Two Texas Butterfly books

[Bruce Walsh]

                       Subject:                               Time:1:21 PM
  OFFICE MEMO          Two Texas Butterfly books              Date:4/18/97

Two Texas Butterfly books

As mentioned by others on the LEP list, two butterfly books covering Texas
have recently been published.  I now have both in hand and have skimmed over
them.  I offer the following comments (not really a review):

R. W. Neck  1966.  A field guide to Butterflies of Texas.  320 pages, 64
plates.
Gulf Publishing Comp, P.O. Box 2608 Houston, TX  77252-2608.  about $20-$25
(US)

Neck's book gives range maps, larvae foodplants, and distribution maps for all
446 species recorded from Texas (about 1/3 of which are strays around
Brownsville, or so it seems).
Only about 1/3 of species are illustrated (photos of living butterflies), but
there are also numerous photos of early stages.  Overall, a very useful
reference, more for the experienced collector.

John & Gloria Tveten.  1996.  Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas. 
University of Texas Press, PO Box 7819 Austin  TX  78713.  about $20-25 (US)
for paperback.
280 pages (glossy paper), numerous photographs  of living butterflies (nearly
one per page).  This book has a much more limited coverage, but all
Houston-area species are illustrates and most have life history photos
included.  The downside is larval foodplants are listed only by common name.

Both books are excellent and really complement each other.  Buy both!