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86
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
BOOK REVIEW
Mariposas de Venezuela. By Michael Schmid and Bradford M. Endicott. 1968. xi -\- 67pp., 142 color illus. Publisher: L. Levison Junr., Copenhagen, [available in U.S. from Entomological Reprint Specialists, P.O.Box 207, East Lansing, Michigan; price $9.95]
This, the first book ever to treat Venezuelan butterflies, is, as it should be, in Spanish; but, fortunately for the North American reader, contains a complete English text in the back. The 142 colored plates are excellent. Those species depicted were undoubtedly chosen for their beauty, but still comprise a characteristic representation of the Venezuelan fauna. All but a very few, e.g. Morpho species and Agrias narcissus, are species that occur in the populated Venezuelan coastal plain.
The commentary on each species is brief but interesting and easily read. The English text is not an exact translation of the Spanish but in a few places has been adjusted slightly for an English audience as, for instance, in the addition of a few English vernacular names. It is easy to fault the book for the outdated nomenclature used, most of which dates back to Seitz. I found 38 of 113 butterflies placed in a taxonomically incorrect genus. A table of "recent name changes" in the back of the book corrects ten of these, but another seven are changed to still another improper usage.
This book is an introduction to Venezuelan butterflies and not a definitive study of them. For the Venezuelan with a casual interest in Lepidoptera or for the North American Lepidopterist with a casual interest in Venezuela, it has a definite place.
John H. Masters, P. O. Box 7511, St. Paul, Minnesota.