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