Butterflies of Delmarva

By Elton N. Woodbury

Book Overview

The late Dr. Elton N. Woodbury had a fascination for butterflies ever since, as a preschooler, he and a friend encouraged the friend's younger sister to sample a yellow sulphur butterfly--hoping to discover whether it tasted buttery. The toddler ran screaming to her mother, and despite being punished, young Elton developed his interest into a lifelong study. The result is a first-ever field guide to butterflies that occur naturally on the Delmarva Peninsula. All sixty-one adult butterfly species found in the area are included in the guide, which is beautifully illustrated with 132 photographs by the author. Differences in color or wing patterns between the sexes are also illustrated to aid in identification. The species accounts that form the bulk of the book include a description of the adult butterfly, the larva, and the egg, information on the food sources, habitat, and range of each butterfly. Anatomy, metamorphosis, habitats, enemies, longevity, mimicry, and migration of butterflies in general are investigated in a chapter on the natural history of the butterfly. Dr. Woodbury has shared his hints for photographing butterflies and attracting them to your garden, and his appreciation for the important place of these creatures in our environment.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0870334530
• ISBN13: 9780870334535
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.5" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Best guide I've found

This is the best guide I've found for the Delmarva area, and is very helpful with extensive color photos.

A great identification and locator guide.

The late Dr. Woodbury has accumplished what few other butterfly authors have been able to do with his The Butterflies of Delmarva which is to write about an arcane subject such as the Lepidopterous creatures around us and make it understandable to the casual nature lover as well as the experienced pro. He achieves this difficult task by illustrating the living butterflies with beautiful and informative color photos. Each photo clearly shows identifying characteristics of almost every one of the resident and stray butterflies inhabiting or visiting the Delmarva penninsula. This makes field observations and identifications surprisingly easy. For example, after studying Dr. Woodbury's excellent photo of Papilio polyxenes asterius (The Black Swallowtail) and comparing it with the fine one of Papilio troilus (The Spicebush Swallowtail) I am sure that even the beginner will find he or she can quickly tell one from the other when faced with identifying that next big black butterfly flittering and fluttering in the meadow. This little gem of a book would be worth the money for the photos alone, but there is much more offered here as well. Dr. Woodbury accurately and concisely describes the actual locality where each of the individual species occurs as well as the hostplants where the caterpillars of each species may be found and the nectaring plants for the adults as well! Had Dr. Woodbury included the Superfamily Hesperioidea (the Skippers)of Delmarva, I would have gladly afixed the fifth star in my review.