Series in Butterflies
Books in Butterflies
Fly
Few creatures live in such close and intimate contact with human beings as flies. As ‘the constant, immemorial witnesses to the human comedy’, flies accompany human beings wherever they go, even beyond (or at least into) the grave. Almost one tenth of all the species known to science are flies.For centuries, flies have been seen as mankind’s enemy, blamed for plagues, subject to public excommunication in the Middle Ages and campaigns of extermination during the early years of the twentieth century. As ‘Lord of the Flies’, Beelzebub is the embodiment of evil. For many centuries, flies were thought to be produced by spontaneous generation, and thus not to be legitimate parts of God’s creation. From St John Chrysostomos through to David Cronenberg, flies – and, more especially, their maggots – have represented the horror of the formless. And yet human beings have also found it easy to identify with the weakness and vulnerability of their intimate enemies – and even occasionally to admire their pursuit of pleasure.Fly explores the slow redemption of the fly, as the intricate miracle of its design and function gradually became appreciated. The secrets of the fly’s uniquely versatile powers of flight are only just beginning to be understood and harnessed. The twentieth century that began with worldwide campaigns for the extermination of the fly ended with the humble fruit fly at the centre of the revolution brought about by genetics.Connor delights in tracking his lowly subject through myth, literature, poetry, painting, film, and biology. Humans live in close and intimate quarters with flies, but Fly is the first book to give these common creatures their due.
Fly
Few creatures live in such close and intimate contact with human beings as flies. As ‘the constant, immemorial witnesses to the human comedy’, flies accompany human beings wherever they go, even beyond (or at least into) the grave. Almost one tenth of all the species known to science are flies.For centuries, flies have been seen as mankind’s enemy, blamed for plagues, subject to public excommunication in the Middle Ages and campaigns of extermination during the early years of the twentieth century. As ‘Lord of the Flies’, Beelzebub is the embodiment of evil. For many centuries, flies were thought to be produced by spontaneous generation, and thus not to be legitimate parts of God’s creation. From St John Chrysostomos through to David Cronenberg, flies – and, more especially, their maggots – have represented the horror of the formless. And yet human beings have also found it easy to identify with the weakness and vulnerability of their intimate enemies – and even occasionally to admire their pursuit of pleasure.Fly explores the slow redemption of the fly, as the intricate miracle of its design and function gradually became appreciated. The secrets of the fly’s uniquely versatile powers of flight are only just beginning to be understood and harnessed. The twentieth century that began with worldwide campaigns for the extermination of the fly ended with the humble fruit fly at the centre of the revolution brought about by genetics.Connor delights in tracking his lowly subject through myth, literature, poetry, painting, film, and biology. Humans live in close and intimate quarters with flies, but Fly is the first book to give these common creatures their due.
Moths of the Limberlost with Original Photographs
This version of the book is fully illustrated and contains over a hundred photographs in black & white. Moths of the Limberlost is a fascinating book written by the well-known American novelist and photographer Gene Stratton-Porter. It paints a vibrant picture of her delight in the moths as she loves, cares for, breeds and studies the creatures. The first chapter is an introduction and the second is an overview of the natural history of moths, however, it is only marginally technical and she interweaves the chapter with her own experiences. In the final thirteen chapters she focuses on one moth per chapter, the moths that have most caught her interest. It is partly an autobiography as she describes her experiences from childhood - her delights and joys at successfully breeding them or learning something new about them and her sadness when they die or don't breed. It describes her family's help in this passion and the friends she gained through the pursuit. It is a beautiful window into the person she was and her love of nature.
Salmon
Every year, wild salmon travel hundreds of miles upstream. They fight fierce river currents, leap over rocks and small waterfalls, and die by the thousands of starvation, disease and exposure to cold. Even if they surmount these obstacles the fish risk becoming dinner for hungry predators like bears, birds and humans. Guided by a keen sense of smell, the survivors travel to their original hatching grounds, where they breed, spawn and die in a short space of time.Inspired by the remarkable homing instinct of one of the natural world’s greatest wonders, we have selected the salmon as a symbol of fortitude, fecundity, self-sacrifice, loyalty to place and unwavering pursuit of destiny. Yet the salmon has become a deeply paradoxical and controversial creature. Celebrated for centuries as the noblest of fish, it is now just as likely to be deplored as the ignoble product of the aquatic equivalent of battery farming.Salmon examines the natural history of the fish and looks at it from the perspectives of those who have studied it, eaten it, pursued it, fought over it, pondered its meaning and absorbed it into culture and art. This innovative biography of a species encompasses the salmon’s evolutionary, ecological and human stories, ranging from Nova Scotia to Norway and from Korea to California, and stretching from prehistory to the future. Anyone who has ever eaten or tried to catch one will want to read the book that is the first to serve up the ‘compleat’ salmon.
Salmon
Every year, wild salmon travel hundreds of miles upstream. They fight fierce river currents, leap over rocks and small waterfalls, and die by the thousands of starvation, disease and exposure to cold. Even if they surmount these obstacles the fish risk becoming dinner for hungry predators like bears, birds and humans. Guided by a keen sense of smell, the survivors travel to their original hatching grounds, where they breed, spawn and die in a short space of time.Inspired by the remarkable homing instinct of one of the natural world’s greatest wonders, we have selected the salmon as a symbol of fortitude, fecundity, self-sacrifice, loyalty to place and unwavering pursuit of destiny. Yet the salmon has become a deeply paradoxical and controversial creature. Celebrated for centuries as the noblest of fish, it is now just as likely to be deplored as the ignoble product of the aquatic equivalent of battery farming.Salmon examines the natural history of the fish and looks at it from the perspectives of those who have studied it, eaten it, pursued it, fought over it, pondered its meaning and absorbed it into culture and art. This innovative biography of a species encompasses the salmon’s evolutionary, ecological and human stories, ranging from Nova Scotia to Norway and from Korea to California, and stretching from prehistory to the future. Anyone who has ever eaten or tried to catch one will want to read the book that is the first to serve up the ‘compleat’ salmon.