Butterflies of British Columbia

Description

British Columbia has by far the largest and most diverse butterfly fauna of any province in Canada. Butterflies are found everywhere in BC, from urban planter boxes and country gardens to the northern boreal forest and remote alpine meadows to coastal bogs and ocean shorelines to the deserts of the southern interior.

Entomologists Crispin Guppy and Jon Shepard describe all 187 species and 264 subspecies of butterflies found in BC, showing the identifying features from pupa to adult. They also discuss the biology, life history, range, habitat and conservation status of the province’s most beautiful insects. Full-colour photographs make this book ideal for new and experienced butterfly watchers. They also describe 11 new subspecies. Each species treatment contains maps of the northwestern North American distribution, colour photographs of adults of all species and subspecies, and flight-season graphs.

The book includes an extensive general introduction, containing chapters on the history of butterfly study in BC, the post-glacial colonization of the province by butterflies, the effects of European colonization, butterfly conservation, butterfly gardening, ecology,
morphology and biology.

Butterflies of British Columbia gives butterfly watchers, naturalists and biologists an overview of the butterfly fauna of BC and adjacent areas. It can be used by naturalists for identification of species and subspecies, and it includes a wide range of information about this fascinating and beautiful group of insects. It also contains much original information that scientists will find invaluable, especially the descriptions of 11 new subspecies and a complete reassessment of the taxonomy of the species.

About the Authors

Crispin S. Guppy is a wildlife habitat biologist and entomologist who lives in Quesnel, BC. Jon H. Shepard is a biodiversity consultant and entomologist living in Nelson, BC. Both have had a lifelong interest in the study of butterflies and have published extensively in the field.