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The Online Journal of Lepidoptera
ISSN 2056-9246
The Online Journal of Lepidoptera
ISSN 2056-9246
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by David G. James, David J. Lohman.
There are more than fifteen thousand butterfly species in the world, fluttering through a wide variety of habitats. Bright and beautiful, butterflies also have fascinating life histories and play an important role in our planet’s ecosystems. The Lives of Butterflies showcases the extraordinary range of colors and patterns of the world’s butterflies while exploring their life histories, behavior, habitats and resources, populations, seasonality, defense and natural enemies, and threats and conservation.
With remarkable photography, graphic illustration, and profiles of thirty-five selected species, this comprehensive and inviting book discusses dozens of key topics, including eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalids; flight, feeding, courtship, and mating; migration and hibernation; concealment, mimicry, and predators; habitat loss and fragmentation, climate change, and pesticides; and farming and gardening to support and attract butterflies.
With its stunning illustrations and clear, up-to-date, and authoritative text, The Lives of Butterflies will appeal to a wide range of butterfly and nature lovers.
David G. James is associate professor of entomology at Washington State University. He is the coauthor of Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies and was consultant editor on The Book of Caterpillars. He completed a PhD on the winter biology of Monarch butterflies and has published more than two hundred scientific papers on a wide range of entomological subjects.
David Lohman is associate professor of biology at the City College of New York, a visiting scientist at the American Museum of Natural History, and a research associate at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University and at the National Museum of Natural History in Manila. His research focuses on butterflies in Southeast Asia and the ecology, evolution, and conservation of biodiversity.
Among my many butterfly books, there are several that I will often refer back to, since they go beyond typical field guides or illustrated books. Interestingly, three of these books are simply titled 'Butterflies', authored by E.B. Ford (1945), Dick Vane-Wright (2003) and Martin Warren (2021). This recent work by two esteemed U.S. authors follows a similar path, by offering insights into a variety of butterfly-related topics.
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The publication itself is well-produced and lavishly illustrated with numerous high quality images but, as I've already hinted at, this is not simply a coffee-table book. Important topics are discussed and are exemplified by species from around the world and the authors have done an excellent job at also making this book an interesting and easy read.
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While the contents listing shown here may provide a broad indication of the scope of topics discussed, it is the content of each of these sections that introduces and explains a plethora of relevant items, such as (in no particular order) butterfly biology, the mechanics of metamorphosis, territoriality, temperature regulation, mud-puddling, mate-locating strategies such as hill-topping, reproduction, mobility, specialists versus generalists, microhabitats, adaptations to different habitats, irruptions, metapopulations, migration, mimicry, voltinism, enemies and defences, and conservation.
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In summary, if you want to deepen your understanding of 'all things butterfly', then I consider this book to provide an important contribution and, as such, is highly recommended. It is an absolute joy to pick up and read through at your own pace.