"The work is the first to bring together all the scattered information on what the caterpillars of the neotropical butterflies eat" BOOK JACKET.

This book will enable the identification of each of the 57 species of butterfly that has been recorded from the Cayman Islands. There is a description of every butterfly, stressing its most important characteristics, with photographs of living and mounted specimens. The distribution, history and biology of each species are reviewed and the plants which provide adult butterflies with nectar or feed their caterpillars are tabulated. A general introduction includes a discussion of the affinities and size of the Caymanian butterfly fauna. The three islands share most of their butterfly species but each island has uniquely characteristic elements and five subspecies live only in the Cayman Islands. Knowledge is fundamental to conservation; it is hoped that both the casual butterfly watcher and those more committed to the study of butterflies will discover much of interest in this book and thereby make a contribution to the continuing survival of these beautiful insects.

Part 1 of The Butterflies of Venezuela was a pioneering work of its kind for South America, being the first authoritative volume in a comprehensive faunistic identification series. The series will prove invaluable to all who wish to learn about the remarkable and diverse butterfly fauna of this country and continent. Approximately 1000 species of adult Nympbalidae, Papilionidae, and Pieridae will be treated in the four-part series, equivalent to over one-third of the total Neotropical species in these families. Drawing on over 20 years of personal research in the field, in collections, and in libraries, the detailed accounts for each species encapsulate all that is known about their identification, distribution, behaviour, habitat, and foodplants. The text, which has been written to appeal to specialists and amateurs alike, has been collated from a wealth of published and unpublished sources. It includes extensive commentary on the systematics and nomenclature employed, and provides detailed notes designed to permit the easy identification of every Venezuelan butterfly. General notes on early stages are provided in the introduction to each genus, and where available those of one representative species are fully described. Readers also benefit from the inclusion of an extensive bibliography, which in Part 2 alone comprises almost 800 works fully referenced in the text. Unlike many other guides, the photographic colour plates illustrate every subspecies, generally showing both sexes and wing surfaces for each, plus several representative specimens for highly variable taxa. In addition, a large number of type specimens are reproduced, many of them for the first time. Part 1 cover 276 species including 2 new species and 23 new subspecies. Part 2 treats 196 species incl. 355 subspecies and the colour plates figures over 450 type specimens. 8 new species and 95 new spubspecies are described. 4 neotypes and 10 lectopypes are designated. Part 3 is projected to treat the Papilionidae, Brassolinae, Danainae, and first part of Satyrinae (Pronophilina and Erebiina). Part 4 will cover the family Pieridae and the remaining Satyrinae and Heliconiinae.