time.

 

Consider also the following updates:

 

1) Keys are updated, not only with the taxonomic changes but many new characters;

2) New taxa considered aquatic or semi-aquatic are included, which is important for the Diptera and Coleoptera, as well as other groups;

3) There's a color-plate introduction to the families; also there are B/W photos of caddis cases in the Trichoptera genera chapter; and

4) Ecological information (and tables) and bibliography have been updated, which for me is a BIG plus.

 

There are lots of improvements in this volume, and with (hopefully) most of the errors now corrected, I can recommend it.

 

Finally, you are absolutely correct that Kendall/Hunt's upping the price to $125 (which you are probably correct in surmising that is an attempt to cover the $100K or so costs involved with this new printing) is a little disingenuous. As I've stated before, I'm a little ticked off that what I bought was a "beta" book, something that was NEVER advertised, especially by Bio-Quip (from whom I purchased my copy). On the other hand, my copy was sold at a 10% discount, so I wasn't charged for the $35+ increase or for the shipping costs. Unfortunately, it's the new customers who'll have to pay the costs. All that said, it is still a GREAT book, and since you seem a very SERIOUS aquatic insects person, I'd recommend purchasing the book sometime in the future. You might want to check with Bio-Quip or elsewhere to see if they are selling the book at a discount.

 

Cheers, Ethan

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Ethan-

 

Thank you for pulling that info. You've convinced me it would be a worthwhile purchase. Now, if I can just convince the controller.

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Ethan-

 

What are you trying to do, get me in trouble? I'd surely dig myself into a deeper hole, but the shovel seems to have suddenly acquired a broken handle. LOL

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