Acts as a manual for identifying the butterflies of Iowa as well as 90 percent of the butterflies in the Plains. This guide begins by providing information on the natural communities of Iowa, paying special attention to butterfly habitat and distribution. It then covers the history of lepidopteran research in Iowa and creating butterfly gardens.
Each species account includes the common and scientific names for each species, its Opler and Warren number, its status in Iowa, adult flight times and number of broods per season, distinguishing features, distribution and habitat, and natural history information such as behavior and food plant preferences. As a special feature of each account, the authors have included questions that illuminate the research and conservation challenges for each species.
Dennis Schlicht is an advanced placement biology instructor at George Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; he has been studying butterflies for more than forty years. Entomologist John Downey (1926-2005) retired in 1988 as graduate dean of the University of Northern Iowa; prior to that he was chair of the biology departments at UNI and Southern Illinois University. Jeff Nekola is currently an adjunct associate professor in the Biology Department at the University of New Mexico.