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"I became enamored
with the tiniest of butterflies, thumbnail-sized gray hairstreaks in my
peripheral vision, on a weed or a fence, common as a mailbox. But wait
until they settle and show their underwings. Scallops of mango orange.
Patterns of blue and russet. A crescent, a dash, a language in
code."—from
Chapter One
An Obsession with
Butterflies
Our Long Love Affair with a Singular Insect
Sharman Apt Russell
With a poet's eye and
a scientist's precision, one of our most acclaimed nature writers turns
her attention to the Painted Lady and the Purple Emperor, the Mourning
Cloak and the Marbled White, and, of course, that lepidopterist's
dream—the El Segundo Blue.
In An Obsession
with Butterflies, Sharman Apt Russell explores how these insects have
captivated so many for so long. In the middle ages, people believed that
butterflies were fairies sent to steal their milk. By the Victorian age,
they had become a part of the furniture, locked away in curio cabinets and
mounted in boxes on walls. Today, they’re often the stuff of
news—vanishing species and global warming and genetically modified
corn—and yet they continue to exude a certain mystery.
As Apt Russell takes us on this historical
journey, she also brings us into the world of these remarkable creatures,
revealing their sex lives, their parenting techniques, and their migratory
habits—even their ability to mimic each other and the way they use their
markings to trick those who’d make them prey. As Apt Russell says, "art is
their defense," and beauty is their power.
Informative, charming, and keenly wrought,
An Obsession with Butterflies sheds warm summer light on a fascinating
and elegant subject—the small, short-lived, and fragile beings whom we
have named and loved and studied.
Sharman Apt Russell’s previous books
include Anatomy of a Rose (Perseus Publishing, 2001), When the
Land Was Young, Kill the Cowboy, and Songs of the
Fluteplayer, winner of the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award. She
lives in Silver City, New Mexico and teaches writing at Western New Mexico
University and at Antioch University in Los Angeles.
June 1, 2003
Nature / Science ISBN: 0-7382-0699-7
238 Pages Hardcover
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