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The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect
“The butterfly’s life cycle has always symbolized transformation. In this awe-inspiring book, Williams shows us how these animals can also transform whole ecosystems, scientific disciplines, and human hearts.” —Abigail Tucker, New York Times bestselling author of The Lion in the Living Room
In this fascinating book from the New York Times bestselling author of The Horse, Wendy Williams explores the lives of one of the world’s most resilient creatures—the butterfly—shedding light on the role that they play in our ecosystem and in our human lives.
Butterflies are one of the world’s most beloved insects. From butterfly gardens to zoo exhibitions, they are one of the few insects we’ve encouraged to infiltrate our lives. Yet, what has drawn us to these creatures in the first place? And what are their lives really like? In this groundbreaking book, New York Times bestselling author and science journalist Wendy Williams reveals the inner lives of these “flying flowers”—creatures far more intelligent and tougher than we give them credit for.
Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles each year from Canada to Mexico. Other species have learned how to fool ants into taking care of them. Butterflies’ scales are inspiring researchers to create new life-saving medical technology. Williams takes readers to butterfly habitats across the globe and introduces us to not only various species, but to the scientists who have dedicated their lives to studying them.
Coupled with years of research and knowledge gained from experts in the field, this accessible “butterfly biography” explores the ancient partnership between these special creatures and humans, and why they continue to fascinate us today. Touching, eye-opening, and incredibly profound, The Language of Butterflies reveals the critical role they play in our world.
In this fascinating book from the New York Times bestselling author of The Horse, Wendy Williams explores the lives of one of the world’s most resilient creatures—the butterfly—shedding light on the role that they play in our ecosystem and in our human lives.
Butterflies are one of the world’s most beloved insects. From butterfly gardens to zoo exhibitions, they are one of the few insects we’ve encouraged to infiltrate our lives. Yet, what has drawn us to these creatures in the first place? And what are their lives really like? In this groundbreaking book, New York Times bestselling author and science journalist Wendy Williams reveals the inner lives of these “flying flowers”—creatures far more intelligent and tougher than we give them credit for.
Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles each year from Canada to Mexico. Other species have learned how to fool ants into taking care of them. Butterflies’ scales are inspiring researchers to create new life-saving medical technology. Williams takes readers to butterfly habitats across the globe and introduces us to not only various species, but to the scientists who have dedicated their lives to studying them.
Coupled with years of research and knowledge gained from experts in the field, this accessible “butterfly biography” explores the ancient partnership between these special creatures and humans, and why they continue to fascinate us today. Touching, eye-opening, and incredibly profound, The Language of Butterflies reveals the critical role they play in our world.
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 12, 2020
224 people are currently reading
3094 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Williams
88 books24 followersWendy Williams is a journalist whose work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Christian Science Monitor, among many other publications. She is the author of several books, including Kraken and Cape Wind, and is a lifelong equestrienne. She lives in Mashpee, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 242 reviews
June 2, 2020
Came for the butterflies, but once I read deeper into this book, I found it hard to stay. Wendy Williams begins The Language of Butterflies with a few chapters on Charles Darwin and his investigation of a symbiotic relationship between a peculiar orchid and the moth who pollinates it. The focused yet curiosity-driven trajectory Williams takes is enticing here, but loses potency as the book goes on, while slipshod imprecision grows. I questioned some of her historical statements, like her designation of Walt Whitman as an "American Victorian" poet (what even is that?). There are simpler yet still nagging omissions of specificity too, like when she says one lepidopterist's chances of recovering a tagged butterfly from a project were "one in twenty mazillion bazillion." ("Low" or "very low" would have sufficed.) That's just one of numerous instances where Williams's writing style and tone left me scratching my head. There are excessive cliches, ineffective metaphors and even occasional solipsism: seated outside in Madison, WI, watching swallowtails and preparing for a meeting, Williams acknowledges "global weather changes" contributing to record flooding in Madison, but says, "Fortunately, I would be on a flight out very early the next morning." Good for her, I guess? Most discouraging was her choice to include some moths and butterflies without naming specific species. I wanted to know which butterflies, aside from the obvious viceroys and monarchs, engage in mimicry. I wanted to know which moth "enveloped" 17th century lepidopterist Maria Sibylla Merian in "such great joy and so gratified in [her] wishes." But Williams didn't name these species. How is a book to promote public knowledge of and admiration for lepidoptera when its author seems to not care enough to call each creature she mentions by its name?
October 15, 2023
Well that was disappointing. Judging from the cover (ahem!) I thought it would be very interesting, but the material was burdened by writing that was repetitive, juvenile, hackneyed, and even worse than that—boring.
The first half of the book almost did me in, but the second half, which talks more about monarch butterflies, helped bring me around. The writer chooses expressions which are folksy and common but which fail to illustrate her point. For example, pristine land (never forested, never plowed) is referred to as "the real McCoy". What does that mean, exactly, in this context? Basically it is a sentence with no real content and unfortunately there were many of those.
Another example: the proboscis is where "the rubber meets the road." A hundred pages later, the antennae are "where the rubber meets the road." Was there no editor? Why not just say what you mean, or use language that evokes something specific and relevant. Most of all—why use a motorized vehicle analogy to describe a butterfly?
There are also errors. In a discussion on natural selection, Williams uses her own border collie as an example! Domestic dog breeds are anything BUT examples of natural selection. Even worse, she attributes motives to the dog, that it WANTS to look a certain way to achieve a certain effect. Um, please, "science journalist", the dog had nothing to do with that.
On page 170, there is a butterfly count. The count is first said to average 82.2 per minute, but later in the same sentence the number used in a calculation is 822 per minute. The result arrived at is roughly 50,000 per hour but maybe should be 5,000 per hour? Who knows? This part is all in quotes from another source, but still—was the book not proofread?
