Butterflies of Delmarva

Rating:
Summary: A great identification and locator guide.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: What a disapointment!
Review: When I ran across this book in a store one day, I quickly bought it. What a disappointment. Mr. Woodbury's photographs are excellent, and can be seen in a number of field guides, but the information accompanying this book is useless. For example, Mr. Woodbury lists the Regal Fritillary, shows a photo, and gives a range description without once mentioning that this butterfly has not been recorded from the eastern United States for many years, outside a few local populations. One is left with the impression that this is a butterfly that may be seen commonly. It appears that the text of this book was quickly thrown together to get it into print. Recommended for the photos only