United States
£ GBP
The African Queen is one of the world's commonest butterflies, principally in Africa and Asia. African Queens and Their Kin concerns its lifecycle and ecology, behaviour, genetics, host preferences, parasites and migration, and especially its phylogeny and evolution. This is a monumental study and will appeal to all biologists interested in this topic area.
Part I: The Genus Danaus
1. Introduction 1
2. Lives of the Danaans 13
3. Who's Who among the Danaans? 119
Part II: African Queens and their mimics
4. Nature's tablet: the inheritance of wing colour pattern 187
5. Daughters of Danaus: all-female families 229
6. Sons of Aegyptus: male killing 277
7. He proposes, she disposes: mate choice 315
8. Illicit liaisons and the Wallace effect 349
9. The rank-scented many 387
10. Things are seldom what they seem 447
11. The Diadem: dupe or auxiliary? 475
12. The Queen's Diadem 523
13. Allies and auxiliaries 563
14. Epilogue 593
Glossary 627
References 637
Appendices 715
Abbreviations 749
Geographical Index 753
Subject Index 761
Taxonomic Index 787
"David Smith has devoted much of his life-long leisure time, as well as having spent some extended research periods, studying the African butterflies within the genus Danaus, known generally as 'Queens'. If this makes it sound as if he is a knowledgeable amateur, then this is certainly not what I intended. His work is scholarly, authoritative and very extensive and this is an outstandingly interesting book. [...] To say that there is a wealth of important detail here is a gross under-statement. There are nearly 800 pages of excellent material, well presented, clearly written an many relevant tables, diagrams and photographs. [...] This book can be well recommended and is a remarkable achievement."
– Mark Young, BES Bulletin 46(4), December 2015
