Book synopsis: “cover254788-mediumButterflies is an outstanding collection of photographs showcasing nature’s most beautiful and often elusive butterflies and moths—members of the Lepidoptera order—in the variety of their natural habitats.
 With 17,500 species of butterfly and 160,000 species of moth in the world today, they can be found on every continent apart from Antarctica, and in every nation. Arranged in chapters covering some of the most beautiful and interesting types of butterfly and moth, their habitats, their transition from egg to caterpillar and from chrysalid to adult, as well as their behaviour, this book reveals little-known facts about their life cycle, anatomy, self-defence mechanisms, feeding, and migration. For example, did you know that while caterpillars chew their solid food, adult butterflies can only consume liquid, and some moths do not even have mouths? Or that many species can taste with their feet? With full captions explaining how the species breeds, feeds, and changes from caterpillar to the animal kingdom’s most stunning member, Butterflies is a brilliant examination of these fascinating insects.“

My Review

I love butterflies so how could I resist this gorgeous book? It’s packed full of wonderful photographs and short explanations about the life of these beautiful insects.

I have quite a few different field guides to moths and butterflies on my bookshelves, but this has got to be the most beautiful with loads of close-up photographs of the insects. The chapters are about species and anatomy, habitats, life cycles and behaviour. I knew that butterflies and moths obviously live in different parts of the world and therefore have to inhabit different terrain, but what was so fascinating to learn was that they don’t all live on nectar! Some of them do not eat at all! I can’t really comprehend that, can you?

Also they live such short lives, just to mate, lay eggs and so on. Obviously they are also great pollinators and they’re beautiful to look at, and of course photograph, if only they stay still for long enough!

Highly recommended!

Thanks so much to Amber Books and NetGalley for my digital copy.