The Disappearance of Butterflies

Butterflies are dying out. These days we only rarely catch a glimpse of Eros blues, marbled whites or swallowtail butterflies. The large copper and scarce swallowtail have virtually disappeared already. Pesticides, over-fertilisation and monocultures are killing these insects. And with them, birds are disappearing too.

The biologist and bestselling author Josef H. Reichholf analyses an impending ecological disaster. But he also takes us on a journey into the wonderful world of butterflies: from the small nymphs that emerge from the lakes in air bubbles to the trusting purple emperors, drunk on toad poison. This is an intense plea for the protection of butterflies; for example, by creating habitats in each district. And it makes the reader succumb, like Nabokov once did, to the fascination of these magical creatures.