Sometimes non-fiction books really try to insert the author into the story, you know, what kind of shoes to wear at the butterfly sanctuary, or how hard it was to get up and arrive somewhere before 10 in the morning. In this book, these memoir-ish aspects were mostly irrelevant and unappealing, and really felt like a lame effort to fluff up a thin manuscript into something roughly book sized.
Came for the cover. Stayed for the monarchs. A generous 2 stars.
The first half of the book almost did me in, but the second half, which talks more about monarch butterflies, helped bring me around. The writer chooses expressions which are folksy and common but which fail to illustrate her point. For example, pristine land (never forested, never plowed) is referred to as "the real McCoy". What does that mean, exactly, in this context? Basically it is a sentence with no real content and unfortunately there were many of those.
Another example: the proboscis is where "the rubber meets the road." A hundred pages later, the antennae are "where the rubber meets the road." Was there no editor? Why not just say what you mean, or use language that evokes something specific and relevant. Most of all—why use a motorized vehicle analogy to describe a butterfly?
There are also errors. In a discussion on natural selection, Williams uses her own border collie as an example! Domestic dog breeds are anything BUT examples of natural selection. Even worse, she attributes motives to the dog, that it WANTS to look a certain way to achieve a certain effect. Um, please, "science journalist", the dog had nothing to do with that.
On page 170, there is a butterfly count. The count is first said to average 82.2 per minute, but later in the same sentence the number used in a calculation is 822 per minute. The result arrived at is roughly 50,000 per hour but maybe should be 5,000 per hour? Who knows? This part is all in quotes from another source, but still—was the book not proofread?
Sometimes non-fiction books really try to insert the author into the story, you know, what kind of shoes to wear at the butterfly sanctuary, or how hard it was to get up and arrive somewhere before 10 in the morning. In this book, these memoir-ish aspects were mostly irrelevant and unappealing, and really felt like a lame effort to fluff up a thin manuscript into something roughly book sized.
Came for the cover. Stayed for the monarchs. A generous 2 stars.
Read
May 24, 2020It’s almost universal that people love butterflies. It’s almost equally universal people don’t like moths. But the difference between a butterfly and a moth isn’t what you might think it is. Instead, it’s a small body part that controls how the wings move and that’s about it.
If that has you intrigued, this book will be your jam like it was mine.
Set up in three parts: past, present, and future, Williams -- who writes in a super approachable, delighted manner, but with great research to buoy the book -- takes a deep dive into the butterfly and her allure.
A wholly fascinating book, I learned so much about butterflies. Their wings are actually made of scales, which I didn’t know, and more, the blue butterflies that are so highly prized are such because they are among the few things in nature where blue is an actual hue, as opposed to a reflection of light upon their wings. Williams doesn’t go into the thievery of butterflies as much as I’d hoped, but with name drops, I know there are a ton of people whose stories and crimes I’ll be Googling later. I also had no idea the black on the wings of the monarch are actually veins. Oh, and the book digs into how horrible the male monarchs are toward the females when they want to mate . . . at least in the early generations. Once they’re onto the fourth generation, or the ones that will migrate, the females are much more safe, as the males have lost a lot of their machismo. If you’re unfamiliar with the ideas of monarch generations, you’ll get up to speed here, too.
Williams is delighted by everything she learns, and by turns, it makes the reader delighted, too. This isn’t an especially long book, and while it’s well-researched, it’s a breezy read. In the author’s note, Williams mentions being almost 70 (or in her 70s, I can’t entirely remember). I don’t remember the last time I read a book by an author who was older, so bonus points for that. It was neat to experience the world of butterflies through her eyes, and frankly, I’ll never look at them the same way through my own.
If that has you intrigued, this book will be your jam like it was mine.
Set up in three parts: past, present, and future, Williams -- who writes in a super approachable, delighted manner, but with great research to buoy the book -- takes a deep dive into the butterfly and her allure.
A wholly fascinating book, I learned so much about butterflies. Their wings are actually made of scales, which I didn’t know, and more, the blue butterflies that are so highly prized are such because they are among the few things in nature where blue is an actual hue, as opposed to a reflection of light upon their wings. Williams doesn’t go into the thievery of butterflies as much as I’d hoped, but with name drops, I know there are a ton of people whose stories and crimes I’ll be Googling later. I also had no idea the black on the wings of the monarch are actually veins. Oh, and the book digs into how horrible the male monarchs are toward the females when they want to mate . . . at least in the early generations. Once they’re onto the fourth generation, or the ones that will migrate, the females are much more safe, as the males have lost a lot of their machismo. If you’re unfamiliar with the ideas of monarch generations, you’ll get up to speed here, too.
Williams is delighted by everything she learns, and by turns, it makes the reader delighted, too. This isn’t an especially long book, and while it’s well-researched, it’s a breezy read. In the author’s note, Williams mentions being almost 70 (or in her 70s, I can’t entirely remember). I don’t remember the last time I read a book by an author who was older, so bonus points for that. It was neat to experience the world of butterflies through her eyes, and frankly, I’ll never look at them the same way through my own.
January 15, 2021
Thoughts soon.
March 4, 2020
A wonderful book about the wonders of butterflies
If you have ever been mesmerized by the beauty of a butterfly, you are in good company. People have been fascinated by lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) for many centuries. Avid collectors amassed stunningly large collections, such as the 2.25 million specimens in the collection of the British banking scion Lord Walter Rothschild. They collected because of the sheer beauty of the species, as a way “to honor God and His earthly works”, and also in the name of science. It is probably not surprising that Charles Darwin used the interaction between butterflies and flowers to bolster his theory of evolution, but how many people know that Valdimir Nabakov (yes, the author of Lolita) was a renowned lepidopterist who published in journals and had an appointment at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology? Before either of these gentlemen lived, though, Maria Sibylla Merian, who was born in Frankfurt Germany in 1647, used careful observation to describe the lepidopteran life cycle and show that, indeed, caterpillars really do turn into butterflies. The New York Museum of Natural History still has a copy of her book.
