Customer Reviews

The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists

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Fans of Peter Laufer's life of journalistic adventure as expressed in his shelf full of remarkable books (Mission Rejected, Exodus To Berlin, Made in Mexico, Iron Curtain Rising, etc.) have yet another exciting read to enjoy. But this time, the intrepid Laufer, who has won almost every major award for journalistic excellence and often has had to risk life and limb to get the story, does a complete change of pace. He takes you by the hand and leads you from jungles to back alleys, as we enter the sometimes bizarre, sometimes berserk world of Butterflies and the people who love them. A theme that runs through Laufer's previous works--the quest for decency in the midst of corruption--emerges here as well. Laufer finds a hard-as-nails cop whose life work is the protection of nature's most fragile species. Through interview and observation, Laufer vividly brings that cop to life along with a host of other true life characters who together, make this book a wonderful weekend of escape and reading pleasure. I bought 3 as gifts for close friends.

I am a professional entomologist, so my perspective may be written off by some as that of a "pompous scientist." Nevertheless, I found "The Dangerous World of Butterflies" to be one of the worst nonfiction books I have ever read. It is sloppy, superficial and arrogant.

The premise of the book is this: a professional writer/war correspondent decides to take some time off from his "serious" book projects to write about butterflies - "creatures of airiness and frivolity" (H. W. Bates, 1865). I have never read (and never will read) another book by Peter Laufer, but if this work is representative of the quality of his usual journalistic scholarship, then someone should revoke his Ph.D. and his license to write nonfiction.

Laufer's research for this effort seems to have been composed of interviews with a rather arbitrarily selected (and California-centric) group of lepidopterists, ranging from university professors like Tom Emmel (U. Florida), Art Shapiro (U. C. Davis) and Robert Dudley (U. C. Berkeley) to North American Butterfly Association founder and ardent butterfly watcher and anti-collector Jeff Glassberg, to a couple who run a commercial butterfly farm in Nicaragua, to artists who use butterflies or their parts to make various displays, to other scientists engaged in habitat restoration and captive-rearing for population restoration of endangered butterfly species. The "dangerous" part implied by the title relates to a couple of chapters on a trio of American poachers and one Japanese dealer in endangered and federally and internationally protected butterfly species, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife agents who caught and prosecuted them. Why should we care that nonviolent criminals went to jail for a few years for breaking federal law: because only in a wacky country like the US would we send somebody to jail for catching/selling a butterfly? (NB: in the state of Washington, as well as various European countries, it is illegal to collect butterflies without a permit. NB: it is also illegal in many places to hunt and fish without a licence!)

Tongue-in-cheek characterization of these sundry butterfly enthusiasts these may seem titillating, given the generally perceived eccentricity of anyone who cares about insects, but let's imagine the book were about some other pointless folly like, for example, baseball. Would it be acceptable to mangle names and statistics of players, to trivialize the fascination of the fans? I don't think so.

More than half of the Latin names of butterfly species discussed in the book are spelled incorrectly. Laufer evidently dismisses people who worry about such minutia as obsessive compulsive wonks, but again, would it be acceptable to write about the ballpark exploits of Joe da Majyo or Loo Garig? This carelessness is particularly offensive in instances where the English name of the species is based on the Latin name - such as Alexandra's birdwing, Troides (Ornithoptera) alexandrae or Lange's metalmark, Apodemia mormo langei. Laufer manages to mangle both of these, as well as numerous others.

Another recurrent error is the idea that the process of metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly is some sort of miraculous scientific mystery. True, we do not understand the precise developmental cascade of genetic switches that allows a second round of development from imaginal discs in the pupa - a feature shared among all holometabolous insects (including beetles, flies and wasps), but if Laufer were even remotely curious about this, he might have consulted someone who studies it, such as Sean Carrol (U. Wisconsin) or Fred Nijhout (Duke U.). It is certainly not the case that all the larval cells beak down into liquid!

Throughout the book are bits of annoying butterfly trivia that Laufer has stumbled upon, perhaps via Google searches. He manages, for example, to cite the lepidopteran in the Lunesta advertisements as a butterfly! Maybe a luna moth? You know - like to help you sleep at NIGHT? Here's one he missed: the song "In-a-gadda-da-vida" by Iron Butterfly has the longest drum solo of any top-40 hit. Do these factoids have anything at all to do with butterflies? To me, they are just feeble gonzo free-associations of an author who has nothing to say and is trying to pad an inadequate and largely incoherent "story line."

Most of the less glowing reviews of this book were written by people put off by Laufer's political stance with regard to the Bush administration and its various wars. While those jibes are indeed tangential to the focus of the book, the thing I found most offensive was the repeated imputation that sticking a butterfly with a pin is cruel (an idea addressed and refuted nearly 200 years ago by Kirby and Spence (1828)), and that major butterfly collections are historical accumulations representing the efforts of obsessed Victorian naturalists, and now stored as static objets d'arte in antique wooden boxes. The fact is that most of what we know about the variability, geographical distributions and phenology of the world's flora and fauna is based on museum collections. Collecting remains a vital and fundamental activity in the continuing enhancement of our understanding of biodiversity. For example, in order to determine that a species is in need of conservation, you first need some idea of its historical distribution and population size. You need to know its habits, what it eats, etc., in order to be able to develop a plan to save it. Much of those data come from museum collections.

