The California Tortoiseshell, West Coast Lady, Red Admiral, and Golden Oak Hairstreak are just a few of the many butterfly species found in the floristically rich San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley regions. This guide, written for both beginning and experienced butterfly watchers by one of the nation’s best-known professional lepidopterists, provides thorough, up-to-date information on all of the butterfly species found in this diverse and accessible region. Written in lively prose, it discusses the natural history and conservation status for these butterflies and at the same time provides an integrated view of butterfly biology based on studies conducted in northern California and around the world. Compact enough for use in the field, the guide also includes tips on butterfly watching, photography, gardening, and more.
* Discusses and identifies more than 130 species
* Species accounts include information on identifying butterflies through behavior, markings, and host plants
* Beautiful full-color plates illustrate top and bottom views of wings for easier identification
* Includes a species checklist and a glossary
Field Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions
About the Book
Reviews
“Shaprio’s words of butterfly wisdom will boost your chances of getting these four-winged wonders to stick around.”—Sacramento Magazine
“Highly useful. . . . Essential for those who would like to identify butterflies and not make the mistake of calling every orange butterfly a monarch.”—Placerville Mountain Democrat
“Informative and entertaining.”—Bay Nature
“Shapiro’s enthusiasm for his subjects is contagious; he makes even the potentially dry stuff like taxonomy and nomenclature engaging. I’ve seen friends open this book at random and laugh out loud.”—Berkeley Daily Planet
“Shapiro provides highly readable and fascinating information.”—Metro Newspapers
“[Shapiro’s] description of our climate peculiarities and vegetation is especially helpful“—San Francisco Chronicle
“This wonderful little book is much more than a regional butterfly guide. . . . [It’s] an excellent primer on butterflies in any region.”—Wildlife Activist"With superb illustrations and concise, up-to-the-minute synopses of butterfly biology, this book is an indispensable wonder."—Robert Michael Pyle, author of Chasing Monarchs and The Butterflies of Cascadia
"An accessible and entertaining guide to the natural history of Bay Area and Sacramento Valley butterflies."—Carol Boggs, Stanford University
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
INTRODUCTION
What Are Butterflies?
Regional Butterfly Geography
Where Are Our Butterflies From?
Butterfly Life Histories
Voltinism and Seasonality
Dormancy and Diapause
Natural Enemies
Population Dynamics and Metapopulations
Butterflies and Climate Change
Butterfly Behavior
Butterflies and Plants
Butterfly Classification
SPECIES ACCOUNTS
How to Use This Section
Swallowtails and Parnassians (Papilionidae)
Whites, Orange-tips, and Sulphurs (Pieridae)
Coppers, Hairstreaks, Blues, and Metalmarks (Lycaenidae)
Brushfoots (Nymphalidae)
Skippers (Hesperiidae)
THINGS TO DO WITH BUTTERFLIES
Butterfly Collecting
Butterfly Watching
Butterfly Photography
Butterfly Gardening
Butterfly Rearing
Amateurs Can Do Important Science!
A Final Word about Conservation
Distributional Checklist
Glossary
Resources
Index
Plates
Learn More
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