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86
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
BOOK REVIEW
Tropical Butterflies, by D. F. Owen. 1971. 214 p., 40 plates. Clarendon Press, Oxford, England. $11.50.
Perhaps because "Tropical Butterflies" is ubiquitous, the book is subtitled, "The ecology and behavior of butterflies in the tropics with special reference to African species." The emphasis of the author is summed up even better by two statements in the preface: ". . . this book ... is mainly about African butterflies, because I know more about them than about the butterflies of other tropical regions," and, "I advocate throughout the study of living butterflies in their natural environments, and although I am not against building up a collection, I would rather see collectors devote some of their energy to finding out more about living butterflies."
Thus, we have a book consisting of extensive discourse on ecology and behavior with only scant references to taxonomy, identification, collecting and mounting techniques, etc. This is very good, for the author is concentrating on those subjects usually neglected in "butterfly books." Some representative chapter titles include: classification and zoogeography, life histories, population ecology, population genetics, mimicry, evolution and conservation. The text is concise, well written, and amply illustrated with excellent text figures and photographic plates. There is an index and an extensive bibliography.
The author has spent eight years studying butterflies in Africa and much of the text is from his personal experiences, including an extensive treatment of the population biology of Acraea encedon which has been his major research interest. Many of his observations were made in a small garden in Freetown, Sierra Leone where he took about 300 species. This should suggest that elaborate trips into the bush are not essential for tropical collecting. Some chapters, such as the one dealing with mimicry, take the form of reviews of contemporary research and publication. Although most of the exemplification is taken from the African fauna, it is pertinent to pan-tropical situations and, in fact, much of it to temperate regions as well. The species diversity of the tropical butterfly fauna is treated in detail and numerous comparisons are given with temperate faunas. Seasonal forms, which are most pronounced in Africa, is the only other purely tropical phenomenon which is discussed in detail.
Without reservation, I regard the book as excellent. For anybody intending to collect in the tropics, the book would be a tremendous asset. It is not necessary to have any interest in tropical butterflies, however, in order to benefit from the book because the emphasis is on the ecology and behavior of butterflies rather than on the tropics. I hope that everyone who reads the book will retain some of the author's insights regarding the study of living butterflies. I am sure that this will result in more meaningful field work whether one lives in Africa, elsewhere in the tropics, in temperate regions, or even in the arctic.
John H. Masters, Lemon Street North, North Hudson, Wisconsin 54016.
NOTES AND NEWS
As a result of the recent election, it is a pleasure to announce that F. Martin Brown and Cyril F. dos Passos were overwhelmingly approved by the membership as honorary life members of the Lepidopterists' Society. The newly elected officers of the Society are listed inside the front cover. In addition, Dr. Frederick H. Rindge was elected as the Jordan Medal Representative (see Vol. 26, p. 208), and the proposed constitutional amendments (see Vol. 26, p. 203) were passed.