The wonder and beauty of butterflies and moths — including their miraculous transformations — have fascinated nature enthusiasts for thousands of years. Rendered from an exquisitely rare nineteenth-century portfolio, the butterfly hues and shapes that have dazzled humankind for centuries are displayed here with magnificent precision. This illustrated archive bursts with sixty-one full-color plates of European butterflies and moths of every variety. Revel in the vast spectrum of intricate markings distinct to such species as the Swallowtail, Monarch, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, and many other fluttering favorites. Details of pupa, eyes, antennae, and the winged insects' favorite plant life also abound, providing enlightening glimpses into the workings of some of nature's most colorful and resplendent creatures. Pure delight for artists, designers, entomologists, and butterfly lovers everywhere!
“For the lover of all things lepidopterous, The Book of Caterpillars is a beautifully curated collection and guide to 600 species from around the globe.” —The American Biology Teacher While most of us picture caterpillars as cute fuzzballs munching on leaves, there is much more to them than we imagine. A caterpillar’s survival hinges on finding enough food and defending itself from the array of natural enemies lined up to pounce and consume. And the astounding adaptations and strategies they have developed to maximize their chances of becoming a butterfly or moth are only just beginning to be understood, from the Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar that resembles a small snake to the Eastern Carpenter Bee Hawkmoth caterpillar that attempts to dissuade potential predators by looking like a diseased leaf. The Book of Caterpillars unveils the mysteries of six hundred species from around the world, introducing readers to the complexity and beauty of these underappreciated insects. With the advent of high-quality digital macrophotography, the world of caterpillars is finally opening up. The book presents a wealth of stunning imagery that showcases the astonishing diversity of caterpillar design, structure, coloration, and patterning. Each entry also features a two-tone engraving of the adult specimen, emphasizing the wing patterns and shades, as well as a population distribution map and table of essential information that includes their habitat, typical host plants, and conservation status. Throughout the book are fascinating facts that will enthrall expert entomologists and curious collectors alike. A visually rich and scientifically accurate guide to six hundred of the world’s most peculiar caterpillars, this volume presents readers with a rare, detailed look at these intriguing forms of insect life.
Thousands of years ago, the Greeks and Romans introduced a style of design that began with simple pebbles and colored stones. Today, mosaic art is a time-honored craft treasured throughout the world. Spiraling pinwheels, exploding geometrics, undulating waves, rhythmic zig-zags, and circular pathways are just some of the intriguing motifs you'll find in this imaginative collection of thirty images. Sure to satisfy creative colorists, the showcase will also serve as a source of inspiration for designers.
Adored for their beauty and variety, butterflies and moths captivate nature enthusiasts all over the world. Yet these exquisite insects, which comprise the animal grouping Lepidoptera, are not only attractive to watch but are of immense biological importance. They are both pollinators, and scientific ?indicators? of changing levels of light, heat and availability of food ? meaning that some species are the subject of intense scientific study. Despite challenges posed by shrinking forests and open spaces, many butterflies and moths are adapting well to their changing habitats, proving that ? despite their seemingly fragile appearance ? they are ingeniously equipped to deal with a range of environmental factors. This superb visual resource profiles some of the world's best-loved and most intriguing butterflies, moths and skippers, with a geographically-split directory of 600 detailed entries, each containing useful identification summaries and quick-reference panels on distribution, habitat, food, wingspan and status. The majority of species are realized in exceptional full-colour artworks, from full-body illustrations to drawings depicting detail such as the pattern on the reverse side of the wings, recognizable when the creature is resting, as well as unusual markings and pupae. Butterflies in particular can be immensely variable and some have evolved deceptive (and defensive) physical traits which mean they can become confused with other species. Read, for example, about the sub-Saharan common graphium, which has the power to mimic a poisonous butterfly from another family, or the blood-red glider, immensely valued among collectors for its rich red colour. Some species are well-travelled, such as the familiar coppers whose light-catching wings can be seen in habitats as widespread as Europe, central