Do Butterflies Bite?: Fascinating Answers to Questions about Butterflies and Moths

Animals Q & A

by Hazel Davies, Carol A. Butler

How fast do butterflies fly? Does a butterfly have ears? Do they sleep? Does a caterpillar have a skeleton? How does a moth get out of its cocoon? What is the difference between a butterfly and a moth? And just what is a skipper?

Every year, thousands of people visit butterfly conservatories to stand in quiet awe of the simple beauty displayed by these magical creatures. Hazel Davies and Carol A. Butler capture the sense of wonderment and curiosity experienced by adults and children alike in this book about butterflies and their taxonomic cousins, the moths and the skippers. Beautifully illustrated with color and black and white photographs, and drawings by renowned artist William Howe, this book is an essential resource for parents, teachers, students, or anyone who has ever been entranced by these fascinating, fluttering creatures.

Covering everything from their basic biology to their complex behaviors at every stage of life to issues in butterfly conservation, Davies and Butler explore wide-ranging topics and supply a trove of intriguing facts. You'll find tips on how to attract more butterflies to your garden, how to photograph them, and even how to raise them in your own home. Arranged in a question and answer format, the book provides detailed information written in an accessible style that brings to life the science and natural history of these insects. In addition, sidebars throughout the book detail an assortment of butterfly trivia, while extensive appendices direct you to organizations, web sites, and more than 200 indoor and outdoor public exhibits, where you can learn more or connect with other lepidopterophiles (butterfly lovers).

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction

223 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2008

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do Butterflies Bite? is an informative Q&A book regarding some of the most common questions towards butterflies & moths. It covers some basic questions on metamorphosis, the ecology of a butterfly, the anatomy, etc. But the book also contains some more complicated questions including what occurs during the pupa stage, the evolutionary history, classification, and other lesser known, but truly informative details.

For any butterfly lovers or those who are interested in activities related towards butterflies, I am sure this book can answer most questions. The chapters that cover butterfly gardens, collecting, watching, and raising are even more heavily detailed than the previous mentioned questions. For the most part, it's meant to be informative, though the text doesn't come off as dry. Though I can understand if some readers will find the answers very wordy. There are not too many illustrations provided here, but the ones that are featured, are in accurate detail. I would say you will learn a lot about butterflies in general from this book, as they are more than just colorful creatures.

[Karlissa J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've recently started participating in Moth Week (a citizen science project that involves photo-documenting moth species). When telling others about moths and my interest in them, I inevitably got questions, like, 'What role do they play in the ecosystem?' and 'How big are the biggest moths?'

"Do Butterflies Bite?" gives great, easy-to-understand answers to a wide variety of questions about butterflies and moths that may come up in such conversations. And it seems like that's exactly what it aims to do. It doesn't get too science-heavy, and doesn't contain an abundance of photos; but as a resource for those just getting into butterflies and moths, and for those who want to tell others about these animals, it's perfect.

Another handy feature of this book is the variety of appendices, listing butterfly-attracting plants, butterfly gardens, online resources, and more.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reference book

[Shae Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this book chock full of great questions/answers about common and unusual butterfly facts. In fact, I read this as a borrowed book, but I plan to purchase a copy for re-reads!

[Laine Cunningham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book for research. It was laid out in a way that presents different questions then answers them by looking at multiple kinds of butterflies. Not a strong research work for technical needs but a great, fun look at different kinds of facts about butterflies.