Of course, there is a spectrum of motivations for the collector's impulse. Some people want to possess rare or valuable things, others do it because they want to contribute to the community of science. This latter group, which I suspect is in the majority, is sorely neglected in Laufer's book. A proper book about butterfly collectors would address both sides of the story, not simply promulgate the ignorant and pejorative Fowlesian view of "the Collector."

A few years ago, May Berenbaum (U. Illinois) and colleagues (McKenna et al. 2001) published a small but devastating paper showing that the number of butterflies killed due to traffic on the highways of Illinois over a few summer weeks vastly outstrips the entire specimen holdings of the world's great public butterfly collections. Thus, if one really desires to save the lives of innocent butterflies, one should work to reduce the U. S. automotive speed limit to 25 mph, rather than wringing one's hands about the cruel and deviant nature of the few thousands of people who enjoy to wander the woods and fields with a butterfly net.

The Lepidopterists' Society, an international organization of butterfly and moth enthusiasts, has a thoughtful and balanced position statement on the ethics of collecting which interested readers may find at [...] This site also contains a wealth of other information about butterflies.

In sum, you would learn more about Lepidoptera by reading "the Hungry Caterpillar" than you will from this loser.


References
Bates, H.W. (1863) The naturalist on the River Amazons, Penguin Books edition (1988), New York
Kirby, W. and Spence, W. (1828) An introduction to entomology. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, London.
McKenna, D.M., McKenna, K.M., Malcolm, S.B. and Berenbaum, M.R. (2001) Mortality of Lepidoptera along roadways in central Illinois. J. Lepid. Soc. 55: 63-68.

This intriguing review of the book was in Laufer's hometown newspaper, the North Bay Bohemian.

Pins and Needles

Peter Laufer's dangerous world of butterflies

By P. Joseph Potocki

It wouldn't be Holy Week in Chihuahua without the tacos--Tarahumara butterfly pupae tacos--slathered in special seasonal sauce, to be exact. And in Australia, sweet, fire-roasted bugongs, their wings and legs removed, have long been an aboriginal gastric delight.

In his latest book, The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists (Lyons Press; $24.95) author, broadcaster and journalist Peter Laufer turns from weighty subjects like war, politics and foreign policy to the ephemeral but sometimes deadly world of butterflies.

And it all began as a joke. Based in Bodega Bay, Laufer was speaking at a promotional event in Bellingham, Wash., for the launch of his previous book Hope Is a Tattered Flag. An attendee inquired after the nature of his next effort. Having addressed a wide range of serious topics in 16 previous books, Laufer off-handedly remarked that perhaps he'd next amuse himself with "butterflies and flowers."

The Bellingham event happened to be broadcast on C-SPAN. A woman watching the program took Laufer for his word and invited him to her remote butterfly reserva in Nicaragua. Thus Laufer's musing morphed into what turns out to be colorfully flightful and sometimes dangerous business.

Laufer begins by regaling us with stories of drunken butterflies, flight dynamics, communication systems, pompous experts, breeders and fluttering loads of exoterica. He lavishes such facts as:

* There is no official name for a mass of butterflies;
* Experts still debate the butterfly's role in nature;
* No new species has been discovered in America for the past 50 years;
* The website IHateButterflies.com is for lepidopterophobs--people who "fear, are disgusted by, and generally dislike butterflies";
* Monarchs make haste from Canada to winter in Mexico, but expend four or five generations before finally making it back.
Judging from this, one might get the notion that here we have a modestly pleasant toss. But reading into the heart of the book, things turn serious.

Laufer profiles Hisayoshi Kojima, the man who calls himself "the world's most wanted butterfly smuggler." Laufer's Kojima story is a mini detective thriller. It begins with Fish and Wildlife Service agent Ed Newcomer, who picked up a cold case investigation of the smuggler begun by his agency in 1999. Newcomer went undercover, tenaciously tracking Kojima's sales of rare and threatened butterfly species. Newcomer stuck with the case until Kojima was finally sent to federal prison, seven years later. Laufer's telling includes plot twists, false starts, ego strokes, exhilaration and even unrequited lust.

But as it turns out, Kojima's tale was just a tease for the serious cloak and dagger stuff that follows. He was a smuggler, yes, but Kojima was just a middle-man.

The violent butterfly baddies are the poachers. Laufer quotes naturalist and biologist Vladimir Dinets, who tells him, "Professional poachers are tough people, excellent mountaineers, and they try to make friends with local warlords and drug smugglers." Dinets, who has tracked the trade on expeditions into Central Asia, points to the sophisticated espionage technologies and techniques employed by the poachers, describing them as "James Bond-style."

