A mass on the world

This is the fourth part of "Butterflies of the Neotropical Region", an illustrated reference work on the butterflies of South and Central America. The author has compiled similar books on the butterflies of Africa, Australia, southern Asia and the Holarctic region.

This particular volume covers some of the Nymphalid butterflies in the Neotropics. The specimens shown in full color are beautiful, but the book contains very little information and looks almost like an exhibition catalogue. Indeed, the butterflies on the plates were photographed, not in Latin America, but at the British Museum.

The book also contains occasional creationist musings. Yes, you heard me - the author is a creationist. Thus, on p. 590 we find attacks on Teilhardism, Omega and the Atheist Liberal Humanists. On p. 530, D'Abrera claims that science is a pagan religion! Frankly, it feels somewhat bizarre to find attacks on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in a book on Neotropical butterflies of the family Nymphalidae. But then, that simply makes it more fun reviewing it, don't you think?

Butterflies are "a mass on the world".