Wings of paradise : the great saturniid moths /
The lovely saturniid moth, the most majestic of insects, also has one of the most poignant and romantic life stories: born without a mouth, a stomach, or any defensive mechanism beyond camouflage, each moth lives just a few days - long enough only to mate - and then it dies. Because saturniids - or...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Chapel Hill :
University of North Carolina Press,
c1996.
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| Summary: | The lovely saturniid moth, the most majestic of insects, also has one of the most poignant and romantic life stories: born without a mouth, a stomach, or any defensive mechanism beyond camouflage, each moth lives just a few days - long enough only to mate - and then it dies. Because saturniids - or silkmoths - are nocturnal, most people never have the opportunity to see them alive. And because of environmental degradation and urban sprawl, many species are disappearing altogether. Enter John Cody, who has been called "the Audubon of Moths." Cody, a psychiatrist, was also trained as a medical illustrator and has spent a lifetime studying and painting moths. In pursuit of his avocation, Cody travels frequently to distant and exotic locales - including Patagonia, Peru, Borneo, Ecuador, New Guinea, Brazil, and Madagascar - to collect cocoons and learn about the moths' native environments. He then brings specimens home; as the moths emerge from their cocoons, Cody has only a brief time to capture and record their distinctive coloration before they die. Seventy-two of Cody's paintings are included here, accompanied by his commentary on the moths' life cycles, habitats, and geographical range and on the circumstances of his finding and painting each moth. |
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| Physical Description: | xix, 163 p. : col. ill. ; 31 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (p. 157) and index. |
| ISBN: | 0807822868 (cloth : alk. paper) |