Butterflies of North America

by Brock, Jim P.

• ISBN13: 9780618254002
• ISBN10: 0618254005
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-02-01
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary

Millions of birdwatchers, gardeners, and hikers are discovering the pleasures of identifying butterflies. The ideal guide for nature lovers everywhere is this exciting addition to the Kaufman Focus Guide family, the only single-volume pocket guide that offers a complete and accurate reference to North American butterflies.Modeled on the best-selling Birds of North America, the first Kaufman Focus Guide, Butterflies of North America follows the groundbreaking method of field guide illustration pioneered by Kenn Kaufman, using digital images based on photographs for the ultimate in accurate, lifelike illustrations. The photographs, taken by Rick and Nora Bowers and more than sixty other top nature photographers, are digitally edited to clearly show the field marks necessary for quick and easy identification in the field.This innovative field guide is detailed enough to be valuable for experts, while the layout is designed for ease of use even by beginners. The pictorial table of contents and quick one-page index lead the user rapidly to the correct section of the book. The text is clear and informative, and the illustrations are the most comprehensive of those in any such guide, with more than 2,300 butterflies in natural postures.

Table of Contents

PICTORIAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHEN YOU SEE AN UNFAMILIAR BUTTERFLY:
1. Try to place it in one of the groups shown on the next
four pages. Its shape, size, and behavior may be better clues than color.
2. Refer to the page numbers or color tabs and go to that
section of the book. Look for the pictures that match your butterfly most
closely.
3. Make sure the size is right. Always check the “actual
size” figure in the upper right-hand corner of each plate.
4. Check the range maps to see which species are likely
in your area. This will help to narrow down the choices.
5. Read the text for additional pointers on habitat,
behavior, flight season, and comparisons to similar species.

SWALLOWTAILS AND PARNASSIANS, pages 20–45
Swallowtails are mostly large, with sailing or fluttering flight. Many have
“tails”
on hindwings. They rest with wings open or closed. Parnassians are only in
parts of west and far northwest.

WHITES AND SULPHURS, pages 46–77
Very small to very large, but mostly medium-sized. Rapid fluttering flight.
Most kinds are white, yellow, or orange. Whites may sit with wings open,
but
sulphurs sit with wings folded above their back.

COPPERS AND HARVESTER, pages 80–91
Coppers are fairly small, visiting flowers, often sitting with wings open.
Harvester is scarce, found around alders in the east.

HAIRSTREAKS, pages 92–123
Small butterflies with fast, erratic flight. Most sit with their wings folded
above
their back; only a few bask with wings spread.

BLUES, pages 124–141
Small to very small, with fluttering, erratic flight. They may sit with wings
folded or partly open. Often seen on flowers or at puddles.

METALMARKS, pages 142–151
Mostly tropical; ours are mostly small. Some have metallic marks on
wings.
They visit flowers and sit with their wings spread.

LONGWINGS AND FRITILLARIES, pages 154–175
Longwings are fairly large and mostly tropical. Fritillaries are mostly
medium-
sized, mostly orange and black, and most diverse in the north and west.
They visit flowers and usually sit with their wings spread.

CRESCENTS AND CHECKERSPOTS, pages 176–195
Mostly rather small butterflies. They fly fast and low, usually sit with their
wings spread, often at flowers or puddles.

TYPICAL BRUSHFOOTS, pages 196–229
A highly varied group, from small to large, but mostly medium-sized. Some
are common at flowers, while others avoid them. Some have irregular
wing shapes. Many fly with alternating flaps and glides.

SATYRS, pages 230–253
Mostly medium-sized brown butterflies with floppy flight, in woods, field,
tundra. They tend to sit with wings folded above their back. Only a few are
regular visitors to flowers.

SPREAD-WING SKIPPERS, pages 256–299
Fairly small, with stout bodies, fast flight, and usually dull colors. Most
kinds
sit with the wings spread, but some keep wings folded.

GRASS SKIPPERS, pages 300–357
Mostly very small, with stout bodies, short wings, and fast flight. Often
seen at flowers, they usually sit with the wings folded, or with the hindwings
spread farther than the forewings.

GIANT-SKIPPERS, pages 358–363
Medium-sized butterflies with very heavy bodies. Usually rare, seen near
yucca or agave plants or at puddles, but not at flowers.

Excerpts

ENJOYING BUTTERFLIES A Note from Kenn KaufmanMost people seem to be aware of butter?ies more as symbols than as real living creatures. Although there are hundreds of species of butterflies in North America, they somehow escape public notice most of the time. Out in plain sight, they lead secret lives. I still recall how surprised I was when I began to notice them myself. At the age of fourteen, having learned a lot of my local birds, I decided to see if there were any butterflies in the neighborhood. Amazingly, as soon as I began looking for them, they appeared: Little Wood-Satyrs flopping through the woods, tiny Reakirts Blues on weed flowers in vacant lots, and dozens more. Although I had been outside looking for birds, up to that time I had utterly missed these other winged creatures. Butterflies are not birds, of course. They are very different in their habits, yearly cycles, and population dynamics. And theyre a lot smaller. The biggest ones, like Monarchs and Giant Swallowtails, may grab our attention, but most of the diversity is among the smaller butterflies. We have far more species of little hairstreaks, blues, skippers, and the like than we do of the big guys. Small can be beautiful: even the tiniest butterflies have intricate patterns that are well worth appreciating. But until recently, it has been extremely difficult to identify many of these butterflies in the field. Even separating some larger species has been problematic, because their identification often depends on small details. Until the recent development of good close-focusing binoculars and cameras, many butterflies could be recognized only by expert lepidopterists with vast experience. I have been lucky enough to have one such lepidopterist as a good friend for years, and luckier still that he is the kind of expert who is always ready to share his knowledge. Jim Brock has studied butterflies from Alaska to Brazil, and in the field he dazzles everyone with his ability to find and identify even the rare and little-known species; but he will also patiently point out the most common butterflies to anyone who wants to know them. Jim agreed to coauthor this book as a way of helping new- comers to the field. In doing so, he graciously accepted the challenge of our Focus Guide format: boiling his vast knowledge down to just the essentials that would be most useful in a pocket-sized book. If any serious lepidopterists are displeased by the treatments here, they should blame me, not Jim Brock. But of course serious lepidopterists (who already have their technical reference works) are not the primary audience for this book. The Focus Guides are shortcuts, intended to be the best and fastest way to get started in a subject, to send you outside quickly, putting names on what you find. Slip this book into your pocket the next time you go exploring, and start discovering the secret world of butterflies for yourself. IDENTIFYING BUTTERFLIES In naming a butterfly, the first step is t

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Excerpted from Butterflies of North America by Jim P. Brock
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.