There is a wealth of skillfully narrated fascinating science in The Language of Butterflies. How do butterflies know where and when to migrate, sometimes thousands of miles? And then how do they or their offspring know the way back? What is the difference between a butterfly and a moth? In addition to information about these fascinating creatures, their cycles, their scales, and their navigational skills, Williams also discusses their role in ecology. She describes how they interact with other species of animals and plants and gives connections reaching all the way back to the ice ages. Today butterflies are helping us improve our medical technology by using their amazing butterfly scales as a model.
It isn’t uncommon for reviews of fiction to include a statement that the reviewer does not want to say too much more about the book to avoid “spoilers”. That is how I feel about this book. It was full of delightful surprises, but in this case they are all true! I won’t ruin your fun; read The Secret Language of Butterflies and find out for yourself.
My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advance review copy of this book.
If you have ever been mesmerized by the beauty of a butterfly, you are in good company. People have been fascinated by lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) for many centuries. Avid collectors amassed stunningly large collections, such as the 2.25 million specimens in the collection of the British banking scion Lord Walter Rothschild. They collected because of the sheer beauty of the species, as a way “to honor God and His earthly works”, and also in the name of science. It is probably not surprising that Charles Darwin used the interaction between butterflies and flowers to bolster his theory of evolution, but how many people know that Valdimir Nabakov (yes, the author of Lolita) was a renowned lepidopterist who published in journals and had an appointment at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology? Before either of these gentlemen lived, though, Maria Sibylla Merian, who was born in Frankfurt Germany in 1647, used careful observation to describe the lepidopteran life cycle and show that, indeed, caterpillars really do turn into butterflies. The New York Museum of Natural History still has a copy of her book.
There is a wealth of skillfully narrated fascinating science in The Language of Butterflies. How do butterflies know where and when to migrate, sometimes thousands of miles? And then how do they or their offspring know the way back? What is the difference between a butterfly and a moth? In addition to information about these fascinating creatures, their cycles, their scales, and their navigational skills, Williams also discusses their role in ecology. She describes how they interact with other species of animals and plants and gives connections reaching all the way back to the ice ages. Today butterflies are helping us improve our medical technology by using their amazing butterfly scales as a model.
It isn’t uncommon for reviews of fiction to include a statement that the reviewer does not want to say too much more about the book to avoid “spoilers”. That is how I feel about this book. It was full of delightful surprises, but in this case they are all true! I won’t ruin your fun; read The Secret Language of Butterflies and find out for yourself.
My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advance review copy of this book.
September 2, 2020
Overview of butterflies. This fell into a group of books I've read about obsessive collectors. Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne being the Elsa Hart book that was one of several fiction read lately. It seems in the 1800's and early 1900's there were masses of these natural world specimen collectors far beyond just the butterflies obsessives. The group housed together mentioned first and foremost in the book is now at the Field Museum in Chicago and I've seen it several times in past decades.
The prose was ok, the photos better. And it was not organized to a 4 star level. Not in topic or in a prose form that developed strong continuity.
Butterflies are ultimately tied to the various species plant that feeds and houses their development. Outside of the Monarch and a few others, you never get the depth of that connection here, IMHO.
If you want bees and butterflies, a butterfly garden containing their favorites (perennials like Joe Pye weed) works. I just took a photo and in one single phone click I got a shot with 7 different species. Bees and butterflies.
The prose was ok, the photos better. And it was not organized to a 4 star level. Not in topic or in a prose form that developed strong continuity.
Butterflies are ultimately tied to the various species plant that feeds and houses their development. Outside of the Monarch and a few others, you never get the depth of that connection here, IMHO.
If you want bees and butterflies, a butterfly garden containing their favorites (perennials like Joe Pye weed) works. I just took a photo and in one single phone click I got a shot with 7 different species. Bees and butterflies.
March 5, 2020
Nobody hates butterflies. They bring pleasure and fascination to everyone. Yet we know enormously little about them, even today. What we do know has been assembled by Wendy Williams in The Language of Butterflies; an unabashed fan, talking to unabashed fanatics with credentials.
Butterflies come in about 20,000 varieties. Moths come in 260,000. Butterflies are generally far more colorful, making them the objects of adoration. Moths are perceived as a pain. Such is the fickle nature of glamor.
If you've ever touched a butterfly's wing, you know there is a fine powder that stays on your hands. That powder is actually the microscopic scales that make up the colorful patterns on butterfly wings. The wings themselves are not colored; there is a covering layer of scales hanging onto them. As butterflies live their lives, they lose scales, giving them a washed out look. The scales hang on (even tinier) hooks, and the whole system looks like a tiled roof - under a microscope. The brilliant blue morpho that absolutely everyone loves, is not a product of a blue pigment. Its color actually comes from light. Its scales diffract and scatter all other wavelengths except the purest blue. As its scales fall away, it too looks old and washed out. Williams says its color is not meant to attract other morphos; it is instead a defense mechanism. It so dazzles anyone or anything seeing it, that it can fly safely away before they recover their senses and try to capture it.
Much of the book is given over to monarchs, which are the focus of extreme passions all over the continent. All kinds of people have implemented tagging programs, asking finders to contact them so the flight path of the butterfly can be elaborated. The tagging itself is a bit of a miracle, as monarchs without tags weigh less than a paper clip, Williams says. Some migrate from as far as southern Canada to northern Mexico. Others stay put. Some of the migrants lay eggs while making that pilgrimage. Most don't. Unlike other butterflies, monarchs only lay eggs on milkweed. No milkweed, no new generations. Monarch caterpillars ingest the poisonous latex that gives milkweed its name. It makes monarchs poisonous to birds, so birds leave them alone.
The proboscis of a monarch is not a sipping straw for nectar. It is more like a paper towel, sopping up the fluid in the flower by laying in it. Sucking it up would take more energy than the nectar would provide. Monarch antennae are not just for touch purposes. Monarchs actually smell with them.
