Athena Rayne Anderson

This content is based on a post originally published on March 26, 2012 on my blog “Pollinators Info” (no longer online).

A World of Butterflies is full of beautiful photographs by Kjell Sandved and natural history information written by Brian Cassie. I think this book is unique in that regard- rather than try to cover all the butterflies of a particular region in detail, or treat only butterfly natural history OR photography, this little book samples the world, with both amazing photographs and interesting life history information.

Of course, with a group as large as the butterflies, a book containing photographs and natural history information for all of them would be enormous. So, it goes without saying that a lot of species are left out of this book’s 400+ pages. However, if you want a global sampling to thrill your eyes and imagination, this is a great choice. The introduction by butterfly conservationist Robert Michael Pyle offers an engaging prelude.

There’s just one thing that surprised me about this book- several of the butterflies were obviously not alive when photographed(for example, pgs 41, 53, and 107). Photos of these appear to be of pinned specimens cleverly attached to a clear surface for photography. Considering Dr. Pyle’s claim that the book shows “…what butterflies actually do when they are at home…” I was disappointed to see dead butterflies that hadn’t been doing anything when their portraits were taken.

There are also several photographs in which the butterflies are not completely in focus- for instance, the Brimstone on page 99, and the Black Swallowtails on page 203. I couldn’t decide whether this was due to an artistic expression on the part of the author… or an editing oversight.

Overall, A World of Butterflies gives a nice sampling of dazzling species from around the globe. I would recommend it to any butterfly enthusiast with the caveat that they don’t expect perfection or a comprehensive treatment of this huge group.

Featured image front cover of A World of Butterflies

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