Book Review

Pacific Science Center’s Life Sciences staff members are always reading and many of the books we read are science related. Considering that these books may be of interest to other readers, we will blog short reviews of a current book from time to time. Join the discussion! This review is from Life Sciences volunteer, Terry Pagos.

“The Dangerous World of Butterflies”
By Peter Laufer
Hardcover, 288 pages
The Lyons Press
List price: $24.95

I first heard about “The Dangerous World of Butterflies” from an NPR Talk of the Nation podcast last month and immediately put my name on the list at library. It was worth the wait! Peter Laufer is a journalist best known for his books reporting on war and social and political issues. So why did he write a book about butterflies? As Dr. Laufer explains in the book’s introduction, he joked at a book signing that after covering natural disasters, wars, and human cruelty he was ready to write about something to counter the anger and sadness of his previous books – something lighthearted and positive – something like butterflies. From there the adventure begins.

As soon as Dr. Laufer began researching his book, he realized that not all is harmonious in the dangerous world of butterflies. Breeders, smugglers, collectors, farmers, hobbyists, artists, scholars, poachers, researchers, conservationists and criminals all want a piece of the butterfly action. Where some see beauty, others see riches. While some struggle to keep a butterfly species from extinction, others hoard and exterminate them to make their collections more valuable. Dr. Laufer takes us up close and behind the scenes with unforgettable characters – the good guys and the bad guys, the butterfly huggers and butterfly hunters.

Throughout his explorations Dr. Laufer explains the science behind many butterfly phenomena such as migration, wing pigment and even butterfly reproduction in a readable, nontechnical style:

[p. 234] Butterflies copulate. The male grabs the female with appendages known as claspers and then uses his reproductive organ – his oedeagus – to send sperm into his partner’s reproductive system. But the sperm does not immediately fertilize the eggs. She stores it until she locates the foodplant on which her species thrives, and until she locates a spot on the foodplant that she considers prime real estate for her offspring. Once she chooses that ideal place she releases the sperm so the eggs she lays are fertilized. Her larvae feast on the foodplant directly after they emerge from the egg: their home is their dinner.

Yet there is still some mystery in the world of butterflies. Metamorphosis is magic.

For a good summer read, travel with Dr. Peter Laufer through “The Dangerous World of Butterflies.” It may very well influence your next visit to Pacific Science Center's Tropical Butterfly House.