Kirjahaku

'Written in clear, easily readable language and relying little on jargon, this coffee-table-style book will interest anyone captivated by this unique group of insects. Highly recommended. All library collections' Choice. 'This gorgeous book reveals a wonder on nearly every page and will enthrall natural history enthusiasts both amateur and expert alike' Library Journal (starred review). This visual feast reveals a multitude of butterfly and moth species from around the globe. Here are some of the most colourful, spectacular and sometimes weird examples of the world’s butterflies and moths. Vibrant colour photographs and macro images complement the enlightening text written by zoologist Ronald Orenstein, who explains the scientific curiosities of these amazing insects. He makes clear how to differentiate between butterflies and moths; how caterpillars camouflage themselves; and how their feeding strategies and evolutionary adaptations help them prevail in the wild. Butterflies has seven sections which provide comprehensive coverage of Lepidoptera. It includes the following and much more: Introduction to Butterflies: What are butterflies? Colour Patterns, Courtship, Migration and Climate Change. Butterfly Diversity: Swallowtails, Skippers, Whites, Sulphurs and Yellows, Milkweed Butterflies, Fritillaries, Emperors, Gossamerwinged Butterflies, Metalmarks. Butterfly Wings: Flight, Colour, Tails and Ornaments, Eyespots. Butterfly Life History: Mating, Eggs, Caterpillars, Metamorphosis. What Butterflies Eat: Feeding Apparatus, Flowers, Rotting Fruit, Drinking, Puddling. Butterflies in their Environment: Predators, Camouflage, Mimicry, Overwintering. Myriad of Moths: Day-Flying Moths, Silks, Giants, Mimicry, Wing Pattern, Defence. With stunning photography, authoritative natural history and an elegant design, Butterflies brings to abundant life the unfathomable beauty and variety of butterflies and moths.

Native to the forests of Sumatra and Borneo, wild orangutans are listed as critically endangered. The rarest of them all, the Tapanuli orangutan, was only recognized as a separate species in 2017, and today, it is the rarest great ape in the world. In Orangutans, zoologist and conservationist Ronald Orenstein draws on the latest research to survey the natural and cultural history of these charismatic red apes as well as their present and future. Divided into three parts, the book first traces orangutan ancestry from the distant past to the present and then explores the various roles orangutans have played throughout human history, from Indigenous cultures in Southeast Asia, to European colonialism and scientific exploration, to the pop culture of today. Part two details the latest scientific discoveries about orangutans and what we currently know about their habitat, diet, behaviour, social structures and abilities. The final section of the book turns to the threats orangutans face today, from the destruction of their forest homes for agriculture to deliberate killings, captures and the illegal trade that supplies animals for display, collection and entertainment. The author also surveys the efforts being made to save them from extinction, to preserve their ecosystems and to return orphaned orangutans to a life in the wild. Featuring over 150 full-colour photographs, maps, a list of orangutan organizations to support and an extensive bibliography, Orangutans is an important, engaging and beautiful work about one of nature’s most captivating animals.

There are more than 200,000 species of butterflies and moths. Many, in fact, are still uncategorized. This fascinating book reveals a rare and close up look at the odd beauty and behaviour of some of the strangest of these tiny creatures. Despite their large numbers, the world of these particularly weird insects exists largely hidden from our view. Included in the book are some of the most interesting species from North and South America, Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Readers will be introduced into the world of the butterfly with images demonstrating how these paper-thin winged miracles of nature adapt and survive against all odds, which include predators, weather and humanity's wilful destruction of habitat.