Travel, Butterflies, Travel Writing 

Bhimtal, in the Western Himalaya, has more species of butterfly than most countries in Europe. It was to this lepidopteran paradise that Peter Smetacek s father moved his family so they could all pursue their passion for butterflies. The foremost among his siblings to inherit the family obsession, Peter caught his first butterfly at the age of three. After this, there was no looking back, and today Peter oversees the largest private collection of butterflies and moths in India. In this book, he invites us into the fascinating world of butterflies. We accompany him on expeditions deep into the mountains of the Himalaya, the high desert landscapes of Ladakh, the leopard and bear-infested forests of Kumaon, the scenic meadows of Garhwal, and all manner of other habitats, as he attempts to capture rare and interesting species an all-black butterfly that hasn t been spotted for over a century, drunken moths that behave no differently from their human counterparts when they are tipsy, high-elevation butterflies that sail over mountain peaks, and caterpillars that are worth more than their weight in gold. Along the way, in prose that is lucid, witty and always entertaining, he illuminates for the reader the mysterious world of the elusive insects he has spent a lifetime with, and explains why the well-being of butterflies is of vital importance to us all. - from Amzon