Book Review
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Nomads of the Wind
The Migration of the Monarch
Butterfly
and other Wonders of the
Butterfly World
Ingo Arndt,
Claus-Peter Lieckfeld, Peter Huemer
Papadakis
Publisher, London
ISBN
978-1901092-92-9
£20
www.papadakis.net
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From the publisher's flyer.....
"behind the fragile beauty of butterflies lie astonishing feats
and talents, some familiar, some unknown. Perhaps the most
incredible feat of all is the 2000 mile migration of the Monarch
butterfly. Once a year millions of Monarchs migrate from the
north-eastern USA and southern Canada to the Oyamel fir forests
of Mexico, where they survive the winter. But then, as soon as
they feel the first warmth of spring they all set out on the
return journey through the Rio Grande and Texas, procreating on
the way, until the second and third generations arrive back at
the Great Lakes to start the cycle all over again."
A Review by Adrian
Hoskins
Let me start by saying that this
is simply one of the most beautifully illustrated books about
butterflies that I've come across for many years. Ingo Arndt is
one of the world's top wildlife photographers, having won
numerous awards including the World Press Photo Award 2005, the
German Prize for Science Photography 2006, and several awards in
the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
The 100 or so
photographs in the book are simply breathtaking - not only in terms of
the technical quality which is beyond reproach, but equally in
terms of composition and originality. More importantly, Arndt
makes brilliant photographic observations of Monarch ecology and
behaviour, producing a set of images that show he really
understands the butterflies as living creatures, rather than
simply as beautiful subjects for photography.
The first half of the book
includes about 50 superb photographs depicting every aspect of
the life of the Monarch butterfly, including a superb sequence
showing emergence from the pupa, and marvellous shots of swarms
of Monarchs in flight, and at roost in their millions on fir
trees in the mountains of Mexico.
The text by Lieckfeld and Huemer
describes the migration of an individual female known as "GJE
148" which has been tagged in order to trace her journey south
from Canada to Mexico, and touches briefly upon many fascinating
aspects of butterfly ecology including defence strategies,
toxins, mimicry, migration triggers, evolution, and threats such
as habitat destruction and climate change.
Unfortunately the style of writing
is decidedly slushy and it requires some patience to pick out
the facts hidden within the romanticised verse. There is nothing
contained
within the text that cannot be
found in a more easily comprehended style elsewhere, and those
interested in a factual and scientific approach to the subject
will be disappointed.
The second half of the book
comprises 55 stunning photographs depicting butterflies and
moths from around the world. Arndt's images are extraordinarily
beautiful and original. As well as the expected butterfly
portraits there are images of butterflies in flight, amazing
close ups of anatomical details such as wing scales, a
delightful sequence depicting a caterpillar hatching from it's
egg; and marvellous shots of bizarre looking caterpillars,
chrysalises and adult butterflies and moths.
An amazing image
of the world's smallest moth
Ectoedemia groskchei
( wingspan 0.12" ), is followed by a double page spread
depicting the world's largest moth
Attacus atlas ( wing area 60
square inches ); and what is probably the world's most beautiful moth,
the incredible Madagascan Comet moth Argema mittrei.
The captions accompanying the
photographs are brief but rather better than the verse in first
half of the book, which in the reviewers opinion is the only
weakness. It would have been far better to produce a 5 or 6 page
introduction covering the life and migration of the Monarch,
written in a more factual and detailed manner; and for each of
the Monarch images to have been accompanied by interesting
captions in the style adopted in the second half.
Despite any shortcomings in the
text this remains a marvellous book, which will appeal immensely
to any butterfly or nature photographer in search of
inspiration. It will also have considerable appeal to anyone
with a more general interest in the natural world, and is more
than worthy of a place on any bookshelf.
Highly recommended and superb
value.
A small selection of Ingo Arndt's photographs
from the book are reproduced below :
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Monarch
Danaus plexippus. photograph
Copyright © Ingo Arndt from the book "Nomads of the Wind". |
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Monarchs basking as they awaken from
hibernation in the fir forests in Mexico, where
millions of Monarchs gather to over-winter. Photograph Copyright © Ingo Arndt |
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Madagascan Comet moth
Argema mittrei. This huge and spectacular wild
silkmoth has 5" tails on the hindwings. The detail in the original
photograph is quite amazing.
Photograph from Nomads of the Wind,
copyright Ingo Arndt.
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