The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect

by Wendy Williams

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501178061
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	48,697
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Science journalist Wendy Williams has spent her life outdoors, either on the back of a horse, on skis, or on her own two feet. She has spent a great deal of time in a variety of countries in Africa, walking in the fields and forests of Europe, and exploring North American mountain chains and prairies. She lives on Cape Cod in Massachusetts with her husband and her Border Collie Taff. She is the author of The Horse and The Language of Butterflies.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Part I Past 1

1 The Gateway Drug 3

2 Down the Rabbit Hole 15

3 The Number One Butterfly 27

4 Flash and Dazzle 45

5 How Butterflies Saved Charles Darwin's Bacon 67

Part II Present 77

6 Amelia's Butterfly 79

7 A Parasol of Monarchs 87

8 The Honeymoon Hotel 97

9 Scablands 111

10 On the Raindance Ranch 121

11 A Sense of Mystical Wonder 135

Part III Future 143

12 The Social Butterfly 145

13 Paroxysms of Ecstasy 171

14 The Butterfly Highway 181

Epilogue: In the Mountains of Mexico 199

Acknowledgments 203

Notes 205

Photo Credits 223

Editorial Reviews

01/06/2020

Science journalist Williams (The Horse), mixing a discussion of her experiences learning about butterflies with an overview of centuries’ worth of research, offers a deeply personal and lyrical book that also provides meaningful scientific insight. Captivated by the insects’ beauty, she writes, “The language of butterflies is the language of color,” and that she likes to “imagine them as the world’s first artists.” She relates the stories of similarly entranced people, including Maria Sibylla Merian, who, in the 17th century, cast aside gender norms to pursue entomology and traveled from her native Germany to Suriname to find the spectacular blue morpho butterfly, in the process writing the first account of the caterpillar-to-butterfly transformation. Williams spends much time on monarch butterfly biology, discussing the insects’ ability to migrate thousands of miles and the iridescent wing scales that give them, like all butterflies, their signature patterns. She also discusses the factors behind declining butterfly populations, from habitat destruction to climate change, but remains optimistic that corrective action is still possible. Nature-loving readers will surely share the joy Williams takes in her subject in this admiring tribute to the butterfly. Agent: Michelle Tessler, Tessler Literary. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Butterflies are even more fascinating than they are beautiful. Wendy Williams’ reporting on these otherworldly insects stuns on every page. Read this book and you'll metamorphose into an even greater fan of these amazing animals. I loved this book!”
—Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus

“[A] deeply personal and lyrical book that also provides meaningful scientific insight . . . Nature-loving readers will surely share the joy Williams takes in her subject in this admiring tribute to the butterfly.”
—Publishers Weekly

“This entertaining look at ‘the world's favorite insect’ tells about butterflies’ captivating beauty, and the ways these bugs have fascinated people throughout history...[Williams’] enthusiasm is convincing and contagious.”
—Booklist, starred review

“A merry jaunt through the past, present, and future of butterfly pop science...To keep the science and history accessible rather than overwhelming, Williams wisely selects key characters, transformational moments, and illustrative species...Williams paces a geological event like an action movie, and her animated storytelling skills, coupled with her orientation toward universal themes like the nature of beauty, will appeal to a broad audience....Expect this book to awaken the dormant butterfly enthusiast within.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Enthralling and revelatory. Williams is a masterful storyteller. The tales she weaves here not only illuminate the intricate beauty and astonishing intelligence of butterflies, but the consuming passions of the scientists and collectors who have fallen under their spell. I loved this book. It changed the way I see these mesmerizing insects—and the natural world.”
—Jennifer Ackerman, New York Times bestselling author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think

“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

“William’s tale skips and hovers as lightly as the insects that fascinate her, revealing how very little we knew about them until a young German woman in the 17th century did what no one else had done—watch them. It’s what we all should learn to do, if we are to save and protect these fragile beings who as pollinators help feed us and who give us the simple joy of delight as they flutter by like colored petals on a breeze. A must read for all.”
—Virginia Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of Animal Wise