Though their brain is the size of a pinhead, butterflies can learn. Given the right nectars, they will go to imitation flowers, even if they're painted green, which would normally mean nothing to a butterfly. In other words, they're trainable.
Women have played an outsized role in understanding butterflies. Two notables, Maria Sybilla Merian in the 1600s, who studied them and painted them in all their stages of life and habitat, and Miriam Rothschild, the world expert in them in the late 1800s, are the subjects of deeper profiles in the book. Both women were denied an education, being just girls. Merian was the first to connect caterpillars to butterflies. Until that time, less than 400 years ago, everyone "knew" they were two different animals, one pretty, one disgusting, and no connection between them. The women went on to earn the respect of the scientific community, publishing world-beating books and scientific papers. Another woman, in Colorado, is responsible for the singularly most amazing fossils of butterflies ever found. She supplied endless examples to scientists everywhere, saving them decades of work.
Among the legions of fans, some have understood far more than others. Kingston Leong of California has figured out what makes an attractive and successful wintering area for monarchs. The requirements are complicated, requiring a long period of study of the elements that might go into it. He has helped businesses implement them, such as golf courses and even a housing development, which now attracts thousands of them every winter. It has made itself successful by marketing that feature, even putting monarchs on bathroom walls to reinforce the connection.
Some caterpillars are worshipped by red ants. The ants carry the caterpillar back to the nest and feed it. When it comes out of the chrysalis as a butterfly, they carry it out again and launch it on its way. Why? The caterpillar mimics the smell of a queen ant, and has even mastered the sound she makes. This subterfuge doesn't work with all varieties of red ant. If the ants realize their error, the caterpillar provides a lot of food for the colony.
People can actually help cover for the loss of habitat that is making it nearly impossible for butterflies to migrate. They will stop at apartment balconies and backyard gardens that present flowers and especially milkweed, hopping from charging station to charging station on their route south or north. Putting out the proper attractions is very rewarding for butterfly fans. It's a win-win. It also means huge conservation areas are not necessary. An acre here and an acre there are sufficient to keep butterflies healthy.
However, it also takes a lot of research to do it right. Williams gives the wonderful example of a conservation area, strictly fenced off from interfering cattle. It attracted no butterflies. The reason: the cattle kept the grasses in check, allowing the local wildflowers to thrive and be noticeable. Without the cattle, everything else grew too big and dense for butterflies to work the field.
There is so much more as well. Williams' book is an easy read. She is a storyteller, and has involved herself in her stories. What with the automatic prejudice in favor of the subject matter, The Language of Butterflies is a pleasure to read.
David Wineberg
Butterflies come in about 20,000 varieties. Moths come in 260,000. Butterflies are generally far more colorful, making them the objects of adoration. Moths are perceived as a pain. Such is the fickle nature of glamor.
If you've ever touched a butterfly's wing, you know there is a fine powder that stays on your hands. That powder is actually the microscopic scales that make up the colorful patterns on butterfly wings. The wings themselves are not colored; there is a covering layer of scales hanging onto them. As butterflies live their lives, they lose scales, giving them a washed out look. The scales hang on (even tinier) hooks, and the whole system looks like a tiled roof - under a microscope. The brilliant blue morpho that absolutely everyone loves, is not a product of a blue pigment. Its color actually comes from light. Its scales diffract and scatter all other wavelengths except the purest blue. As its scales fall away, it too looks old and washed out. Williams says its color is not meant to attract other morphos; it is instead a defense mechanism. It so dazzles anyone or anything seeing it, that it can fly safely away before they recover their senses and try to capture it.
Much of the book is given over to monarchs, which are the focus of extreme passions all over the continent. All kinds of people have implemented tagging programs, asking finders to contact them so the flight path of the butterfly can be elaborated. The tagging itself is a bit of a miracle, as monarchs without tags weigh less than a paper clip, Williams says. Some migrate from as far as southern Canada to northern Mexico. Others stay put. Some of the migrants lay eggs while making that pilgrimage. Most don't. Unlike other butterflies, monarchs only lay eggs on milkweed. No milkweed, no new generations. Monarch caterpillars ingest the poisonous latex that gives milkweed its name. It makes monarchs poisonous to birds, so birds leave them alone.
The proboscis of a monarch is not a sipping straw for nectar. It is more like a paper towel, sopping up the fluid in the flower by laying in it. Sucking it up would take more energy than the nectar would provide. Monarch antennae are not just for touch purposes. Monarchs actually smell with them.
Though their brain is the size of a pinhead, butterflies can learn. Given the right nectars, they will go to imitation flowers, even if they're painted green, which would normally mean nothing to a butterfly. In other words, they're trainable.
Women have played an outsized role in understanding butterflies. Two notables, Maria Sybilla Merian in the 1600s, who studied them and painted them in all their stages of life and habitat, and Miriam Rothschild, the world expert in them in the late 1800s, are the subjects of deeper profiles in the book. Both women were denied an education, being just girls. Merian was the first to connect caterpillars to butterflies. Until that time, less than 400 years ago, everyone "knew" they were two different animals, one pretty, one disgusting, and no connection between them. The women went on to earn the respect of the scientific community, publishing world-beating books and scientific papers. Another woman, in Colorado, is responsible for the singularly most amazing fossils of butterflies ever found. She supplied endless examples to scientists everywhere, saving them decades of work.
Among the legions of fans, some have understood far more than others. Kingston Leong of California has figured out what makes an attractive and successful wintering area for monarchs. The requirements are complicated, requiring a long period of study of the elements that might go into it. He has helped businesses implement them, such as golf courses and even a housing development, which now attracts thousands of them every winter. It has made itself successful by marketing that feature, even putting monarchs on bathroom walls to reinforce the connection.
