Raising Butterflies and Moths in the Garden 

By Brenda Dziedzic 

• Publisher: Firefly Books, Second Edition,  2023 

• Paperback‏:‎ 400 pages 

• ISBN-10: 0228104203 

• Dimensions: 6” X 9” 

• Price: $23.44 (Amazon.ca – currently a 22% discount); $22.46 (Amazon.com – currently a 25% discount) 

Another great publication from Firefly Books. After publishing my own book with Firefly, I am much more keenly aware of what it takes to put a book like this together, and Brenda Dziedzic and Firefly Books have done a great job with Raising Butterflies and Moths in the Garden. 

This book is pretty much 400 pages of beautiful photos of butterflies and moths, their caterpillars, eggs and the plants they feed on. And every butterfly/moth page has a clear North American range map for the species.  

The introduction starts out with descriptions on the differences between butterflies and moths then goes into detail about their life cycle, and it does this with minimal technical jargon and in a clear, readable fashion. It wraps up the intro with a section on the various Butterfly and Moth families – which is how the insects are sorted within the body of the book. 

The introduction is followed by a short (4 page) chapter on Butterfly and Moth Gardening Essentials, and by an even shorter (2 page) chapter on Raising Butterflies and Moths. There are lots of excellent photos throughout, helping to clarify the text. (I didn’t notice any unnecessary or superfluous images as sometimes get thrown into a book like this.) 

By page 24 we are already into the meat of the book – starting with the Black Swallowtail. The butterflies are grouped by family and within the families, the butterflies are sorted alphabetically by common name. (Fortunately, it would seem, there is not the same issue with multiple common names as is the case with native plants.) 

Each butterfly is given anywhere from 6 to 10 photograph filled pages. In addition to the range maps, there are photos of adults (both upper and lower sides of their wings, eggs, caterpillars (in various stages or instars), chrysalises/cocoons and plants – host plants for the caterpillars and nectar plants for the adults.  

The text for each species includes information on Family, Flight Period, Wingspan, Larval Host Plant(s), and Adult Food. These last two are critical information if you want to garden for butterflies and moths. 

At the back of the book is a Glossary (pretty important for anyone new just learning about butterflies and moths), a list of Useful Websites, and a Bibliography (or as I tend to think of it – a wish list of books for my collection).  

There are 2 separate indexes. The first one (my favourite) is a 6-page Host/Larval Food Plants Index. The second is an index of the moths and butterflies in the book. Both indexes list both common and scientific names. 

My complaints about this book are minor and seem quite trivial in light of all the wonderful aspects of the book. The first is that the first page for each butterfly/moth contains a small colour bar in the upper left corner of the page. However, nowhere did I find a matching chart to explain the different colour codes (ideally this should have been in the intro where the author discussed things like range maps). As a result, this was a slightly confusing aspect until I finally worked out that the different colours represented the different families.  

The other issue, which is actually a strength of the book as well as a drawback, is that the book covers all of North America, not just a particular region where a common group of butterflies/moths might be found. The range maps tell you at a glance if the butterfly or moth is to be found where you live, but I would really have liked a more regional coverage. However, of the 36 butterflies, only 7 are not native to the southern Great Lakes region where I am. And of the 13 moths covered, 8 are native here, 2 are native to the southern US and one (Spongy Moth) is an invasive species. For this last species, the clear photos of the adults, caterpillars and cocoons will help when we have to decide if that is a friend or foe in the garden. 

Summary 

I have to say – I love this book. The photos are top quality, all the information is relevant, clear and readable. If, like me, you are gardening for the insects and other critters, then this book should be on your bookshelf. 

Happy native plant growing (and butterfly watching).