This widely praised book chronicles Peter Laufer's adventures within the butterfly industry and the butterfly underground. Laufer begins by examining the allure of butterflies throughout history, but his research soon veers into the high-stake realms of organized crime, ecological devastation, museum collections, and chaos theory. His ever-expanding journey of discovery throughout the Americas and beyond offers a rare look into a theater of intrigue, peopled with quirky and nefarious characters—all in pursuit of these delicate, beautiful creatures. Read this book, and your garden—and the world—will never quite look the same.

This work chronicles Laufer's visit to a butterfly preserve in Nicaragua, in which he stumbled into a theater of intrigue full of strange and nefarious characters--all in pursuit of one of nature's most delicate creatures.

A young child from the northern United States spots a Monarch butterfly laying eggs and keeps watch as the eggs hatch and the new caterpillars munch away on leaves. Readers will follow along as the narrator observes the butterflies' behavior up close, including the amazing metamorphosis of caterpillars into adult Monarch butterflies and their migration to Mexico. Colorful photos, diagrams, and clear, age-appropriate text will engage young readers as they explore the life cycle, natural habitat, physical characteristics, diet, and behavior of these beautiful insects. The diary format models scientific observation and critical thinking--and encourages children to keep notebooks recording their own investigations into the natural world.

In Queen Alexandra's Birdwing, young readers will meet the world's largest butterfly found exclusively in the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea. Bright, colorful photographs closely paired with age-appropriate text will engage children as they learn about this unique butterfly's natural habitat, physical characteristics, diet, life cycle, and behavior. Queen Alexandra's Birdwing includes such useful and fun learning features as a detailed diagram that compares the animal's super size to something familiar in kids' own lives.

Discover butterflies with photos, fun facts, and verse.

When the seasons change, many animals migrate to new homes. Readers will learn about these fascinating creatures in Nature’s Great Journeys. This series explores the physical features, behaviors, and histories of migratory animals with easy-to-read text and vivid images. This is an AV2 media enhanced book. A unique book code printed on page 2 unlocks multimedia content. This book comes alive with video, audio, weblinks, slide shows, activities, quizzes, and much more.