Asia and China. Others, such as South America's giant swallowtail ? a rainforest species with wings spanning some 250mm/10in ? are being placed under increasing pressure by the collapse of their very specialized habitats. Moths remain mysterious to many people, and are often perceived, at best, as little worthy of attention, or, at worst, as pests. Yet this insect group, which contains both day- and night-fliers, displays unique and varied forms of behaviour that makes them endlessly interesting to observe. With coverage of both day- and night-flying species, the reader can learn all about the colourful cinnabar moth, whose caterpillars turn cannibal during food shortages, or the puss and tiger moths, whose hindwings may suddenly display flashes of ?warning? colour to deter threats. The aptly-named hummingbird hawk moth is a nature lover's favourite for its ability to feed, hovering, at the heads of flowers. Then there are the silk moths ? domesticated by collectors for centuries ? and the skippers, predominantly grassland-dwellers who occupy the evolutionary middle ground between butterflies and moths. A superb photographic reference section covers the life cycle of all of these creatures, with detailed descriptions of internal anatomy and the powerful structure of the wings. There are stunning close-up images of compound eyes and feeding equipment, as well as information on classification and life cycle ? including hibernation habits ? plus evolutionary characteristics such as melanism, camouflage and mimickry. For those who want to get closer, there are tips on how to attract moths and butterflies to your own backyard, the type of species you are likely to see in nearby habitats, and take part in conserving species at local level. With a total of 1000 colour photographs, artworks and maps, and containing meticulously researched and accessible text throughout, this is the essential companion for butterfly and moth enthusiasts everywhere.
Inspired by authentic Korean arts and crafts dating from the 1st through the 19th centuries, these 142 bold black-and-white line drawings include abstract forms, costumed figures, birds, flowers, and landscapes in many sizes and shapes, all royalty-free.
New from the Winner of the Writers' Trust of Canada Marian Engel Award and the Governor General's Award for English Fiction Once touted as compendiums of human knowledge, the encyclopedias and handbooks of bygone eras now read quaintly, if not comically—yet within their musty pages are often found phrases of uncanny evocative power. Scrupulously stitching such fragments together, in a sequel to the Governor General’s Award-winning Forms of Devotion, By The Book is a collection of verbal and visual collages whose alchemies transform long-dead texts into tales of enduring vitality. With her visually witty full-colour artwork and stories like “What Is A Hat? Where Is Constantinople? Who Was Sir Walter Raleigh? And Many Other Common Questions, Some With Answers, Some Without,” and “Consumptives Should Not Kiss Other People: A Handy Guide to the Care and Maintenance of Your Family’s Good Health,” Schoemperlen’s irreverent and ironic brand of nostalgia combines vintage kitsch with comic, creepy, unexpectedly moving yarns. Praise for By The Book “Diane Schoemperlen's By The Book is a bravura performance. Fragments, collage, assemblage, found poetry - none of the conventional words cover it for they miss the fantastic wit, the energy of humour, the divine ability to find comedic ore in the print detritus of our culture. She doesn't rescue texts; with her wicked sense of irony, she actually puts thought where there was none. She infects the banal with the virus of her own brain and makes it into art. Then she makes a picture of it—oh, dwell upon the details; there are whole novels lurking in the details.”—Douglas Glover Praise for Diane Schoemperlen "Schoemperlen's inventive language and narrative structures encourage readers to be free 'from the prison of everyday thinking."—New York Times Book Review "Lovely, clever [and] imaginative."—Wall Street Journal “Cuttingly witty ... Schoemperlen could almost form a school of piquant and inventive fiction with Julie Hecht, Janet Kauffman, and Lydia Davis.”—Booklist "There is no mistaking a Schoemperlen story—devoted to form, faithful to the mysteries of the everyday."—The Globe & Mail
A treasury of hard-to-find Inca artwork, this compilation features hundreds of striking designs. The images are drawn from the collections of a 19th-century anthropologist whose expeditions to Peru yielded a remarkable store of artifacts that reside today in museums throughout Germany. Designs, paintings, and relief representations depict ancient people, animals, and rituals. Reprint of selections from Ancient Peruvian Art, Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 1902–03.
Quadrupeds, snakes, mollusks and crustaceans, birds, fish, and insects depicted realistically and fancifully, plus such fantasy creatures as unicorns, dragons, and basilisks. Indispensable volume of royalty-free graphics for commercial artists.
