African Queens and Their Kin: A Darwinian Odyssey

This is a vast book, in every sense...Every aspect of the biology, ecology, genetics, behaviour, distribution and evolution of this fascinating group is covered in depth...a volume of real substance...-- Guy Padfield, Dispar; 'David's book is a monumental work that compresses a lifetime of study into one volume. The book not only extensively reviews the biology of the African Queen itself but also deals with the parallel biology of its mimics, such as the Diadem. It’s a must read for anyone interested in butterflies, mimicry or indeed genetics and it should act to bring African Queens up to iconic status of their American Monarch relatives.' -- Prof. Richard ffrench-Constant, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Univ. Exeter; 'A masterpiece of scholarship, an awesome and enlightening read.' -- Prof. Hugh Loxdale DPhil, MBE, past President of the Royal Entomological Society; '...A significant part of David's life lies between the covers of this fascinating and scholarly odyssey; its scope, depth and detail are humbling.' -- John Tennent, Entomologist's Gazette; Whoever expects a 'traditional' identification guide...is completely wrong. There is MUCH more. Indeed, the book presents a firework of fascinating observations and facts on evolution, showing that a simplistic understanding of evolution...does not reflect and explain everything. - The book is targeted at academics but will surely fascinate everybody who is deeply interested in the biology of butterflies. I can warmly recommend it. - Axel Hausmann, Basic and Applied Ecology; `…This is a beautiful and unique book as well as a fantastic resource … Because of the detailed material, it may well appeal to a wide range of other academics, ecologists, entomologists and animal behaviourists, as well as anyone interested in African and Asian invertebrates.’ -- Grace Upperdine, The Biologist; `His work is scholarly, authoritative and very extensive and this is an outstandingly interesting book. … Perhaps it might seem that a book about butterflies should not have general relevance to ecologists but I guarantee that there is something for everyone. It might be that the precise detail is not of immediate application but most ecological fields will find much of importance here. This book can be well recommended and is a remarkable achievement. – Mark Young, British Ecological Society; `…Well written and produced, this is a long book with numerous plates, photographs, tables and diagrams. It is not a light read and written mainly for professional biologists. The author’s hope is that amateur lepidopterists will also find something to enjoy. And indeed there are anecdotes and biographical sections that do just that. But full appreciation of the book’s contribution requires more than just a passing familiarity with a number of disciplines including genetics, evolutionary biology, ecology and statistics. … D. chrysippus ranks among the most abundant and best studied of all butterflies and David Smith’s excellent book reveals even more reasons to continue studying this iconic superspecies. This is a fascinating book for all biologists. – Andrew Wakeham-Dawson, Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine; `…I recommend this book to anybody interested in evolution ecology, genetics and butterflies … Z. Faltynek Fric, European Journal of Entomology; `This is present-day natural history: chemical defence, camouflage, male-killing bacteria, hybrid zones and population genetics, all in one group of beautiful butterflies.’ Prof. Walther Traut, University of Luebeck, Germany