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State worker writes N.J.'s next great field guide
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David Golden spends a lot of time thinking about bugs for someone whose job puts him in touch with the state's more cuddly creatures.
Golden, 38, of Lower Township, is a biologist with the state Division of Fish and Wildlife. While hunting and fishing produce the bulk of the agency's revenue, Golden's section in endangered and nongame species covers every other animal that walks, crawls, swims or soars in New Jersey.
For the past three years, Golden has been focused on dragonflies - the insects that buzz over ponds and creeks like A-10 Warthogs. This month, the state published his field guide covering the 182 species found in New Jersey.
Co-written by Golden, Allen T. Barlow and Jim Bangma, "A Field Guide to Dragonflies and Damselflies of New Jersey" is the authority on these colorful acrobats.
But in a state full of eagles, coyotes, bears and otters, why bugs?
"If variety is the spice of life, then yes, you should study insects," Golden said last week during a book signing at the Wetlands Institute in Middle Township. Dozens of people packed the institute's parking lot to hear Golden talk about dragonflies.
Dragonfly species are twice as diverse as mammals in New Jersey, he said. The planet contains about 4,000 species of mammal but more than 750,000 species of insect in endless variations, he said.
But dragonflies hold their own when it comes to fascinating characteristics, he said. As nymphs, the waterborne insects use extended mouthparts like the H.R. Giger creation in "Alien" to capture minnows or tadpoles.
"They beat their wings 50 to 70 times per second," he said.
The field guide is the latest New Jersey contribution to the pantheon of American nature study. The list includes birding books by local experts David Sibley and Pete Dunne.
But New Jersey has often been at the forefront of shaping America's appreciation for nature, said Pat Sutton, an author of birding books and retired naturalist at New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory.
An expert on dragonflies as well, she edited Golden's book.
"We have diversity. There's a lot to see, and we have years and years of recordkeeping dating back to the 'Bird Studies at Old Cape May,'" she said of Witmer Stone's 1920s account of birding in Cape May County.
Kathy Clark, who supervises Golden at the state Department of Environmental Protection, said New Jersey is a good fit for natural-history publications because it has both ample wildlife and people to appreciate it.
She expects the field guide on dragonflies to be an unlikely hit among the state's many birders.
"What's great about the field guide is we have many great birders who are looking for the next big challenge," she said. "When it comes to identifying insects, it's so easy to get frustrated and throw up your hands."
Contact Michael Miller:
609-463-6712
Posted in CAPE MAY on Monday, November 23, 2009 2:35 am
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