Peterson Western Butterflies available

[Harry LeGrand]

Butterfliers:
    The Second Edition of the Peterson Field Guides Western Butterflies , by
Paul Opler and illustrations by Amy Bartlett Wright, has just come out (emerged
from its chrysalis?). I just got my copy from amazon.com.

Well, it's different from the first!!

1.  The color plates -- 44 - are going to take some getting used to! All are in
color, but they are painted in life-like positions based on color photos. Most
are life size. That sounds like a good idea on paper. I don't have a problem so
much with the life pose, as much as I do the life size. Many of the skippers and
blues are tiny, and these plates have 20 or more species. So many that there is
no room for field marks on the facing page, just the species name and "See
text". I sure wish the publisher could have spared 10-15 more color plates, put
fewer species on a plate, and made some 1 1/2 or 2 x life size.

I suppose I am really spoiled by the excellent photos in the Glassberg's
Butterflies through Binoculars: The East, that color paintings just don't quite
cut it any more.

At any rate, the paintings are much improved over the first edition, where 1/2
or more of the plates were black-and-white, with species scattered all over the
place.

2.  The text is about like that for Opler's Eastern guide.

3.  The range maps are in color -- red and blue. Plus, they are NOT
postage-stamp size, but average about 2" by 2", plenty large enough.

4.  there are color photos of living butterflies for 100 or so species. These
are placed in the species accounts (as are the range maps). 

Thus, the set-up of the book is:44 color plates (paintings), followed by the
species accounts (text, range map, and color photo of some species).

The book contains 540 pages, and sells for $24.00, for paperback.

I'll leave the more detailed critique to the Western folks who will use the book
most frequently. I like the book, as it is the best now available. But, I still
look forward to Glassberg's Butterflies through Binoculars: The West.

        Harry LeGrand
        Raleigh, NC
        harry_legrand at mail.enr.state.nc.us