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Butterflies of the East Coast:
An Observer’s Guide
Rich Cech and Guy Tudor
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
2005; 360 pp.
Price: $49.50, hardcover
ISBN: 0-691-09055-6
This is the latest in a genre of publications
targeted to the amateur naturalist who has an interest in observation and
“nonconsumptive” study of butterflies. The book is arranged into two parts,
beginning with an introductory section that provides ecological, morphological,
habitat, and life history information. At the end of the introduction, there is
a guide to the use of the “Species Accounts” section, with a key to
abbreviations, a key to the color-coding of distributional maps, and an
illustration of terms used to describe morphological features and wing patterns
necessary for identification. The “Species Accounts” portion is divided into
sections by common family names and further divided by subfamily group. Each
family section begins with a brief account of the ecology and characteristics of
the family and also includes introductory material for each subfamily as
appropriate. Latin names for families and subfamilies are given.
Accounts for each species occupy an entire page,
headed with the common name and binomial Latin names, although the naming
authority is not provided. High-quality photographs from nature, a
distributional map, and a photograph of a typical host plant, or in some cases,
of a habitat, are provided. In a few instances, photographs of pinned museum
specimens are used to fully illustrate the species. A short account of status,
ecology, and conservation status appears adjacent to a distributional map of
each species. This is followed by brief notes on dorsal and ventral
characteristics for identification, habitat, hostplants, occurrence, and a very
short general statement on ecological strategy in relation to hostplant and
environment. A full-size indication of average wingspan is given at the bottom
of each page with measurements in decimal inches. The one-page-per-species
format makes for efficient use of this book, without requiring the reader to
page between text on one place and figures on another. There is no need to refer
to a set of “standard species” for size references, as is necessary with the
series of publications for butterfly observers by Jeffrey Glassberg. The volume
finishes with a list of sources and an index arranged by scientific and common
names of butterflies and host plants.
A few small nuggets are hidden
within the pages of this work in the form of single-page accounts of unique or
critical aspects of the ecology, life history, or taxonomy of a particular
species or species group. The authors do not list these little treasures in the
contents page and refer to them only indirectly in the index, thus leaving the
reader to discover them by chance. Upon encountering the first such entry, I was
drawn immediately to prospect through the rest of the book, marking and reading
each of the other 10 as I found them.
Although the book is limited in geographical scope to
the eastern seaboard, many of the species covered are found farther west. This
well-done volume will appeal to the amateur and professional alike.
M. M. Ellsbury
North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory
USDA–ARS
Brookings, SD 57006
mellsbur@ngirl.ars.usda.gov
American Entomologist
Vol. 52, No.3, Fall 2006
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