If you are a bird watcher, (and one of every seven of us is), you already have the knowledge, equipment, and the opportunity to also observe butterflies. You know different seasons and different habitats have different species. You must be in the right place at the right time to see the particular species you are hunting. You may take photographs or may just use binoculars, but you probably compile a "Life List" of the species you find. This book is intended to help you and the amateur butterflier to find and identify the various species of Minnesota butterflies. It also is a journal for you to write in your observations of species found, dates, locations, weather conditions, habitat types, or any other interesting observations (a "Life List" with detail). Many People are enjoying the new activity of butterfly gardening, This is great. I strongly encourage it. But please don't be deceived into thinking all butterflies will come. Many resident and migrant butterflies will be attracted to gardens, but some are so habitat specific they won't cross a road and thus cannot be attracted. To see these, you must go hunt for them. I try to identify these for you in this book and help you find them if you are willing to hunt for them.

This beautiful and comprehensive guide, many years in the making, is a manual for identifying the butterflies of Iowa as well as 90 percent of the butterflies in the Plains states. It begins by providing information on the natural communities of Iowa, paying special attention to butterfly habitat and distribution. Next come chapters on the history of lepidopteran research in Iowa and on creating butterfly gardens, followed by an intriguing series of questions and issues relevant to the study of butterflies in the state. The second part contains accounts, organized by family, for the 118 species known to occur in Iowa. Each 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. In the third section, the illustrations, grouped for easier comparison among species, include color photographs of all the adult forms that occur in Iowa. Male and female as well as top and bottom views are shown for most species. The distribution maps indicate in which of Iowa’s ninety-nine counties specimens have been collected; flight times for each species are shown by marking the date of collection for each verified specimen on a yearly calendar. The book ends with a checklist, collection information specific to the photographs, a glossary, references, and an index. The authors’ meticulous attention to detail, stimulating questions for students and researchers, concern for habitat preservation, and joyful appreciation of the natural world make it a valuable and inspiring volume.