“Look closely at a butterfly wing and the colors glow with tiny, luminous scales. Wendy Williams’ book is the same – a focused examination filled with unexpected marvels. Written with wit and wonder, The Language of Butterflies is a worthy celebration of one of nature’s most dazzling subjects.”
—Dr. Thor Hanson, author of Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees

“The Language of Butterflies enchanted me from the from the very first page. Woven through with curious wonderings about butterflies and Williams’ journey of understanding, this is the best book on natural history I have read in years.”
— Pat Shipman, author of The Invaders

“The Language of Butterflies introduces us to an array of fascinating people who help tease out delightful insights into lepidopteran biology and evolution. This is a wonderful read.”
—Dr. David Suzuki, author of The Sacred Balance and founder of the David Suzuki Foundation

“This fascinating book will be of interest to anyone who has ever admired a butterfly, and to everyone who cares about preserving these stunning creatures.”
—Library Journal

“Informative, thought-provoking...Williams is a consummate storyteller, and her narrative seamlessly integrates scientific facts with vivid portraits of characters as colorful as the butterflies that intrigue and inspire them.”
–BookPage, *starred review

From the Publisher

03/01/2020

Williams (The Horse) presents a history of butterfly science, including the work that's being done today to understand butterfly behavior and to preserve the 20,000 species of this beautiful insect. The Victorian era was a time of rampant butterfly collecting; one of the Rothschilds amassed 2.5 million specimens. Collecting and trade in butterflies continues, but much of it is illegal now. Yet humans remain obsessed by these gorgeous insects. Williams delves into the differences between butterflies and moths; the function of the butterfly proboscis (it's not what you think); butterfly fossils and evolution; the behavior and adaptability of our most famous butterfly, the monarch; and past and current efforts at butterfly conservation, which includes a significant contribution from novelist Vladimir Nabokov. She also discusses the multiple reasons for the decline in butterfly numbers: monoculture practices in farming, replacement of fields of wildflowers with grass lawns, pesticide use, and chaotic climatic conditions. VERDICT This fascinating book will be of interest to anyone who has ever admired a butterfly, and to everyone who cares about preserving these stunning creatures.—Rachel Owens, Daytona State Coll. Lib., FL

Library Journal

2020-01-15
A merry jaunt through the past, present, and future of butterfly pop science.

In her hybrid history/science/travel text, science journalist Williams, whose previous book was a historical and scientific and cultural exploration of horses, leads readers through the body of human butterfly knowledge, driven by a guiding question: “What is it about butterflies that so easily and so universally catches the fancy of Earth’s Homo sapiens?” In the first section, the author profiles the early pioneers in butterfly breakthroughs. The second elaborates on the questions that contemporary science is currently trying to answer. The third section, urgent but not alarming, focuses on the environmental threats to the “goddess of color” and what we can do to ameliorate them. To keep the science and history accessible rather than overwhelming, Williams wisely selects key characters, transformational moments, and illustrative species. Most of the protagonists of her story are women, such as “the inestimably brave” German naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) and an American mother-daughter butterfly-tagging team. Readers should keep their computer or phone handy, as the reverent descriptions of the insects’ beauty may require visual satisfaction. Williams paces a geological event like an action movie, and her animated storytelling skills, coupled with her orientation toward universal themes like the nature of beauty, will appeal to a broad audience. The author views butterflies as emblematic of the natural world as a whole. “The world’s favorite insect,” she writes, “unites 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.” Just as efforts to rescue endangered butterfly species have restored ecosystems, the innate human fascination with butterflies becomes a unifying factor in divided times. Our awe for them, Williams suggests, can motivate us to treat each other and the planet better, and the author guides us on our way as she informs, entertains, and rallies readers to the conservationist cause.

Expect this book to awaken the dormant butterfly enthusiast within.

Kirkus Reviews

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