Butterflies Through Binoculars: the East

184 JOURNAL OF THE LEPIDOPTERISTS' SOCIETY strate the evolution of butterfly populations in the con (which is fine ), but at the same time the purview of its text of a changing environment. Those of us who work influence is intended to include matters of scientific in areas where so little is known about butterflies may import, and it includes promotional material linked to be daunted by such an effort. Nevertheless, it is clear the North American Butterfly Association ( ABA). we must strive toward its example. The historical and organizational context from which Sturdily bound, filled with illustrations and informa the butterfly-watching movement has sprung is plain tion, and inexpensive, this book is uniquely outstand within the pages of BTB, and I therefore view it as im ing in many ways. However, I especially appreciated possible to review this book and some of the informa one aspect of it; the subtle yet pervasive conservation tion presented therein independently of similar mes underpinning based on the study of butterflies. If I sages published by NABA. It is my hope that a read the message correctly it might be paraphrased in contextual review of this kind will add more light than a more general way: appreciate and learn from nature heat. Regardless, after tending to the book's technical before it vanishes into the increasingly greedy maw of aspects, I will proceed to its message. the human dominated landscape. That is to say, the First to the nitty gritty. The meat of BTB is of course game is not just about collecting and writing epitaphs its 283 species accounts and accompanying pho of colorful insects. It is about preventing the ecological tographs. Again, through these, BTB is a fine introduc holocausts that surround us, and surviving. As the song tion to observing butterflies of eastern North America. title suggests, now is the time. Species accounts include identification cues, geo graphic range maps (which accompany the plates), P. J. DEVRIES, Center for Biodiversity Studies, some life history information, including primal)" host Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 West Wells St., plants and extensive flight season data in the form of Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233, USA "phenograms" which consist of rough relative abun dance by month in four geographically separated states (WI, NY, NC, and LA) generated in consultation \\ith Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 56(3).2002, 184- 188 various local experts (no use of collection data is refer enced). The lack of detailed descriptions should not be BUTTERFLIES THROUGH BINOCULARS: THE EAST. A viewed as a shortcoming, assuming the guide's primary FIELD GUIDE TO THE BUTTERFLIES OF EASTERN target audience comprises hobbyists and prospecth-e NORTH AMERICA, by J. Glassberg. 1999. Oxford inventorists. The identification cues are b and large University Press. $18.95. ISBN 0-19-510668-7 well crafted, with the exception of their reliance on comparative observation: Size measurements for How MUCH SCIENCE IS TOO LITTLE? species are not generally gi en, but e\-aluated with ref The practice of butterfly watching has rocketed in erence to other butterflies. Field dia{Jlloses, when recent years, fueled primarily by increasingly accessi present, are emboldened. and brief deSCriptions ac ble field guides equipped with easy shortcuts to identi companying plates make quick identification easy and fication, technological advances in photography, and reduce the need for page flipping. The photographiC numerous organizations, local and national, devoted to quality is generally quite good (with a few exceptions), furthering public awareness of butterflies and their di and should help butterfly watchers get a feel for what versity. Butterfly watching, a healthy medium for natural various species look like in vivo, although field marks history education, has realized considerable popularity are not consistently delineated. The photographs are not just among weekend naturalists and recovering bird also carefully scaled against others on the plate. In any watchers, but also among educators and even profes event, BTB should serve as a step towards identifying sionallepidopterists that participate in local butterfly butterflies reliably in the field, and therefore meets its counts. Dr. Glassberg's Butterflies through Binoculars: purpose. The East (hereafter BTB) is likely to surpass previous The text comprising the book's introduction in guides' popularity among butterfly watching enthusi cludes sections on butterfly photography, butterfly gar asts, and to that end it serves as a photographiC guide dening, tips on finding butterflies, and butterfly biol for most eastern butterflies. Unfortunately, the general ogy. There is no discussion of proper vouchering, utility of this book is reduced sharply by several short collecting, or rearing techniques or protocols, nor any comings, all of them related to the furtherance of lep broad discussion of butterfly taxonomy or systematics idopteran science and science-based conservation. except for some remarks buried in the species ac It is difficult to decide in what spirit to review this counts. With those exceptions, this material serves as book. It is clearly a volume intended for hobbyists an adequate introduction for the casual butterflyer. VOLUME 56, NUMBER 3 185 Text following the species accounts includes a bibliog with the state of flux in North American butterfly raphy and a short glossary of terms. nomenclature, Dr. Glassberg writes (p. 33): I detect three principal shortcomings in the book's "Before the NABA checklist was published in 1995, message, all associated with teaching science-based each author of a book about butterflies used whatever natural history and the relevance of that science to set of names struck his or her fancy. The result has conservation of landscapes and species. First, Dr. been a confuSing plethora of names that has bewil Glassberg's dismissal of the nomenclatural process dered the uninitiated and made it more difficult for the combined with the assertion that butterfly taxonomy, public to become involved with butterflies. We are now including both scientific and common names, is being on the road toward standardization, although this "standardized" (p. 33) by NABA is a serious shortcom process will take years to be completed." ing. It also may render BTB impotent in serious bio inventories, butterfly counts, or identifying popula Later Dr. Glassberg writes (p. 53) in the context of tions of cryptic species. Second, while no doubt well the species account for the Mustard White Pieris napi: meaning, Dr. Glassberg makes a number of misleading "There is some recent evidence that the Mustard comments about managing butterfly habitat, specifi White complex may consist of a number of different cally fire management, that may oversimplify and ex species and a number of books have appeared that acerbate an already controversial conservation issue. jump on this bandwagon. Changes in well established Third, BTB's strident indictments of collecting utterly names should be made in works intended for the pub fail to mention the critical importance of collections lic only if the published evidence is overwhelming not only to the study of butterflies, but also the fur [emboldening as in BTBJ that the change is correct." therance of taxonomy, systematics, and the conserva tion and protection of threatened species. Notwithstanding that fact that, like many other strong There have always been nomenclatural controver opinions expressed in BTB, these statements are unac sies in the butterfly literature, for that is the nature of companied by specific references, these assertions also science: To modify existing taxonomy as new entities belie either a fundamental misunderstanding or a disre are discovered and described and as recent informa gard for the scientific process and its critical value to bi tion is brought to bear on our imperfect understanding olOgical conservation. As most lepidopterists know, there of nature. The proliferation of names is perhaps par are a number of competing endeavors to "standardize" ticularly acute in the most showy organisms, including butterfly taxonomy. Difficult as it may be for those birds, butterflies, and tiger beetles, because the atten with a superficial interest in butterflies to keep up with tion they draw from hobbyists leads inevitably to the the technical literature, are we to believe that taxonomic discovery of novel forms that are subsequently de stability, via the acceptance of one person's sanctioned scribed and all too often given sub speCific or infrasub list is more important than taxonomic progress via specific epithets. To be sure, keeping up with current scholarly study? Dr. Glassberg seems to find taxonomy nomenclature by tracking the most recent revisions and systematics so trivial as to make them beholden to and extracting valid names is a difficult task, one the hobbyist. In certain cases (e.g. , p. 153), taxonomic deemed necessary for scholars but annoying to those progress is expliCitly ignored and excused only in order with a more casual interest. To be sure, the existence to remain consistent with the NABA checklist. of privately published, non-peer-reviewed journals Unfortunately, the problem goes further: NABA that never make their way to libraries but in which publishes the results of annual butterfly counts, but new species and subspecies are regularly described is with little quality control. Thus it is easy for erroneous a bane

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