Insects boast incredible diversity, and this book treats an important component of the western insect biota that has not been summarized before—moths and their plant relationships. There are about 8,000 named species of moths in our region, and although most are unnoticed by the public, many attract attention when their larvae create economic damage: eating holes in woolens, infesting stored foods, boring into apples, damaging crops and garden plants, or defoliating forests. In contrast to previous North American moth books, this volume discusses and illustrates about 25% of the species in every family, including the tiny species, making this the most comprehensive volume in its field. With this approach it provides access to microlepidoptera study for biologists as well as amateur collectors. About 2,500 species are described and illustrated, including virtually all moths of economic importance, summarizing their morphology, taxonomy, adult behavior, larval biology, and life cycles.
Jerry A. Powell, Professor of the Graduate School in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley, and coauthor of California Insects. Paul A. Opler, Professor in the Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management at Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, is author of Peterson Guides to Western and Eastern Butterflies, among other books.
“A must have for those with a serious interest in the Lepidoptera of Western North America.”—Scienceblogs.com/The Guardian
"Two of North America's most prolific and respected specialists on moths—particularly those of the West—have combined over a century of experience and scholarship to introduce western moths of all families authoritatively to both the amateur and the experienced professional entomologist. This biologically oriented and beautifully illustrated treatment of a quarter of all known western moth species fills a long-needed void, and does it superbly."—Charles V. Covell Jr., author of A Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America
"This work sets a new high water mark for North American lepidopterology. Considering the authors' century of combined studies of western Lepidoptera, it is clear from the outset that no other team could have delivered a work so rich in taxonomic and life history information, much of it being original and appearing in the literature for the first time. I will read my copy more like a novel than a reference work, casting about the accounts and repeatedly flipping through the 2300 color images to better familiarize myself with our continent's rich and handsome diversity of moths. Moths of Western North America
will serve as both gateway and catalyst for the study of moths for decades, and especially for microlepidopterans—for whom no like work exists in the New World."—David L. Wagner, author of Caterpillars of Eastern North America
"Recent years have seen a surge of interest in moths, with growing appreciation of their amazing diversity and their great ecological importance. Information on western moths has been scattered and scarce, however, so this new volume is a tremendous step forward. Jerry Powell and Paul Opler bring a vast amount of knowledge and experience to the subject, and their Moths of Western North America
is a landmark publication, instantly indispensable to anyone with a serious interest in Lepidoptera."—Kenn Kaufman, coauthor of Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America