Butterflies of British Columbia

[Felix Sperling]

Hello Leps-l people,

John Acorn has produced a marvelous book - "Butterflies of British 
Columbia". Coauthored with Ian Sheldon, who illustrated all the 
species, it is published through Lone Pine (see: 
http://www.lonepinepublishing.com/ )

Twice as thick as John's "Butterflies of Alberta", this volume has all 
the characteristics that we've grown to know and love in John's many 
natural history books. It is beautifully illustrated, in this case with 
Ian Sheldon's superb drawings showing every species, often in multiple 
views. Small thumbnails of similar species are shown for comparison, 
both with each species description and a comprehensive quick reference 
guide at the beginning. There are small range maps and all the 
necessary information for identification, habitats, foodplants and 
flight season. And above all there is a short essay for each species, 
in John's inimitably entertaining style, in which he brings the 
butterflies, their taxonomy, and their life history wonderfully alive.

This is a nicely designed entry-level book, but every lepidopterist in 
western North America simply has to have on their shelf or in their 
backpack. It is full of taxonomic insight, gossip, and good humor, all 
inevitably colored by John's personal experiences. I confess to being 
biased in favor of John Acorn, but I think that his delightfully 
personal style is just what is needed to draw new people into the 
appreciation of natural history. It is a niche that John fills very 
well, and this book will inevitably bring more people into appreciating 
butterflies through such scholarly large-format books as Guppy and 
Shepard's "Butterflies of British Columbia" (UBC Press). Unlike Pyle's 
fine "Butterflies of Cascadia" (Seattle Audubon Soc), Acorn and 
Sheldon's book covers all of British Columbia, including the full slate 
of northern species in the Alpines and Arctics.

Acorn and Sheldon's "Butterflies of British Columbia" is available for 
$24.95 US from Lone Pine at
http://www.lonepinepublishing.com/cat/1-55105-113-3  . But don't wait 
until the next butterfly season to buy it. It will appeal to the full 
spectrum of natural history people, from beginners to grizzled 
taxonomists. It's full of beautiful images and the kind of entertaining 
prose that give great value as armchair reading as well as in the 
field. And it's worth every penny.

Felix Sperling


 
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