Butterfly and moth encyclopedia...book recommendations

12 years ago

I'm looking for a book that has PHOTOGRAPHS (not illustrations) of as many species as possible of butterflies and moths (pretty much all lepidoptera species) found in North America. I'd also like the book to have PHOTOGRAPHS of the caterpillars. Finally, I'd like the book to have information on the host and nectar plants used to attract them.

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Comments (13)

MissSherry
12 years ago
You'd need to buy an airplane hangar to keep that book in!
There are no books with all that information in it. I have a bookcase full of books on lepidoptera, that have most of the information that's useful to me - that's about all you can do.
Sherry
larry_gene
12 years ago
Too many moth species--regional books of the type you describe are available.
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What are these butterflies? I do NOT know my butterflies :)
Q
Comments (10)
hidesert_windy - FWIW, the V.cardui "blew" through southern Nevada a month ago. And there was not very many of them down here, in fact so light that they were almost missed. Normal years the move north is usually at least heavy enough that even a person not interested in leps will notice them. Not this year. With all the crazy cold/hot/cold and very windy weather we've had this year I'd bet a lot of the early leps have their schedules out of whack. So I don't know if that was the migration or not. If so many individuals were probably killed by the freak cold fronts and storms. What you saw could have blown into your area, could have been over wintered pupa that emerged someplace near your area or even over wintered adults right from your area. Of interest maybe... the migrations appear to be cyclic and heavier than normal every few years. But since I started seriously studying leps in 1964, the heaviest spring migration of V. cardui I have ever seen was in about 1989-90-91 while living in northern Utah. Can't remember for sure which year and my logs are all packed in storage. But it was so heavy that the cardui literally covered any surface they could hang onto wing tip to wing tip, with more hovering and trying to find a place to land. The ground, all plants, buildings... everything moved with them. It wasn't localized either. I drove out onto the west desert all the way to the Nevada border on back roads to photograph them that weekend, and never found a place they were not just as thick. You couldn't even get out of your vehicle without stepping on them. The following week I left Utah on a business trip that took me to Boise, then Twin Falls, Sun Valley and Idaho Falls before making a loop through western Montana from Butte to Missoula, Kalispell, Great Falls and back down to Bozeman, then to Jackson Wyoming before returning home. They were just as thick everywhere I went along that trip and were actually a driving hazard. The roads everywhere were littered with uncountable numbers of them that had been killed by vehicles. No doubt I was kind of following the migration north much of that trip, even if it was scheduled by my secretary, but it was still quite a sight. LOL L.
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Imperial Moth
Q
Comments (37)
We raised some on pine this year also. They do fine on it, just don't attain the sizes we get from other foodplants. That is pretty well documented in literature also, e.g.,: "Larvae in the 1989 follow-up growth experiments, conducted under modified conditions where foliar water was more rigorously ensured, consistently gained biomass and molted earlier when fed post oak than when fed pitch pine, unambiguously demonstrating enhanced performance of E. imperialis on wild Q. stellata relative to wild P. rigida based on larval growth and pupal weight (Fig. 6; Tables 4, 5), again with significant differences attributable both to food plant and to maternity in each of the host plant treatments (Table 6; Figs. 7, 8)." Life history of the Imperial Moth Eacles imperialis (Drury) (Saturniidae: Ceratocampinae) in New England, U.S.A.: distribution, decline, and nutritional ecology of a relictual islandic population ------------ Congrats on the good brood results, they are an awesome species. Good luck finishing them out.
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Luna Moth Caterpillars
Q
Comments (153)
Sherry, the Polyphemus spins a white cocoon. Unlike the Luna, the Poly cocoon is quite dense. They spin a LOT of silk! Their cocoons look like tiny surgical casts. In fact, it is because of this, that the Poly's first cousin, native to China, Antheraea pernyi, was and may still be used for silk, just as the Bombyx is. The Cynthia moth is also used for silk. At one time, Cynthias were common in NE US, but have largely died off, chiefly due to habitat loss as well as parasitoids such as the tachinid fly. Susanlynne, one sureshot way to tell male from female Luna, at a glance, is color. The females are that characteristic green, while males are yellow-green. I could tell from my upstairs bedroom window, the Luna I saw, resting on a young hickory, was most definitely a male. No way could I see its body size or antennae. I hope this helps.
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Tersa Sphinx Moth Eggs
Q
Comments (30)
Great photos, MissSherry. The year I had tersas, I had both colors, too. I'm going to have to check on buttonweed - don't know what it looks like. Sometimes when the posts lists of host plants, they list them in order of favorite foods. I think pentas are at the top of the list, and then on downward is the buttonweed and other hosts. I finally figured that out....duh. Let me know how your experiment is going with them. Althought I went and bought 5 pentas (the tall ones), mama Tersa has layed more eggs on them as well. Just can't get ahead of the game, you know! LOL! Susan
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KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
12 years ago
It is vaporware right now. I'm also not holding my breath that it will ever exist.

As for nectar plants to attract them, there are lots of species that have no interest in nectar plants. They like some good scat, sap, etc, or they don't eat anything at all. And if you really think about it, a publication of this type would not include nectar plants. This is because you would be spending a lot of space covering which nectar plants the species uses in different areas of North America. If a nectar plant was mentioned, it would be because the species has a special relationship with some nectar plant, such as the moth is the only insect that can pollinate the plant.

