Butterflies of Alberta

Ian Wylie Toal is a freelance science writer living in Martindale,
Ontario.

Butterflies of Alberta is an introduction to the “sport” of
butterfly watching. The layout of the book is similar to that found in
most other field guides. A general introduction to butterflies offers
information about where (and when) they can be found, as well as basic
anatomy. This is followed by a brief section outlining how to study live
butterflies (e.g., through butterfly gardening and photography).
Rounding out the photographs and main text is a decent glossary, a
thorough index, and a checklist of common and scientific names.

The book is relatively simple to use. The first step is to recognize
the general color of the butterfly, then flip to the section identified
with appropriate colored flag. This procedure is somewhat problematic,
however, because the color code is not always logical (white butterflies
are found under green, for example), so some familiarization with the
color codes is necessary. Color photographs are used for identification,
and are augmented by a description of behavior and habitat. Similar
species are differentiated by line drawings.

The book has a couple of minor but annoying faults. Discerning
characteristics are not uniformly highlighted, which makes it sometimes
difficult to sort out exactly what the text is describing. Location maps
are for Alberta only, making the guide virtually useless outside
Alberta. Nevertheless, this is an excellent resource for budding
butterfly watchers in Alberta.