Some caterpillars are worshipped by red ants. The ants carry the caterpillar back to the nest and feed it. When it comes out of the chrysalis as a butterfly, they carry it out again and launch it on its way. Why? The caterpillar mimics the smell of a queen ant, and has even mastered the sound she makes. This subterfuge doesn't work with all varieties of red ant. If the ants realize their error, the caterpillar provides a lot of food for the colony.
People can actually help cover for the loss of habitat that is making it nearly impossible for butterflies to migrate. They will stop at apartment balconies and backyard gardens that present flowers and especially milkweed, hopping from charging station to charging station on their route south or north. Putting out the proper attractions is very rewarding for butterfly fans. It's a win-win. It also means huge conservation areas are not necessary. An acre here and an acre there are sufficient to keep butterflies healthy.
However, it also takes a lot of research to do it right. Williams gives the wonderful example of a conservation area, strictly fenced off from interfering cattle. It attracted no butterflies. The reason: the cattle kept the grasses in check, allowing the local wildflowers to thrive and be noticeable. Without the cattle, everything else grew too big and dense for butterflies to work the field.
There is so much more as well. Williams' book is an easy read. She is a storyteller, and has involved herself in her stories. What with the automatic prejudice in favor of the subject matter, The Language of Butterflies is a pleasure to read.
David Wineberg
August 23, 2020
Williams provides some great information on butterflies, but the book is flawed. My main difficulty is Williams's desire to be engaging to the lay person by including many cutesy expressions. Examples are "You can just hear Darwin licking his chops. Take that, Wollaston", "So it turns out that if you plant it, they will come", "They (Monarch butterflies) just keep on truckin'", "A butterfly's antenna is where the rubber meets the road...", "... to the gazillionth power", "The chances...were one in twenty mazillion bazillion". These expressions became cloying and annoying.
On the one hand, Williams gives a detailed, scientifically up-to-date presentation on how each succeeding generation of Monarchs behaves differently from its parents. She gives a nice explanation of the iridescent blue colors in Morpho butterflies. On the other hand, although she states that "The language of butterflies is the language of color", the recent discoveries on the molecular bases for wing patterns are ignored. These discoveries should be of interest to the lay public, since many of the key genes are also important for the development of human embryos. Given that the text is only 202 pages, there was room for more. A minor annoyance is that the book lacks an index.
On the one hand, Williams gives a detailed, scientifically up-to-date presentation on how each succeeding generation of Monarchs behaves differently from its parents. She gives a nice explanation of the iridescent blue colors in Morpho butterflies. On the other hand, although she states that "The language of butterflies is the language of color", the recent discoveries on the molecular bases for wing patterns are ignored. These discoveries should be of interest to the lay public, since many of the key genes are also important for the development of human embryos. Given that the text is only 202 pages, there was room for more. A minor annoyance is that the book lacks an index.
July 10, 2020
The subject matter was quite interesting, but the writing in this book really threw me off. There are typos and grammatical errors; there are entires sentences repeated (such as researchers having to wear a mask when studying butterflies so they do not inhale the wings). The book read as if it had not been polished or edited, but it is published by a highly reputable publishing company.
The cover is gorgeous and I am more interested in butterflies than I was before, but the writing was off-putting throughout.
The cover is gorgeous and I am more interested in butterflies than I was before, but the writing was off-putting throughout.
November 12, 2020
2.5 Popular writing about butterflies and the people who interact with them.
did-not-finish
November 14, 2020I love butterflies (who doesn't?) and that gorgeous cover, but after a few chapters I knew this book wasn't for me. At least not at this time.
October 5, 2021
Fascinating, and so informative. If you're looking for a thoughtful book to learn from, I would highly recommend this one.
February 17, 2022
I picked up this book expecting a similar experience as "The Feather Thief, The Orchid Thief, or The Dragon Behind the Glass" - a book about human obsession with the natural. However this book didn't live up to those expectations.
The subtitle says "How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect". However there is nearly no discussion of thieves or hoarders. This book only focuses on the scientists as the "Obsessives" - which when you expect a book about criminal obsession is quite disappointing.
The book also predominantly focuses only on the monarch butterfly, likely a good 60-70 percent of the book. Besides portions of the past section which looks into the 150 million years that butterflies have been around, and touches on victorian era collecting, it almost entirely focuses on the monarch or a select few North American and British conservation attempts.
I also found the author's voice frustrating at parts. When discussing Darwin's prediction for a long proboscis butterfly to go with an orchid he was given, the author never even names the species (Xanthopan I had to go look it up). She also at one point goes out of her way to point out that a early book on butterflies had a really long subtitle, but she won't bore us readers with it. However she used more words to make that joke than the subtitle did.
Luckily the book is short - barely 200 pages. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in current science regarding monarch butterflies, but not if you were looking for a book on butterfly thieves. If you read the first few chapters and like the voice then you'll likely enjoy it!
The subtitle says "How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect". However there is nearly no discussion of thieves or hoarders. This book only focuses on the scientists as the "Obsessives" - which when you expect a book about criminal obsession is quite disappointing.
The book also predominantly focuses only on the monarch butterfly, likely a good 60-70 percent of the book. Besides portions of the past section which looks into the 150 million years that butterflies have been around, and touches on victorian era collecting, it almost entirely focuses on the monarch or a select few North American and British conservation attempts.
I also found the author's voice frustrating at parts. When discussing Darwin's prediction for a long proboscis butterfly to go with an orchid he was given, the author never even names the species (Xanthopan I had to go look it up). She also at one point goes out of her way to point out that a early book on butterflies had a really long subtitle, but she won't bore us readers with it. However she used more words to make that joke than the subtitle did.
Luckily the book is short - barely 200 pages. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in current science regarding monarch butterflies, but not if you were looking for a book on butterfly thieves. If you read the first few chapters and like the voice then you'll likely enjoy it!
