Identify butterflies with this easy-to-use field guide, organized by color and featuring full-color photographs and helpful information!
Butterflies are fascinating, beautiful, and a joy to behold. Now observing them is even better with the Butterflies of the Midwest Field Guide. This handy book by acclaimed author and professional entomologist Jaret C. Daniels makes field identification simple and informative. It features 198 species of butterflies (and common moths) organized by color for ease of use. Detailed photographs present the species as you'll see them in nature, and a "compare" feature helps you to decide between look-alikes.
Inside you'll find:
- 198 species: Butterflies and common moths
- Simple color guide: See a butterfly with prominent blue? Go to the blue section
- Jaret's Notes: Naturalist tidbits and facts
- Professional photos: Crisp, stunning images
The information is applicable to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. So grab the Butterflies of the Midwest Field Guide for your next hike, walk in the park, or visit to your garden--to help ensure that you positively identify the butterflies that you see.
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9781647552855
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Adventure Publications - Incorporated
Publication Date: 05-16-2023
Pages: 364
Product Dimensions: 4.30(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Series: Butterfly Identification Guides
About the Author
Jaret C. Daniels, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Entomology at the University of Florida and Director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of Natural History, specializing in insect ecology and conservation. He has authored numerous scientific papers, popular articles, and books on wildlife conservation, insects, and butterflies, including butterfly field guides for Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Ohio, and Michigan, as well as butterfly quick guides for various regions throughout the United States. He is also the author of such books as Vibrant Butterflies, Backyard Bugs, and Our Love of Bees. Jaret lives in Gainesville, Florida, with his wife, Stephanie.
Read an Excerpt
Read an Excerpt
Pipevine Swallowtail
Battus philenor
Above: overall black; male has iridescent greenish-blue scaling on hindwings; female is duller black with a single row of white submarginal spots
Below: hindwings with broad iridescent blue scaling on outer half with a row of prominent orange spots
Compare: Spicebush Swallowtail (pg. 25) is larger with prominent crescent-shaped submarginal spots; Red-spotted Purple (pg. 79) lacks hindwing tails; female Black Swallowtail (pg. 31) is larger with orange hindwing spot; dark-form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (pg. 29) is much larger and often has faint black stripes, especially on the ventral surface.
Wingspan: 2.75–4.0" (7.0–10.2 cm)
Habitat: open woodlands, forest margins and adjacent open areas including clearings, roadsides, yards and gardens
Range: primarily southern portions of the region; absent from ND, SD; uncommon in NE; uncommon stray or temporary breeding colonist northward; unlikely able to survive winters in more northern portions of the range.
Abundance: rare to common
Sexes: dissimilar, female is dull black with a prominent row of white spots
Broods: two; overwinter as a pupa
Egg: brownish-orange, round, laid singly or in small clusters
Larva: velvety black with orange spots and numerous fleshy tubercles; superficially resembles a centipede
Larval Host Plants: various pipevines (Aristolochia spp.) including Virginia snakeroot (Aristolochia serpentaria), woolly dutchman’s pipe (A. tomentosa) and pipevine (A. macrophylla)
Notes: Our smallest black-colored swallowtail, it is most common throughout the southeastern half of the region. It is absent, rare or locally sporadic farther north and west, temporarily colonizing available planted pipevines. Farther south, one or more native pipevine species naturally occur. The Pipevine Swallowtail’s fleshy larvae sequester toxins from their host plants, rendering them and the resulting adults highly distasteful to certain predators. The butterfly’s bold orange and black ventral hindwing pattern visibly advertise this unpalatability. Adults have a very swift, frenetic flight but are quite fond of flowers.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Watching Butterflies in the Midwest
What Are Butterflies?
Butterfly Basics
The Butterfly Life Cycle
Butterfly Families
Observing Butterflies in the Field
Determining a Butterfly’s Color
Color Section Troubleshooting
Butterfly Gardening
Butterfly Q & A
Butterfly Quick Compare
Sample Page
The Butterflies
- Black
- Blue
- Brown
- Gray
- Green
- Orange
- White
- Yellow
Butterfly Societies and Other Resources
Plants for Your Butterfly Garden
Checklist/Index
About the Author