Butterflies of Alabama

"This work portrays the lives of 84 of the 130+ species of butterflies reported from Alabama. After some introductory comments and acknowledgments, the body of the book offers details of species and their families. The book also provides remarks on conservation of Lepidoptera, a list of plants, and a very useful checklist of Alabama's butterflies with notes on natural history, as well as distribution maps, details of organizations involved in butterfly and plant conservation, and a glossary. This information is useful for most of the Southeast. Ogard, who has taught courses on native flora at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, writes very well, and explains issues in language understandable to laypersons. The photographs by Bright are superb and show the butterfly's several stages of development, adult forms, and both sexes in many cases. This is an excellent book, but its coffee-table style with large stand-alone pictures makes it too bulky for a field guide. W. Mike Howell and Vitaly Charny's Butterflies of Alabama (2010) is better for use in the field, while this one is better for use in more comfortable surroundings. Summing Up: Recommended. All libraries."
—CHOICE

"Wow! [Butterflies of Alabama] is a treasure. I am a big fan of Satyrium hairstreaks and went right to that section in the book. What wonderful accounts. The whole 'byre' thing with S.edwardsii is really amazing and the description was fascinating. . . . This is a wonderful book [that] will stand as a high water mark for all others."
--Jonathan Pelham, author of Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada

"Although the book will no doubt be a 'must have' for many on the basis of the brilliant photography alone, Butterflies of Alabama is also commendable for its excellent text, which is filled with fascinating information about the butterflies, their life styles, their habitats, and their interactions with the plants and the other creatures central to their survival strategies. . . . [This is] a treasure that will reward its users for years to come."
--Southern Lepidopterists' News

"I can picture this book propelling children and adults outdoors to treasure hunt and to observe natural drama in progress, which is the cure to 'nature deficit disorder.' It will be a much-used tool for scout troops, hikers, campers, canoe clubs, wildflower groups, and other outdoor organizations. Park rangers and interpreters will stock it in park gift shops and reference libraries. This book needs to be on the shelf of every nursery manager [as] it will help fuel a consumer demand for ecologically valuable plants and will provide plant lists for business people who need to respond to that demand."

—Carol Lovell-Saas, Director, Biophilia Nature Center, Elberta, Alabama