An Obsession with Butterflies: Our Long Love Affair with a Singular Insect.SHARMAN APT RUSSELL As early as the Middle Ages, people believed that butterflies were disguised dis·guise tr.v. dis·guised, dis·guis·ing, dis·guis·es 1. a. To modify the manner or appearance of in order to prevent recognition. b. To furnish with a disguise. 2. fairies that stole butter, milk, and cream. This fascination remains, and now there are hoards of professional and amateur lepidopterists who track some 18,000 species of butterflies that flit around the planet. In lyrical lyr·i·cal adj. 1. a. Expressing deep personal emotion or observations: a dancer's lyrical performance; a lyrical passage in his autobiography. b. prose, Russell charts the natural history of the butterfly and describes how people become fixated fix·ate v. fix·at·ed, fix·at·ing, fix·ates v.tr. 1. To make fixed, stable, or stationary. 2. To focus one's eyes or attention on: fixate a faint object. with these beautiful, delicate creatures. In doing so, she details the many interesting facets of a butterfly's sex life, parenting techniques, and migratory migratory /mi·gra·to·ry/ (mi´grah-tor?e) 1. roving or wandering. 2. of, pertaining to, or characterized by migration; undergoing periodic migration. migratory emanating from or pertaining to migration. habits. She also describes how butterflies use their looks to defend themselves against predators. Perseus Pubing, 2003, 237 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $24.00. |
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