Laufer also tells of forest guards in Darjeeling protecting what are characterized as national living treasures, confronting poachers armed with AK-47s, while the guards themselves carry mere sticks; and of the sensational Bengali court case of a Czech beetle research aide convicted of poaching rare butterflies who subsequently fled from justice.

But at least one butterfly expert, University of Florida's Thomas Emmel, feels all the legal fuss is much ado about nothing. According to Emmel, "No butterfly has been exterminated by overcollecting, ever."

It's difficult to pin down the practical, never mind the intrinsic value of butterflies. While one expert says, "Butterflies are hope," another counters, "They're really just pretty-colored cockroaches." No matter personal opinion, though, Laufer's The Dangerous World of Butterflies packs real entertainment wallop in a book filled with informed tidbits custom-designed for cocktail hour. In fact, did you know that Ron Boender, the proprietor of Florida's Butterfly World, is a big Bill O'Reilly fan? "I think he does a good job of presenting the other side of the story." Indeed. And so does Laufer.

I teach writing in a community college, and I spend an huge proportion of my time exhorting students to find a subject they truly love, a subject specific enough to explore deeply and thoroughly, and then to bring that subject to life with all the fascination and passion they feel for it. I might more easily make my argument by simply giving them Peter Laufer's Dangerous World of Butterflies. It is an elegant and engrossing read.

As a lifelong admirer of butterflies, I never imagined that these tiny creatures would be at the center of so much darkness. This book takes the reader on a scary journey. At the same time, the author treats his subject with great sensitivity and thoroughness. It's almost poetic.

Nothing else I've ever read about butterflies even comes close to this. Congratulations on wonderful research. Great work, Mr. Laufer.

I just finished reading Peter Laufer's book, The Dangerous World of Butterflies, and found that not only are butterflies adored, but they are also bought, sold, smuggled, and exploited. I thoroughly enjoyed this journey from it's serendipitous beginning, through the various manifestations of destruction and protection, to the butterfly as symbol. I was fascinated by the personalities of the individuals obsessed with butterflies whether artist, scientist, dealer, smuggler or savior. Already a fan of the butterfly, I now have even more reason to love and respect this magical insect.
Since reading The Dangerous World of Butterflies, I too see butterflies everywhere. This year I will leave all of the milkweed growing in my garden.

Peter Laufer is artful in incorporating tantalizing details that allow the reader to join the group as they encounter poachers in the field or scientists bantering over restorations. The full gambit of emotions may be experienced as you explore the world of butterflies through Peter's prose.

THE DANGEROUS WORLD OF BUTTERFLIES is an excellent book! It's a fast-moving, well-written, interesting and informative piece of creative work. Dr. Laufer writes a compelling story full of material I never even dreamed about. I highly recommend this entertaining, in-depth adventure.
Jesse Roth, M.D.

This book is a wonderful read and a surprising journey into the delicate beauty and black market of butterflies. I never imagined there was such high drama fluttering just beneath a butterfly's wings. Laufer's a great narrator, I much enjoyed following his adventures into this strange and beautiful world.

A long-time lover of butterflies, after seeing an interview with Peter Laufer about "The Dangerous World of Butterflies", I was intrigued by the premise. Yet the book was not exactly what I thought it was going to be - I guess I was surprised with how much of Laufer's metamorphosis from someone who knows nothing to very little about butterflies into a butterfly afficionado was part of the story, as well as the more surprising aspects of his discoveries. Yet his journey is essential to the tale he tells about these beautiful insects that belie the dangerous world in which they live.

Laufer initially came up with the idea of writing a book about "butterflies and flowers" as a respite from writing about the Iraq war, thinking it would be a peaceful topic to research. Yet the more he learned about butterflies and their world, the more he realized that the insect world is just as fraught with difficulties and tragedies as the human world. Beginning with butterfly farming in Central America and the southern United States, Laufer examines the different mindsets concerning captivity and collection. Detailing the remarkable nature of the Monarch butterfly, Laufer discovered their mountaintop wintering sites were in danger of habitat destruction and spent time with those who are trying to restore the balance to save the necessary ground and plants to secure the location. Laufer also uncovered the smuggling rings that surround butterflies, especially the rare and endangered, documenting the hunt and capture of one of the world's most wanted butterfly smugglers. To end the book, Laufer looks at efforts by California scientists who are trying to save certain species from extinction. Along the way, Laufer intermixes the tales of criminals, collectors, conservationists, ecological devastation, and species depletion with how rooted butterflies are in popular culture by examining works of literature and art.

"The Dangerous World of Butterflies" is an eye-opening read. It is hard to imagine how laws concerning Homeland Security could affect butterfly habitats along the Rio Grande, but they surprisingly do. While Laufer certainly doesn't keep his opinions to himself (which may be offputting to some readers) he faithfully and fairly details all sides of the story, including arguments between evolution and creationism, and the question of integrity concerning collectors and museum collections. Laufer is a natural storyteller, and while the story may seem scattered at times, "The Dangerous World of Butterflies" offers a unique look at this unique creation. Just as Laufer now sees butterflies everywhere he goes, readers may be pleasantly left with insects on the brain once they read Laufer's ode to this enigmatic beauty.