Nearly everyone loves butterflies. We watch them because they're exquisitely beautiful, but they also have magical life cycles and intricate relationships among their host ecosystems. Are you overwhelmed by the array of possibilities in field guides that cover a broad geographic range?
This user-friendly book focuses on 100 frequently seen species in the Colorado Front Range. Easily identify butterflies using over 120 striking color photos of individuals in their natural setting, and clear descriptions of both males and females. Each entry also includes that species habitat and life cycle, the caterpillar s host plants, and look-alike butterflies. The introduction includes tips on where to find butterflies, how to get close to them, and what we can do to attract them to our gardens and preserve their sensitive habitats.
This second edition features an attractive new cover, the newest scientific and common names, new photographs that better portray the diagnostic characteristics of certain butterflies, and all new coverage of twenty additional species. Several of these new species occur primarily in the oak woodlands of the southern Front Range. Other habitats covered include grasslands, wetlands, conifer forests, aspen groves, mountain meadows, and the alpine tundra. The month-by-month occurrence chart--which reveals when and where to look for your favorite butterflies--has been improved using observations made in the years since the first edition. The fully indexed publication includes an updated foreword by nationally recognized butterfly expert Robert Michael Pyle.
This field guide makes an excellent resource for nature enthusiasts learning about these eye-catching insects.
Janet Chu taught high school biology for 38 years and has conducted butterfly population studies on Boulder County open space for 16 years, documenting nearly 140 species. Since 1983 she has organized the annual Fourth of July butterfly count at the Cal-Wood Education Center in Boulder County. As a volunteer, Jan has influenced many bird watchers, naturalists and beginners to observe butterflies and begin gardening with native plants.
Stephen Jones is author of The Last Prairie: A Sandhills Journal and co-author of The Shortgrass Prairie; The Peterson Field Guide to the North American Prairie; and Wild Boulder County. His consulting work includes more than three dozen breeding bird surveys and species of concern monitoring programs for city, county, and state open space and wildlife programs. He has led field trips and taught nature classes for 35 years, and he taught in the Boulder Valley Public Schools for 30 years