This compact disk is not just a disk of image files. It is a fully navigable, searchable, and printable 'e-book' with a mix of informative text and astounding color images of worldwide Saturnid moths. Kirby Wolfe has put together one of the best works I have ever seen on this subject - covering over 250 species. His photographs are a delight to the senses: up close, in focus, and saturated with breathtaking color. His text pages are very informative, yet not too long and laborius as you will find in many reference books on Saturniidae.

Mr. Wolfe is a Research Associate of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, California and has spent more than 25 years photographing these moths.

Last time I checked, this CD was selling for $25.00. Well worth it at twice the price for any student of Lepidoptera. Go to the end of this review for purchase information.

'The Saturniidae' e-book has seven chapters, as follows:

1. Introduction
   
2. Collecting Moths
   
3. Rearing Moths
   
4. Photographing Moths
   
5. Classification
   
6. Images and Natural History
   
7. Appendix
   

Here is a my brief review and description of each chapter with some sample screen shots:

Introduction -
There is too much to say about worldwide Saturniidae, but this introduction covers the subject quite well in about 10 screens. Broken down into three sub-sections: 1) Preface, 2) Introduction to the Saturniidae, and 3) Human Interaction with the Saturniidae.

Collecting Moths -
This section covers the basic collecting techniques, including night collecting. Plus a few paragraphs on mounting moths and preserving moth collections.

Rearing Moths -
Wolfe has much experience in this endeavor. Here is a condensed primer on Sat rearing that covers Equipment and Needs, Eggs, Caterpillar Food, Pupation, Emergence, and Breeding.

Photographing Moths -
This text-only section includes Kirby's tips on photographing moths, the equipment used, and an explanation of 'aperture priority' for getting optimum depth of field in your photographs.

Classification -
Mr. Wolfe has done all the work for us by explaining the breakdown of Family Saturniidae into Sub-Family, Tribe, Genus, Sub-Genus, and Species.

Images and Natural History -
Now to the best part of this e-book! The image pages are grouped at the first level by Sub-Family/Tribe, with thumbnail preview pictures to give the reader an idea of the contents therein.

Click on a Sub-Family/Tribe to see links for each Genus within, also with preview pics.

Finally, click on a Genus to see links to the species pages. Most species pages include not only pictures of the adult moth, but the ova, larval stages, and pupa as well. Some species pages show a photo of the habitat. A short paragraph or two on the natural history of each species is provided. You will see that Mr. Wolfe has mastered depth of field and proper light exposure in his photographs, which are the most difficult aspects of close-up photography.

Appendix -
In this section is a much appreciated lesson on the parasites of Saturnid moths - with photos, plus a list of species covered in the e-book and a Suggested Reading list.

MY SUMMARY:

In summary, I give this product an A+.

My only complaint is a small one: the viewing window of this e-book is not resizable (though it can be minimized with a right click on its taskbar button on the bottom of the Windows screen). The window can be moved around on my screen by dragging it, but when I try to resize the window it immediately expands to full size, taking up the full screen of the Windows interface. This behavior might be an aspect of the production software that was used to assemble the CD or it could be the result of a Windows setting that I am not aware of.

Suggestions: In future editions I would like to see more content in the natural history section for each species, especially more rearing notes from the author's personal experience.

As far as I know this CD can only be obtained directly from the author in California. Price: $25.00, plus shipping.
Requirements: Microsoft Windows on a PC (will not run on Macs). 15 inch monitor recommended.
Contact: Kirby Wolfe kirwolfe@pacbell.net

- Reviewed by Clark Thompson

You'll get none of that with Kirby Wolfe's images. His moth photos are second to none, and you won't be disappointed if you buy this CD. I'm just hoping he comes out with a MAC version!

Bob J.
http://www.bobjensenphotography.com