About this item
This book is your golden key to unlock the mysterious world of butterfly life cycles. Hundreds of gorgeous photos capture every intricate detail of these marvelous creatures. Explore butterfly courtship, feeding habits, defense mechanisms and the diversity of design in their eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises and winged adults. Learn how to find butterflies in the wild and also discover what plants to add to your own yard to attract these beautiful insects. Did you know that butterflies taste with their feet, and some caterpillars use ants as their bodyguards? From the curious novice to the serious naturalist, this book is a treasure trove of butterfly secrets.
About the Author
We are Judy Burris and Wayne Richards (and Wayne's wife Christina also contributing photos) , a sister-brother author and photographer team. We have been intrigued with butterflies since we were children. We were raised to have a strong respect for the natural world and always enjoyed spending time on hiking trails looking for animals and trying to identify the trees, wildflowers and insects that we saw.
As adults, this childhood interest in animal and plant life has translated into a nearly full-time devotion to gardening specifically to support butterflies in every stage of their development, (egg - caterpillar - chrysalis - butterfly) . We have spent many years observing, hand-raising, and photographing these miraculous creatures in our own backyard butterfly gardens. We live in northern Kentucky just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. We enjoy teaching others about flower gardening, nature photography and butterfly life cycles. We encourage everyone to give more serious thought to natural habitat conservation and responsible, poison-free management of their own backyards to support native flora and fauna for future generations to enjoy.
Our first book, "The Life Cycles of Butterflies" (2006) won two Teacher's Choice Awards - one for 'Children's Books' and one for 'Product of Excellence for the Family'. We have been documenting the life cycles of other insects including lightning bugs, giant silk moths, lady bugs, lace wings, spiders, praying mantis, and many others so we decided to write a book about those.
Our second book, "The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs" (2011) won the National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA) and also the Teacher's Choice Award for 'Product of Excellence for the Family'. So then we decided to write a book that includes mushrooms, spring flowers, birds, animals and lots of fun projects.
Our third book, "Nature's Notes" (2012) won Creative Child Magazine's "PREFERRED CHOICE AWARD" in the Kids Educational Books category, as well as the Mom's Choice Awards GOLD seal for best in family-friendly products, and also FIRST PLACE for the Royal Dragonfly Book Award in the category of photography.
We are also public speakers and offer a wide range of subjects and presentations for workshops and events including:
Master Gardeners
Flower and Garden Shows
Libraries
Garden or Camera Clubs
Nature Preserves and Parks
Conservatories
Wildlife Conferences
Schools and Universities
Our presentations can include the following for any age group:
Power point slide show - book signing and sales - live insects (seasonal) - how to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your pesticide-free garden - educational display setups - insect specimens for show and tell - question and answer session - tips on how t
