The Butterflies of Iowa [Paperback]

Finally, we have a guide that is specific to Iowa!

The authors have done a great job putting together information about each species - more detail than you can find in many guides.

Basics: 2007, softcover, 233 pages, 118 species, 392 color photos, distribution maps, seasonal flight bar-charts

This book covers all butterflies known from Iowa. Each is shown by color photographs that are of good quality and size. Both the dorsal and ventral views are shown. Unless there are insignificant differences between the sexes, both the male and female are illustrated with both dorsal/ventral photos. Some of the species (e.g., sulphurs) are shown with six photos when notable variations exist.

Each butterfly is covered with about one-half page of text. This includes status, seasonal flight dates, and a quick mention of the distribution and habitat. A paragraph is dedicated to the distinguishing features of the butterfly. This is written clearly with good details. Many of the descriptions include brief notes on differences from a similar species.

A unique inclusion is a "Questions" section that concludes the text for each butterfly. These questions address holes in the knowledge for each species. Hopefully, these will spur butterfly enthusiasts to fill in the gaps of natural history information. Examples include "What are the larval hosts?", "Why is it absent from seemingly appropriate fen and wet prairie sites in ne Iowa?", and "How do populations synchronize the flights of individual adults?".

The Iowa distribution map for each butterfly includes a dot within each county to represent the butterfly's presence. Adjacent to each map is a seasonal flight chart.

This is a great book. I really like its format with the photos, maps, and text. The only minor critique I'd offer is to use the page number instead of the Opler/Warren number to match the photo with the text. It's a tiny bit inconvenient to find butterfly #422 when flipping through the pages since many numbers are not included (because the species are not found in Iowa). Thus, it's a little unnatural to find butterfly #422 by skipping over missing numbers to find it immediately between #s 403 and 432. However, this is still minor.

Since this book covers nearly 90% of the butterflies in the adjoining plains states, this will be a very useful book for Midwestern butterfly enthusiasts to have in their library.

I've listed several related books below...
1) Butterflies & Moths of Missouri by Richard
2) Field Guide to Butterflies of South Dakota by Marrone
3) Butterflies of North America by Brock/Kaufman
4) The Butterflies of North America by Scott
5) National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies

There's lots of details on butterflies in this book. It includes some good photos for identifying as well as discussion of ranges within Iowa. Product arrived in just a few days.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews  4.3 out of 5 stars