The Complete Guide to Butterfly Gardening, Identification, and Behavior

Only within the past year have I gained an interest in natural photography—especially bird, butterfly and moth photography—so this book became an excellent resource for my slow learning process about butterfly types, habitats, and behaviors. In this book, which deals mainly with North American butterfly species, the Stokes deal with butterfly gardening, lifestyles, and identification, with over half the book specifying unique features of major families and common species. While I don’t currently reside in North America, I still found the information about family groups highly insightful and am happy that I took the time to read it.

I presently have no goal of planting a garden that attracts butterflies, but the information in the gardening section gave me a keen sense for how to search for butterflies in my daily walks through mountainous tropical regions. I learned about favorite plant types and foods among butterfly species, and also a bit about seasonal changes.

The section titled “Understanding butterflies” was the most helpful of all, for I really have come into this hobby knowing nothing. For example, before having read the book, I’d have had no idea how to tell butterflies, skippers, and moths apart—or even that “skippers” were a thing! But this passage really opened my eyes:

The most reliable way to distinguish among butterflies, skippers, and moths is by their antennae: butterflies have clubbed antennae (swollen at the tip); skippers have clubbed antennae with a point at the tip; and moths have feathered or filamentous antennae. In addition, butterflies and skippers have slender bodies and are daytime fliers, whereas the vast majority of moths have heavier bodies and fly at night. (20)

Further, I had never been aware that butterflies see ultraviolet colors, which “are often the distinguishing feature between males and females of a species.” (24). I had never known that butterfly wings are actually clear but carry scales that contain both the colors that we see (sometimes reflective) and ultraviolet colors. Most importantly for me, I also learned a great deal about such behaviors as puddling, courting, and basking, and this knowledge has helped me immensely in my butterfly searches and photography.

The butterfly identification section and the section detailing a number of North American species weren’t as helpful as I’d hopes, not simply because I don’t live in that region, but because photographs carry too much variation in lighting. Granted this is not a Field Guide for butterflies, but it’s the closest thing to on in my library. Still, the general information provided in this book about families was helpful, as some of these identification notes are applicable to many species within a family.

I’m no lepidopterist (apparently a person who studies butterflies and moths), but I’ve really enjoyed getting into this new hobby, and this old book has proven helpful to me. One initial encouragement from the Stokes that I especially enjoyed was their “Cameras, Not Collections” bit. They say:

“A common pastime for many decades has been collecting butterflies, killing them, and mounting them in boxes….For the general public, it is far better to enjoy butterflies in their living state. This is especially true at this time, when interest in butterflies is growing so fast…Many people love to draw or photograph butterflies. This is a wonderful way to enjoy their beauty and keep a record of what you see.” (7)

©2018 E.T.