August 20, 2023
I love a good in-depth snapshot of an animal book - especially if its an animal i previously hadnt given much thought to but are actually common to see in daily life, such as butterflies. I also highly recommend Jennifer Ackerman’s work on birds which helped me to really appreciate bird life.
This book was very well written - sometimes you have to be in the mood for a research driven book, but Wendy Williams manages to seamlessly interweave the science with anecdote which makes this book easy to read even when its about the research. She gives enough detail to be intriguing and amazing but without getting bogged down in the intricate details that can make reading scientific articles a drag.
It also exposed a lot of the myths i still believed about butterflies and insects in general. I thought they were all short-lived insects whose only purpose was to breed and die - not so. Some, such as the monarch which is featured a lot in this book are incredibly smart and do have the ability to learn. They’re more robust than i would think too which is saddening given how climate change is depleting their numbers.
The discussion of the intricacies of their ecosystems was also fascinating.
I spouted many random facts to my partner while reading this much to his bemusement, such as the fact that some butterflies consume birds tears! I mean if thats not the stuff of nightmares i dont know what is.
My only complaint is that for a book so focused on the discussion of beauty and colour, there probably could have been some pictures of the butterflies discussed.
This book was very well written - sometimes you have to be in the mood for a research driven book, but Wendy Williams manages to seamlessly interweave the science with anecdote which makes this book easy to read even when its about the research. She gives enough detail to be intriguing and amazing but without getting bogged down in the intricate details that can make reading scientific articles a drag.
It also exposed a lot of the myths i still believed about butterflies and insects in general. I thought they were all short-lived insects whose only purpose was to breed and die - not so. Some, such as the monarch which is featured a lot in this book are incredibly smart and do have the ability to learn. They’re more robust than i would think too which is saddening given how climate change is depleting their numbers.
The discussion of the intricacies of their ecosystems was also fascinating.
I spouted many random facts to my partner while reading this much to his bemusement, such as the fact that some butterflies consume birds tears! I mean if thats not the stuff of nightmares i dont know what is.
My only complaint is that for a book so focused on the discussion of beauty and colour, there probably could have been some pictures of the butterflies discussed.
March 21, 2021
This is a beautiful book on the outside and an amazing but somewhat frustrating one on the inside. Author Wendy Williams -- best known for her best-seller "The Horse" -- takes us on a long, looping journey to inquire into the allure of butterflies. There are times when she blows the reader's mind, and others where she repeats herself or skips over a potentially interesting side trip into what motivates some of the humans she talks about.
Perhaps the problem is that subtitle. I wanted more thieves and hoarders in this book. They get a shout out, but just barely Mostly it's about scientists and citizens. Some of them are quite interesting, such as the woman who discovered and preserved butterflies found in fossils back in the days when women were supposed to just cook and clean and raise the kids. There is, of course, a long discourse on Darwin too, as expected, and how he didn't appreciate butterflies until one came to the rescue of his "Origin of the Species."
The best chapter is the last one, in which Williams follows the path of migrating monarchs from Wisconsin to Mexico, an amazing journey she's spent some time setting up in prior chapters. The payoff when she reaches Mexico is simply breathtaking, and she rises to the occasion of describing it. That part is only frustrating because we readers couldn't be there in person, but reading her account of it is the next best thing.
Perhaps the problem is that subtitle. I wanted more thieves and hoarders in this book. They get a shout out, but just barely Mostly it's about scientists and citizens. Some of them are quite interesting, such as the woman who discovered and preserved butterflies found in fossils back in the days when women were supposed to just cook and clean and raise the kids. There is, of course, a long discourse on Darwin too, as expected, and how he didn't appreciate butterflies until one came to the rescue of his "Origin of the Species."
The best chapter is the last one, in which Williams follows the path of migrating monarchs from Wisconsin to Mexico, an amazing journey she's spent some time setting up in prior chapters. The payoff when she reaches Mexico is simply breathtaking, and she rises to the occasion of describing it. That part is only frustrating because we readers couldn't be there in person, but reading her account of it is the next best thing.
July 2, 2020
*I did receive a digital version of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.*
While insects as a whole can sometimes get a less than savory reputation from the population at large as being annoying, frightening, biting, and stinging bugs, the same cannot be said of perhaps its most beloved order Lepidoptera. Meaning "scaled wings" this insect order is comprised of butterflies, moths, and skippers. As the author Wendy WIlliams points out early on in The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect, there are about 180,000 known and described species in this order! (This would place them only behind the beetle's order of Coleoptera in number of species.) With a focus on the butterflies this book examines these creatures from several different lenses including their biology, conservation and ecology, to the myriad cultural connections humanity has with butterflies.
The different individuals that find their way into this work and justify the subtitle of the book are almost as fascinating the butterflies themselves. These include collectors (both legal and clandestine) of thousands of butterflies, especially during the Victorian heyday of insect collecting, and their cutthroat and not always friendly competition with each other. More importantly, many scientists, ecologists, and conservationists are also to be found within these pages. Within these ranks can be found leaders of citizen-science butterfly tracking initiatives, golf course landscapers that prioritize sustainable butterfly habitat, and even a flustered and discombobulated Charles Darwin's musings on some perplexing qualities of butterflies. However, there is one person that really stood out. This remarkable individual was a German-born woman born in the mid 17th century by the name of Maria Sibylla Merian. She was one of the first true entomologists, especially focusing on the butterflies. A terrific naturalist, she was also an accomplished artist and illustrated many images of the species she studied with accurate detail in her published work. Her works detailed many of her studies and observations in South America, particularly on the life cycles of many New World caterpillars and their metamorphoses. She was a true pioneer as a female scientist in many regards because of these tremendous endeavors.
