The Life Cycles of Butterflies: From Egg to Maturity, a Visual Guide to 23 Common Garden Butterflies

Thrilled to get this book after we saw three monarchs on our new swamp milkweed. There is so much to learn about butterflies and this book is perfect with lots of photos and easy to understand info about the different kinds of butterflies we see in our tiny garden. Very well organized to get info fast.

Wonderful, informative and beautiful photos. Don't know why it took me so long to get this book. If you are fascinated by butterflies, you need this book. Me and my butterfly garden thank you for such useful information. I live in southeast Louisiana and am fortunate to have seen most of the 23 butterflies in your book. Learned so much about them from this book.

There aren't many books out there that feature quality photographs identifying butterflies and caterpillars by species. This book does that and more. Although it only features those species that occur in the region in which the authors live (Kentucky is their home state,) the book shows clear pictures of each life stage: egg, caterpillar in both early and late stages, chrysallis, and adult butterfly.Each species also has useful information listed in the text, such as known host plant(s) and favored nectar plants. There are also some additional species shown as adults in the back of the book for which the authors have yet to photo-document an entire life cycle.I have seen this listed as a children's book, and it would be appropriate for many children, but I find it quite beautiful and informative enough to be suitable for adults as well.I've been gardening for birds, butterflies and bees for years now. One of my successes was having Black Swallowtail caterpillars the very first year I grew dill for them. But when I bought this book I was able to locate and identify the tiny eggs, and observe the entire life cycle of this species.I live in the Mid-Atlantic region, and most of the butterflies profiled in the book also occur in my area. Some species profiled occur over most of the U.S.--like the Monarch and Painted Lady-- but some are more limited in range. If you live on the Pacific coast, for instance, you might not see many of these butterflies. The photos are still beautiful. The insects featured are still fascinating. And the format of the book is user-friendly.

This book is intended to be a middle reader book. It provides life cycle information on butterflies and shows what the egg, caterpillar, and chrysalis look like for each species, as well as the adult butterfly. I am a Master Naturalist and work with butterflies frequently. I found this book to be invaluable in identifying butterflies in all their life stages. Your kids will love the pics, you’ll love the science and fun facts that go along with the photos. If you enjoy butterflies, this book is fabulous!

The wonderful book is well-organized, with lots of great information for the casual and serious observer of nature. Great series of photos 23 butterflies' life-cycles. There are maps of the breeding-range, graphs of the life-cycle season, and a size of wingspan drawing, which are all very helpful. Best of all, for those wanting to attract specific butterflies, there are lists, photos and detailed information about the plants that "host" the caterpillars, and then the plants that are the preferred nectar sources for the adult. The list and detailed descriptions of top nectar flowers is too wonderful: Verbena bonariensis, Coneflowers, Lantana, Butterfly bush, Milkweeds, Mexican sunflower, Tall garden phlox, sunflowers, Zinnia, Cosmos, Sweet William, Pentas lanceolata, and Petunia. There are many photos of butterflies other than the 23 covered in detail, a great glossary, 24 side-by-side photos to compare butterfly eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalises! All in all, this is a book anyone interested in knowing more about butterflies will cherish, and pull out to show children. A fabulous gift for a serious gardener, or a curious child, aged 5 to 12 especially!

I've lost track of how many people to whom I've recommended this book! It's far from encyclopedic but it's a great educational foundation from which to spring. The 4-pages dedicated to each butterfly illustrate the life cycle, range, host and nectar plants, size, with great photos and explanations. I've ordered other books since- none as functional as this one. My granddaughters (all teens) had a great time perusing it and selecting the plants they would buy to add to my pollinator garden. And now we celebrate together the number of caterpillars devouring their fennel or bees visiting their sunflowers. What a gift!