BaylorWetlandsNature's NurseryLepidoptera Literature

Lepidoptera Literature: Myths, Folklore, Legends, & Sayings

This is only a partial listing, but it is a good starting point for researchers and those interested in Lepidoptera lore.

  • American Museum of Natural History. (1999). Pueblo butterfly dance. Pulse of the Nation, http://www.pulseplanet.com/archive/Mar99/1838.html, Program 1838.
  • Baca, A. (1999). Benito’s bizcochitos / Los bizcochitos de Benito.
  • Carle, E. (1981). The very hungry caterpillar. New York: Philomel.
  • Courlander, H., & Prempeh, A. K. (1957). The hat-shaking dance and other tales from the gold coast. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co.
  • Dai, F. (2000). A tale of the Chinese Romeo and Juliet. Dumont, New Jersey: Homa & Sekey Books.
  • Keeshig-Tobias, L. (1994). The trickster: running for the people, carrying fire for the people. Research Study prepared for RCAP.
  • Kent, J. (1982). The caterpillar and the polliwog. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.
  • Khandro. (2005). The butterfly. http://www.khandro.net/animal_butterfly.htm.
  • Lynch-Brown, C., & Tomlinson, C. M. (1993) Essentials of children’s literature. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
  • MacDonald, M. R. (1982). The storyteller’s sourcebook: A subject, title, and motif index to folklore collections for children. Detroit: Neil-Schuman.
  • Manos-Jones, M. (2000). The spirit of butterflies: Myth, magic, and art. New York: Henry N. Abrams.
  • Russell, S. A. (2003). An obsession with butterflies: Our long love affair with a singular insect. Cambridge, MA: Perseus.
  • Stangl, J. (1984). Paper stories.  Fearon.
  • Taylor, H. P. (1995). Coyote and the laughing butterflies. New York: Macmillan Books for Young Readers.
  • TKL. (2002). Taiwan: Legend of the butterfly lovers. http://www.spcnet.tv/taiwan_butterfly.shtml.
  • Yep, L. (1989). The rainbow people. New York: Harper Trophy.
  • Zhang, J. Some Miao folklore – butterfly pattern. Atlanta, GA: Marla Mallett Textiles. http://www.marlamallett.com/miaofolklore.htm.