BUTTERFLIES OF THE WORLD
By Adrian Hoskins. New Holland. $39.99.

I sometimes despair of my seemingly bottomless pit of ignorance of invertebrates, though it's not for lack of interest. Partly it's because the field is so vast, compared with the world of birds, mammals, reptiles and wildflowers that I'm more familiar with – and unrealistically I always want to know everything – but partly too there is a notably sparser accessible literature available. With regard to butterflies, that has just become significantly less true. Adrian Hoskins is a true doyen of butterflies, especially tropical ones, and possessor of a prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Entomological Society. His Learn About Butterflies website is one of the great natural history sites.

This book is one of those rare delights, a coffee table book full of readily digestible information, far more than anyone could consume at a sitting. One of the reasons I find it delightful is that Hoskins is a natural and passionate story-teller; an author's desire to share information can sometimes lead to arid prose, but not here. On meeting Rajah Brooke's Birdwing in Malaysia: "try to imagine a quivering mass of 100 iridescent green butterflies, each... about 16cm across ... you are surrounded by a swirling mass of glittering green wings... The huge privilege of such an experience is something you never forget." I was lucky enough to meet just one recently and will certainly never forget it.

The book begins with a most informative section on all aspects of butterfly lore you could imagine – origins, anatomy, lifecycles, enemies, survival strategies and migration. Hoskins exhibits an all too rare restraint in not trying to tell us all he knows (which is a lot) but succeeds well in giving us what we need without burying us in it. The bulk of the book comprises a series of chapters on the seven butterfly families, broken down into natural subgroups. It is not comprehensive in terms of species – it couldn't be, with some 17,500 butterfly species recognised, and growing at the rate of about two a week – but I found it immensely valuable in understanding much better the patterns of butterfly diversity. (And it is always worth bearing in mind that 'butterflies' are really just moths that happen to belong to those seven families out of some 125 moth families and over 160,000 species overall; most butterflies are colourful, day-flying and have clubbed antennae, but not all do, and some other moths have all those characteristics.)

I am finding it a great resource for making my collection of butterfly photos much more useful, but more than that it is a surprisingly good general read. I learnt that an Egg Fly from Asia stands guard over her eggs, protecting them from parasitic wasps, until she dies. The intricate relationships of many species with ants are fascinating, as are the numerous examples of palatable butterflies mimicking toxic or nasty-tasting ones. Anthropomorphism will generally have no place in such a book but Hoskins is so assured and relaxed in his role that he is able to use phrases like "A butterfly with a sense of humour!" knowing that we will accept it as it is intended.

I'd love more words than are my quota here, but I offer just two more reasons to acquire this book. Firstly the photos are simply superb; time and again I turn a page and shake my head at the startling beauty or even sheer implausibility of the image. The other is the plethora of utterly delicious names we have ascribed to many butterflies; a few among my favourites here are Gaudy Commodore, Uncertain Owlet, Long-streak Sailor, Smooth-banded Sister, Forest Glade Nymph, Common Jester, Dingy Skipper, Constable, Elegant Satyr, Fairy Hairstreak and Amazon Snowflake.

This is a book to delight the eyes and the mind and to encourage us to see the world through new lenses. And shouldn't that be the goal of every book?

Ian Fraser is a local naturalist, broadcaster, natural history blogger and author, whose most recent book is Australian Bird Names; a complete guide.