Mariposa Road

Mariposa Road
Author: Robert Michael Pyle
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 661
Release: 2010-09-27
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0547527853

An account of a cross-country adventure chasing butterflies: “Armchair travelers who love a good yarn will find Pyle’s exuberance catching.” —Seattle Times Part road-trip tale, part travelogue of lost and found landscapes, all good-natured natural history, Mariposa Road tracks Bob Pyle’s journey across the United States as he races against the calendar in his search for as many of the eight hundred American butterflies as he can find. Like Pyle’s classic Chasing Monarchs, Mariposa Road recounts his adventures, high and low, in tracking down butterflies in his own low-tech, individual way. Accompanied by Marsha, his cottonwood-limb butterfly net; Powdermilk, his 1982 Honda Civic with 345,000 miles on the odometer; and the small Leitz binoculars he has carried for more than thirty years, Bob ventured out in a series of remarkable trips from his Northwest home. From the California coastline in company with overwintering monarchs to the Far Northern tundra in pursuit of mysterious sulphurs and arctics; from the zebras and daggerwings of the Everglades to the leafwings, bluewings, and border rarities of the lower Rio Grande; from Graceland to ranchland and Kauai to Key West, these intimate encounters with the land, its people, and its fading fauna are wholly original. At turns whimsical, witty, informative, and inspirational, Mariposa Road is an extraordinary journey of discovery that leads the reader ever farther into butterfly country and deeper into the heart of the naturalist. “What Roger Tory Peterson was for birds, Bob Pyle is for butterflies . . . From the dusty heat of Texas and the tropical lushness of Hawaii to the legendary outhouse of the Midnight Sun in the Alaskan Arctic, Pyle is a traveling companion who never grows dull.” —Scott Weidensaul, author of Of a Feather

How to Spot Butterflies

How to Spot Butterflies
Author: Patricia Sutton
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 164
Release: 1999
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780395892756

In a recent article, the New York Times Magazine described butterfly watching as the fastest-growing segment of nature recreation. Little wonder - butterflies are beautiful, exotic, interesting, and observable by anyone, virtually anywhere, young or old, urban or rural. Consummate teachers, the Suttons use the same easy-to-understand style that has made both of their previous books in the How to Spot series bestsellers. Taking up where field guides leave off, they reveal which habitats are sure to hold large butterfly populations and which specific host plants attract butterflies. They address how to use binoculars and share the secrets of how to approach a butterfly without scaring it off. Environmentally sensitive and unobtrusive observation is emphasized, not outdated netting and collecting. Exceptional nectar sources, which are feeding grounds for vast numbers of butterflies, are described. Full-color photographs appear throughout. The Suttons' proven butterfly-watching techniques

Finding Butterflies in Texas

Finding Butterflies in Texas
Author: Roland H. Wauer
Publisher: Big Earth Publishing
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2006
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9781555663667

Finding Butterflies in Texas, the first in a series of Spring Creek Press state guides, is an indispensable book for all butterfly enthusiasts living and traveling in this butterflyi-rich state. It's the next best thing to having a local guide.

American Roadkill

American Roadkill
Author: Don H. Corrigan
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2021-11-03
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1476644829

Slaughtered along our highways, roadkill may be observed regularly, but aren't likely to be given much thought. Research scientists, animal rights activists, roadkill artists, writers, ethicists and lyricists, however, are increasingly sounding the alarm. They report that we are killing the very animals we love, and are driving many of them to the brink of extinction. Detailing the death and destruction of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insect pollinators, this study examines the ways in which we are thus jeopardizing our own futures. Beginning in the Model T era, biologists counted the common carnage of the time--cottontails, woodchucks, and squirrels, mostly. That record-keeping continues today. Beyond the bleak statistics, zoologists are rerouting migratory paths of animals and are advocating for cat and dog companions. This book illuminates both our successes and failures in keeping animals out of harm's way and what those efforts reflect about ourselves and our capacity to care enough to alter the road ahead.

Spirit of Butterflies

Spirit of Butterflies
Author: Maraleen Manos-Jones
Publisher: Abradale Press
Total Pages: 150
Release: 2000-11
Genre: Art
ISBN:

A vividly illustrated celebration of butterflies that discusses their presence in art and culture throughout the ages and examines their symbolism and the related beliefs of a wide variety of peoples.

Butterflies of New Jersey

Butterflies of New Jersey
Author: Michael Gochfeld
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 364
Release: 1997
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780813523552

Butterfly watching has begun to gain the popularity that bird watching has enjoyed for half a century. Much as birds served as a flagship of the conservation movement in this country, butterflies are coming to be seen as the rallying point for the protection of invertebrate species--now regarded as increasingly important for the well-being of all members of the ecosystem. Butterflies of New Jersey discusses the behavior, status, distribution, taxonomy, ecology, and conservation of butterflies in New Jersey. It is an innovative companion and complement to any butterfly identification guide of the Northeast. It pays particular attention to the place of butterflies in the ecosystem of New Jersey and neighboring regions and their relationships to other butterflies around the world. Its detailed species accounts of 140-plus kinds of butterflies found in the state and neighboring regions (out of 700 North American species) alert butterfly watchers to changes in populations over time. Where other butterfly guides typically include a section on collecting butterflies, this one includes a detailed chapter on protecting them by creating butterfly gardens and preventing habitat destruction. Butterflies of New Jersey is indispensable for everyone interested in the butterflies and natural history of the Garden State and its neighbor.