In light of all this, the butterflies are still the stars of this book. While I could have used a bit more space dedicated to their life cycle and biology, the reader will still come away with many details on the science of butterflies, such as the physics of the proboscis (and its variations) that a butterfly uses to "drink" whatever medium it attains its nutrients from. There are several detailed accounts of efforts to preserve or bring back certain butterfly species to different areas. Some of these projects really helped in the understanding of the complexity of ecology and the connections between different parts of the environment (most notably with the successful conservation efforts to bring back the large blue back to Britain where it was once extirpated.) Monarchs make a prominent appearance in the book, though this is probably to be expected since they are the most studied butterfly species with worldwide recognition. From their love-hate relationship with milkweed (for real, while the caterpillars rely on the plant many also fall victim to the plant in some strange ways as well), their incredible migration story across the North American continent, and the programs and studies that have been done and are still underway in regards to these butterflies more is likely known about them than any other butterfly. Yet despite all this knowledge and effort on their behalf, monarch populations have sadly been on a downwards trajectory.
Overall The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect by Wendy Williams is a delightful read on our Lepidopteran friends. While butterflies may seem a bit boring and ubiquitous to some people, reading this book will likely change the way one thinks about them the next time they see one. All in all a fascinating book for anyone wanting to learn about these amazing creatures!
4.5 out of 5 stars.
If you enjoyed the review please consider visiting readvictoriously.com for more!
While insects as a whole can sometimes get a less than savory reputation from the population at large as being annoying, frightening, biting, and stinging bugs, the same cannot be said of perhaps its most beloved order Lepidoptera. Meaning "scaled wings" this insect order is comprised of butterflies, moths, and skippers. As the author Wendy WIlliams points out early on in The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect, there are about 180,000 known and described species in this order! (This would place them only behind the beetle's order of Coleoptera in number of species.) With a focus on the butterflies this book examines these creatures from several different lenses including their biology, conservation and ecology, to the myriad cultural connections humanity has with butterflies.
The different individuals that find their way into this work and justify the subtitle of the book are almost as fascinating the butterflies themselves. These include collectors (both legal and clandestine) of thousands of butterflies, especially during the Victorian heyday of insect collecting, and their cutthroat and not always friendly competition with each other. More importantly, many scientists, ecologists, and conservationists are also to be found within these pages. Within these ranks can be found leaders of citizen-science butterfly tracking initiatives, golf course landscapers that prioritize sustainable butterfly habitat, and even a flustered and discombobulated Charles Darwin's musings on some perplexing qualities of butterflies. However, there is one person that really stood out. This remarkable individual was a German-born woman born in the mid 17th century by the name of Maria Sibylla Merian. She was one of the first true entomologists, especially focusing on the butterflies. A terrific naturalist, she was also an accomplished artist and illustrated many images of the species she studied with accurate detail in her published work. Her works detailed many of her studies and observations in South America, particularly on the life cycles of many New World caterpillars and their metamorphoses. She was a true pioneer as a female scientist in many regards because of these tremendous endeavors.
In light of all this, the butterflies are still the stars of this book. While I could have used a bit more space dedicated to their life cycle and biology, the reader will still come away with many details on the science of butterflies, such as the physics of the proboscis (and its variations) that a butterfly uses to "drink" whatever medium it attains its nutrients from. There are several detailed accounts of efforts to preserve or bring back certain butterfly species to different areas. Some of these projects really helped in the understanding of the complexity of ecology and the connections between different parts of the environment (most notably with the successful conservation efforts to bring back the large blue back to Britain where it was once extirpated.) Monarchs make a prominent appearance in the book, though this is probably to be expected since they are the most studied butterfly species with worldwide recognition. From their love-hate relationship with milkweed (for real, while the caterpillars rely on the plant many also fall victim to the plant in some strange ways as well), their incredible migration story across the North American continent, and the programs and studies that have been done and are still underway in regards to these butterflies more is likely known about them than any other butterfly. Yet despite all this knowledge and effort on their behalf, monarch populations have sadly been on a downwards trajectory.
Overall The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect by Wendy Williams is a delightful read on our Lepidopteran friends. While butterflies may seem a bit boring and ubiquitous to some people, reading this book will likely change the way one thinks about them the next time they see one. All in all a fascinating book for anyone wanting to learn about these amazing creatures!
4.5 out of 5 stars.
If you enjoyed the review please consider visiting readvictoriously.com for more!
May 30, 2021
"Butterflies unite us across generations and across space and across time. They are elemental. A butterfly is an entire universe, right there in the palm of your hand."
I've been participating in a citizen science project this spring and summer about butterflies, and I wanted to know more.
And, so, this book.
What did I learn?
Butterflies belong to the second-largest insect order, Lepidoptera, with 180,000 known species. Of that, 14,500 are butterflies. The rest are moths.
What's the difference between moths and butterflies? The frenulum, that hooks together the forewing and hind wing on moths, which moves them together, and it is (generally) absent in butterflies.
What do moths and butterflies have in common? Proboscises, "fantastical appendages that are not noses and are not used to take in oxygen and are not used to sniff things out." It is the proboscis with which moths and butterflies search for food.
How about this fact? "The list of materials other than nectar on which Lepidoptera feed is stupefying, myth-busting, slightly nauseating, even frighteningly ghoulish: dung, decaying plant material, bird droppings, fruit both fresh and rotted, crushed pollen, blood, decaying flesh, other Lepidoptera (preferably dead but not necessarily so), caterpillars, sap, human sweat, urine, beeswax, honey, fur."
When I got to the chapters on monarchs, I found myself underlining everything, page after page. It's completely fascinating, but if you want to know about that, you'd best read the book for yourself.
I've been participating in a citizen science project this spring and summer about butterflies, and I wanted to know more.
And, so, this book.
What did I learn?
Butterflies belong to the second-largest insect order, Lepidoptera, with 180,000 known species. Of that, 14,500 are butterflies. The rest are moths.
What's the difference between moths and butterflies? The frenulum, that hooks together the forewing and hind wing on moths, which moves them together, and it is (generally) absent in butterflies.
