For almost half a century, Klots' Guide in the Peterson serieswas the best general text for identifying butterflies ineastern North America. I suppose this new edition still is,but it is a real disappointment in many respects. Itperpetuates the old style of illustration throughout withmuseum- spread specimens, many of which do not look at all theway butterflies are seen in the field. Skippers (where help isalways most needed) suffer particularly from this - surely amodern guide should also show them in side view, with wingsdeterminedly clamped together, with the useful body detailsand colouring and wing postures noted. Various scales are usedwilly nilly - it is not helpful to someone who needs a fieldguide to show the Great Spangled Fritillary the same size asthe Meadow Fritillary, for example. Several of the speciesthat strongly grade south to north in shade are shown in onlyone, southern, version - a Canadian would be hard put torecognize our Wood Nymph from the illustration here.Many species have more forms than are shown - Spring Azure forinstance. Some species are much more prone to sun-bleachingthan others - beginners would find a portion of an unwornMourning Cloak wing without a trace of yellow left, forexample, an instructive illustration of this....Given the rapidly increasing popularity of butterfly watching,the market is wide open for a better field guide. This one isa desk guide, for those who still carry a cyanide bottle withthem.
