An interesting little book - less for the details of the moths (which are very detailed - she describes the exact color patterns on each species), more for the true stories behind some scenes in her fiction. She is evidently the Bird Woman who appears in half a dozen of her stories (I thought so, but now I'm sure. Though I don't recall any mention of the Bird Woman having a husband or daughter, who are mentioned here). Her descriptions of the moths she's studied are quite interesting - though by the fifth or sixth species, I was skimming the details of their color. Every once in a while she states, as a firm opinion, something quite silly - for instance, that moths can't possibly find one another to mate by scent because all she can smell is a faint "mothy" odor. Really? Because the human nose is, of course, the best in the world...not. It doesn't really detract from the book, but it's amusing. I've never raised moths, or even butterflies, through their life cycle; I'm almost tempted to try it after reading this book. But only almost. ( )

I obtained this as part of a reading challenge I'm involved in. The Limberlost Swamp location is only a short distance from my hometown and I have always enjoyed the authors work.

The detailed descriptions she provided are beautiful! She writes, "For a confession must be made that a perforated box is a passport to my good graces anyday." She goes onto exlain, "That particular shoe- box had brought me an Actius Lunda, newly emerged, and as yet unable to fly. I held down my finger and it climbed on, and was lifted to the light." I find it intriguing that a woman would trudge 3 miles to bring a specimen for her.

It made me smile and think back to times I watched caterpillars pupate. From childhood, we know that females moths seldom fly until they are done depositing their eggs. Egg shells are mostly transparent so over time you can view the little catapillars growing within them. The book speaks well of the skin castings and the enormous appetite of a catapillar.

When young, I had a Hyalophora cecropia we watched go through the cycle. It would feed on maple leaves and turned into a beautiful giant silk moth with a wing span over 6 inches. The body was faintly gray with brillant orange, white and black markings. The author is spot- on when she writes, "The wings are a work of art."

Gene Stratton-Porter used her position to support conservation in the state of Indiana. I thoroughly enjoyed this book which was a free from Amazon for Kindle and I plan to purchase a copy soon. ( )