What do moths and butterflies have in common? Proboscises, "fantastical appendages that are not noses and are not used to take in oxygen and are not used to sniff things out." It is the proboscis with which moths and butterflies search for food.
How about this fact? "The list of materials other than nectar on which Lepidoptera feed is stupefying, myth-busting, slightly nauseating, even frighteningly ghoulish: dung, decaying plant material, bird droppings, fruit both fresh and rotted, crushed pollen, blood, decaying flesh, other Lepidoptera (preferably dead but not necessarily so), caterpillars, sap, human sweat, urine, beeswax, honey, fur."
When I got to the chapters on monarchs, I found myself underlining everything, page after page. It's completely fascinating, but if you want to know about that, you'd best read the book for yourself.
March 17, 2023
An interesting popular science book about butterflies. There's a little bit of everything here : encounters with Victorian butterfly enthusiasts, including Charles Darwin. Real-life encounters with entomologists and amateur butterfly taggers, creators of butterfly sanctuaries, tourists to Monarch butterfly overwintering sites. A little bit of science - how the proboscis and the antennae work, how migrating butterflies find their way to their destination (or, alternatively, how they can get lost if the external clues of temperature, daylight, circadian rhythm are being messed with in a lab environment). Visits to Yale and Harvard's butterfly collections, Monarch resting sites on the West Coast and in Mexico are included.
At only about 200 pages, the book is an easy read for anyone who wants to know just a little bit more about these adorable insects. I would have appreciated a little more science, a little less anecdote, but acknowledge that that is purely a personal choice.
At only about 200 pages, the book is an easy read for anyone who wants to know just a little bit more about these adorable insects. I would have appreciated a little more science, a little less anecdote, but acknowledge that that is purely a personal choice.
October 14, 2021
A treasure trove of butterfly lore: when they first appeared on the Earth, subsequent history, differences between butterflies and moths, scientists and non-scientists alike who advanced the study of butterflies[from the well-known Darwin to the obscure Maria Sibylla Merian, who first discovered the link between the caterpillar and the butterfly in the 17th century]. Research past and present and conclusions are discussed along with how butterflies fit into very particular ecosystems. This was a window into the world of an insect beloved by all.
June 7, 2021
Fascinating book about butterflies and the people who study them, people that are almost as fascinating as the butterflies. Filled with interesting facts but written in a very conversational easy- to- read style. The author is a Science journalist who travels extensively researching her topic. Her enthusiasm for her subject is apparent in her writing. I also appreciate the wisdom and life experience of her 70 yrs and I think that comes through in her writing. With several pages of pictures ( including the gorgeous Blue Morpho on the cover) coming in at about 200 pages of text, less the notes, its one of the most interesting nature non-fiction I've read this yr.
May 26, 2020
The Language of Butterflies by Wendy Williams is delightfully written and I found myself reading late into the night. I love butterflies and moths and often take day trips to various gardens in order to take photographs. In this book, I learned more information which helps me appreciate the delicacies and strengths of these beautiful insects. I learned the proboscis absorbs the nectar, pollen, or nutrition like a sponge. The colors and textures on the wings are considered scales. The bodies of butterflies and moths can be fluffy or thin, it depends on the species. The migrations of butterflies are the most amazing journeys!
The history of serious collectors for all specimens of Lepidoptera is so intriguing. It personally hurt my heart to think of all those beautiful “flying flowers” being caught and later pinned to a collectors board. The lengths of effort, time, and money those collectors expended to have the most impressive specimens were shocking. Maybe their collecting had truly become an addiction.
The language of Butterflies is filled with history, scientific information, and personal observances of the miracle lives of butterflies!
Publication Date: June 2, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The history of serious collectors for all specimens of Lepidoptera is so intriguing. It personally hurt my heart to think of all those beautiful “flying flowers” being caught and later pinned to a collectors board. The lengths of effort, time, and money those collectors expended to have the most impressive specimens were shocking. Maybe their collecting had truly become an addiction.
The language of Butterflies is filled with history, scientific information, and personal observances of the miracle lives of butterflies!
Publication Date: June 2, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
August 14, 2024
All about how captivating butterflies are. Obviously focused on monarchs but also mentioned the gorgeous painted lady! And it mentioned where I lived in Oregon so that part was fun. I thought it was informative and also entertaining. 🦋
December 29, 2020
An excellent in depth study of butterflies. Not perhaps as romanticised as I had hoped but certainly very informative.
July 19, 2022
Butterflies are really freaking cool.
September 21, 2021
I now know much more about butterflies than I ever have before, so I'm going to consider this book a success.
May 27, 2023
Accessible writing offers so much information with plenty of research. My mind was blown several times. Hugely engaging and enjoyable read.
January 29, 2022
For a book focused, in part, on butterfly conservation and protection, the author is hopelessly misguided about one key role in declining butterfly populations: the capturing and killing of butterflies for display in private collections. The author spends page after page glorifying butterfly collecting while doing nothing to speak out and condemn this practice. Some butterfly populations have been completely wiped out by the practice of collecting. The number one rule all butterfly enthusiasts must follow is DO NOT collect and kill butterflies. Never purchase any dead butterfly specimens for private display; these purchases fuel the problem of collecting. Instead, go out in nature and observe butterflies in their natural environment. They are for everyone's enjoyment.
December 9, 2021
I had no idea that butterflies were so interesting! This is a really incredible science book that covers a ton of interesting subjects related to butterflies and moths. Everything from fossils showing butterfly evolution, the history of how people found that caterpillars and butterflies were the same species, the biology of butterfly wings, to discussion of butterfly migration and conservation. I definitely learned a lot, and I thought that the book was very well written.
March 26, 2020
As someone who has been rearing butterflies and moths for over 20 years, I am still interested in learning more. There is so much to learn! The Language of Butterflies was a nice educational book that was easy to understand. I really enjoyed it.
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