Authors, Judy Burris and Wayne Richards; Publisher, Storey Publishing
Reviewed by Susan Harkins
When authors Judy Burris and Wayne Richards were kids, they spent most Saturdays in the woods with their mother. Those early adventures turned into a passion for bugs—lucky me! I say lucky me because Judy and Wayne channeled that passion into one of my favorite books, The Life Cycles of Butterflies.
This award-winning book, originally written for children, is a great resource for all ages. After an informative and creative introduction to butterfly anatomy and life cycle, the remaining book focuses on individual species. Four consecutive pages are packed with gorgeous photos and useful information on a single species. Within those four pages you’ll see pictures of the species’ egg, chrysalis, caterpillar, and adult. You’ll also see host and nectaring plants, and read interesting facts such as breeding range, average wingspan, and so on.
If you’re educating or entertaining children, you have all you need from the get-go. The book tells you what to plant to attract a specific species and then helps you identify what wanders into your yard and sets up a nursery. It’s easy to take this book out into the yard and quickly identify a species by egg, chrysalises, or caterpillar. But you don’t need to be a child to appreciate this book.
Perhaps the back cover is my favorite part; it’s covered with pictures of butterflies common to our region. Often, I don’t even open the book. Rather, a glance helps me identify an adult quickly with little effort, and before it flies away–that beats a traditional field guide in my book!
Even though this book is marketed as a children’s book, it is a tremendous resource in any adult library.
It’s important to note that not all plants mentioned in the book are natives, although an asterisk marks invasives. Be sure to do your homework before purchasing plants. The authors are available for public programming.