Book Review - The Lives of Moths, A Natural History of Our Planet's Moth Life - Princeton University Press

 "Moths are somehow more cuddly, more like mammals, than butterflies."

Roger Deakin

     I don't think you would find much disagreement that moths have taken second place to butterflies when it comes to public acceptance. This is the book that is about to change your mind.

     Moths evolved long before butterflies, and the sheer number of species, and their incredible diversity is breathtaking. There is a sublime beauty to these winged creatures, primarily nocturnal, but also day-flying, that is hard to beat. As someone who has put in my time with black lights and sheets at night, the diversity available even in a suburban backyard is breathtaking. Most are tiny creatures that will fit on the nail of your little finger, but every so often a giant apparition comes fluttering through the gloom, to mesmerize you with its beauty. If you ever see an Io Moth, or a Polyphemus, or a Luna Moth, you will not soon forget it. A Cecropia Moth will cause your jaw to drop.

     And of course there are plume moths, and geometers, crambids and leafrollers, lichen moths, underwings and owlets, carpets and pugs, daggers, sallows and midgets. The variation in size, colour and structure is endless it seems. Then there are the caterpillars, large and small, benign, toxic, hairy, spiny, resembling bird droppings, with opercula to repel dragons, snake mimics, inchworms....and on and on.

     Moths and caterpillars are key components of many different ecosystems, predatory in some, and an important food source for a multitude of other organisms. It may be said without exaggeration that many species of bird would be unable to raise their young without a bounty of lepidopteran larvae to provide nutritious food filled with fat and protein.

     This book begins with a comprehensive examination of the biology, physiology, classification and lifestyle of moths. Even if you have never contemplated the structure of a moth's wings before, or even heard the term ovipositor, never contemplated a proboscis or pondered Batesian mimicry, you will be engaged with these pages, and acquire knowledge quickly and easily.

     The succeeding sections are then devoted to moths in their various habitats - Moths of Tropical Rainforests, Moths of Grasslands and Meadows, Moths of Deserts and Tundra, and so on, with detailed coverage of archetypal species of these various biomes. 

     Sadly, as is the case with every other life form on Earth, human influence in the form of soil and water degradation, deforestation, acid rain, and other abuses too numerous to mention, but well known to all, are affecting moths in deleterious ways. If we can only come to view ourselves as one part of a greater whole, with respect for all other creatures, we can begin to address the imbalances we have created, and remediate the egregious despoilation of the planet.

     The book is gloriously illustrated; page by page it leaves your mouth agape.

     Study it well, learn from it, get involved with moths, learn how to protect them and deal rationally and sensibly with those that present challenges to humans. Both you and the moths will be all the better for it.

The Lives of Moths, A Natural History of Our Planet's Moth Life - Princeton University Press

Andrei Sourakov and Rachel Warren Chadd

Hardcover - US$29.5 - ISBN 9780691228563

288 pages - Colour photos and illustrations

7.5 x 9.5 inches (18.75 x 23.75 cm)

Publication date: 26 April, 2022