If what you asked for did exist, I think you would quickly tire of it because so much of the information would have nothing to do with your area. I've been concentrating on getting all the Ohio info I can find. There is a lot more out there than I expected. Some research on your part might turn up a lot of info specific to your neck of the woods.

KC

Here is a link that might be useful: ATLAS OF NORTH AMERICAN LEPIDOPTERA
larry_gene
12 years ago
...and PHOTOGRAPHS are of surprisingly little help when trying to identify the myriad geometrids and noctuids out there. Too many pattern similarities and color variations for each species. Same for their cats.
wifey2mikey
12 years ago
I have a Kaufman Field Guide. I am not nearly as scientific-y as many of our posters... but this book works well enough for me to figure out what I have wanted to know. It's a good place to start.

~Laura

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon - Kaufman Field Guide
mechelle_m
12 years ago
I found a book that has photos of male and female, top and underside of the wings of most of the butterflies, eggs, caterpillars and even the chrysalis. It covers 23 common garden butterflies and host plants. Title is: The Life Cycles of Butterflies, Authors Judy Burris and Wayne Richards. Very good book and also lists host plants and nectar plants. I love this book. It is available on Amazon, but they have a limited number of copies available. I bought mine at a butterfly garden open to the public in Austin a few years ago.

Mechelle
christie_sw_mo
12 years ago
So far - the books I've seen that cover butterflies, moths AND caterpillars are very general and leave out a lot of even common butterflies.

The butterfly book below is part of a set. I think there are at least two. There's one called Butterflies Through Binoculars - The WEST. I wish my library had them. I haven't seen them but they have really good reviews and I'd like to. Maybe someone here has looked at them and can comment before you order. Sorry - I know that wasn't what you were looking for exactly.

I use the Butterfliesandmoths.org website a lot. It has links for butterflies in your state or even county and in most cases, has several photos for each butterfly which is nice since some vary in appearance as Larry Gene mentioned. Sounds like you're wanting something you can carry with you but I wanted to mention it in case you hadn't come across it yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Butterflies Through Binoculars - The East
KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
12 years ago
If you have a Kindle, Wayne Richards and Judy Burris are giving away their butterfly field guide, but the offer expires today (March 17 - I just found out about it via Facebook). I'm guessing I'm not supposed to post a link to it so search Amazon for "butterfly field guide richards kindle" That should get you where you need to be. I don't have a Kindle so I cannot take advantage of the deal.
madame_butterfly123
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
hi! i have this book that can provide you many different types of 100 species of butterflies and moths. This book can also serve as an butterfly identification guide. It has original colored pictures and text that can give you more learning's about different kinds of butterflies.This book can also be a time for you to be creative because you can color it whenever you have a time..Just for your information coloring books now a days has become one of adults best way to relax. After a long hour of work, you can try to color them, this can help you to release your stress.

here's the site

beautiful butterflies
KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
9 years ago
As far as I can tell, the Atlas of North American Lepidoptera still does not exist (and I'm still not holding my breath. ;) )

Closest thing to what perennialfan was asking for is the Butterflies and Moths of North America website. I recommend running a checklist to see what has been recorded in your area. If a species you know exists is not on the list, this is your chance to document it and report it to the folks at the website. You'll find that moths are very under-reported unless you live in a county where someone else was busy documenting what lived there.

Regional Species Checklists
dragonflydee
9 years ago
I have a general book that I have found worth what I paid for it

Because I am interested in insects.

It is titled Field Guide To INSECTS AND SPIDERS of NORTH

AMERICA.

The book is sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation.

It is soft cover,and abt 8"x 5".

It has abt 497 pages,and contents seem to be almost a

"mini text" in entomology for a hobbyist.

The moth section runs for abt 42 pages with 123 individual

Moth color photos.The photos are abt 2 1/2"x2 1/2".

I counted abt 65 caterpillar photos scattered thru the moth

Photos in small window inserte,I suppose they used what they had.

Photos were generally stacked on the right side of the page

Usually three to a page with text to the left side on the same page.

The text gave information for each moth's photo,with

Common name,Latin name,and size in inches and mm.

Range,and life ways were given for the moth.

The caterpillars were usually discussed,also.

I recognised some moths and cats I have seen here from

This book.I live in south AL in mixed Eastern woodlands.

The front cover of the book folds open to show accurate

Line drawings of insect anatomy to include some interesting

Drawings of heads that depict evolutionary adaptation of

Mouth parts.

There is a section in the back abt collecting,classifying,

Also setting up aquariums for aquatic insects(which I did)

And a glossary,a pronunciation guide,a Orders of

Arthropods in North America list,and a Endangered list.

The book is $19.95 U.S.

DD
KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
9 years ago
Really straying from the topic when you are moving on to general insect books. That said, I have the NWF book and it is a useful arrow in the quiver but my copy of Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America goes with me while NWF stays home if I don't have room for both.
dragonflydee
9 years ago
KC I think I'll look it up on Amazon.Yes,I have been interested in

Insects( and spiders)all my life.I especially like to observe them

At their activities in the field.I am glad I live where I can do that

By just going outside my house.

DD

Butterfly and moth encyclopedia...book recommendations

Comments (13)

MissSherry

larry_gene

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