Book Review - The Lives of Butterflies: A Natural History of our Planet's Butterfly Life - Princeton University Press

      Princeton University Press has really hit a home run with The Lives of.....series; the latest covering butterflies. The format has become so familiar that one looks forward with pleasure to another fine work before even opening the pages. The Lives of Butterflies does not disappoint and as one settles into it, there is the sense of being reunited with an old friend.

     The book is remarkable from many angles, not the least of which is that the authors are able to connect with a wide audience ranging from specialists in entomology, conservation biology or related disciplines, while simultaneously reaching the layman and citizen scientist.

     As is always the case with these works, the illustrations are stunning.

     Butterflies, in all their glorious diversity, are familiar to all, and for that reason alone are a conduit to the natural world, for even the most indifferent urbanite disconnected from nature. There surely is a sense that butterflies represent nature writ large, and that if they are imperilled so are other cast members of the same ecosystem, and ultimately we ourselves.

     We are treated to a glorious investigation of the world of lepidopterans with a full accounting of their life histories, behaviour, habitats and resources, populations status, seasonality, defence and natural enemies, and finally, that ominous elephant in every room, threats and conservation.

     Threats abound, threats multiply unfortunately, but conservation sputters along, often uncoordinated, piecemeal and usually subject to the political whim of the moment. Habitat loss, the pressing issue of our time continues apace as human populations occupy more and more of our planet. Backyard gardens can be converted into minor oases for butterflies, and there is a movement afoot to move away from the sterility of lawns, and the abandonment of chemicals, but it is at best incipient and tentative.

     The overarching message from the book is that we need to recognize that we are part of nature, not an imposition on it, and the sooner there is universal recognition of that simple truth the better off we will all be. Nature is not something to be wrestled to the ground and destroyed, it is to be embraced, cherished, supported and recognized as the life-giving force that sustains us all.

     It seems to me that the most important message of the book is already highlighted on page 10, where a discussion of Robert Michael Pye's concept of "the extinction of experience" is discussed.  We can never allow our children to be divorced from the experience of nature, for therein lies the future.

     The book will teach you much about the biology of butterflies, their lifestyle and their world; their world is in fact our world. 

     Let us all learn to enjoy it together.

The Lives of Butterflies: A Natural History of Our Planet's Butterfly Life - Princeton University Press

David G. James and David L. Lohman

Hardcover - US$35.00 - ISBN: 9780691240565

288 pages - 7.5 x 9.5 inches (18.75 x 23.75 cm)

150 + colour illustrations

Publication date: 09 January, 2024