By Scott Weybright, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences
David James became an entomologist because of his early childhood love of butterflies.
“I was an 8-year-old kid in England, and I knew what I wanted to do,” said James, an associate professor in Washington State University’s Department of Entomology. “I wasn’t interested in catching or pinning butterflies; I loved looking at them and thinking about their lives.”
Now, after a long and distinguished career, some of it spent studying his favorite animal, James’ book, “The Lives of Butterflies: A Natural History of Our Planet’s Butterfly Life,” is available on bookshelves around the world.
Far from a textbook, James’ publication introduces everyone to the biology and ecology of butterflies, alongside large, beautiful images of many different species. The book is comprehensive, looking at caterpillars and the butterfly life cycle, in addition to covering how they feed, mate, and survive. That survival includes not only fending off natural predators but living in an era of radically changing landscapes and climates.
To read more, go to WSU Insider’s article New butterfly book culmination of author’s lifelong work | WSU Insider | Washington State University.
Dr. James’ book is available for purchase from Princeton University Press here The Lives of Butterflies | Princeton University Press.
