Ecoacoustic singer-songwriter and author Steve Andrews brilliantly transports readers into the fascinating world of these insects through his book.

Environmentalist, Steve Andrews, born in Wales and also known as The Bard of Ely is the author of multiple popular reads which includes Saving Mother Ocean, Herbs of the Northern Shaman, Herbs of the Sun, Moon and Planets, Herbs of the Southern Shaman.

Steve kindly shared a short synopsis of his latest book ‘The Magic of Butterflies and Moths’ which reads “Who can fail to be amazed by the transformation of a tiny egg into a caterpillar, then into a chrysalis, finally to emerge as a beautiful butterfly? This seemingly magical process is the life cycle of every butterfly and moth and is one of the many wonders of nature that fascinated Steve Andrews when he was a child - and it still does to this day. The Magic of Butterflies and Moths musingly explores the wonders of these marvellous winged insects and what makes them so magical.”

Steve splits his time between the UK and Portugal and his latest novel ‘The Magic of Butterflies and Moths’ is a fascinating and inspiring read. When asked why he decided to write this book, Steve told The Portugal News “Hopefully this book will play a part in raising awareness about butterflies and moths as many species are declining fast due to pesticides, loss of habitats and climate change.”

Naturalist

Steve has been a naturalist since he was a young boy and his interest in butterflies and moths’ dates back to then. “When I was a little boy, I fell in love with nature and I would find things in the garden and I thought all these creatures were amazing and I would read a lot about them.” Steve then went on to show me a copy of one of the books he read as a child which I believe was called Insects of the British Isles, published in 1946 which has plenty of pictures of butterflies. "Everybody can see the magical transformation, of how what has been a caterpillar and then a chrysalis transforms completely into a winged creature. That for me is what I considered magical about butterflies too."

Steve’s enthusiasm seeps through the pages where you are held captive to every page. I will admit that I am a complete novice to the subject of butterflies and moths but Steve’s book was captivating and easy to follow without losing its intricate details. I think this would be the perfect gift for anyone who is enthusiastic about nature or like myself, wanting to widen your knowledge on these “winged wonders of nature”.

This magnificent book showcases different examples of butterflies and moths expertly written by Steve and highlighting fascinating facts about the lives of many species of butterfly and moth. The author starts off by sharing where the term ‘Butterfly’ originated from which I absolutely loved and then dives into different species. I was also surprised to learn that butterflies live in cold places!

Steve also shares how readers can save these fantastic insects by including a whole chapter on ‘Butterfly Gardening’. It was fascinating to learn about the importance of stinging nettle from Steve and despite not liking them they are a vital food source for caterpillars.

Steve went on to explain that we are losing wildlife habitat and that we can all help by growing plants in our gardens for butterflies caterpillars. Leading by example, Steve told The Portugal News that “In the house I am living in, we have a shared garden and my landlord has let me have a nettle patch.”

Magical

He also went on to share how magical these insects are by the way “they follow a seasonal calendar and that he can guarantee that at the end of October, he can find Red Admiral butterflies in a forest near him as they have remarkably timed it to when the annual nettle grows here in Portugal, as we get the rain in the autumn.”

Steve finally shared that he attended the United Nations Ocean Conference last year and that he was a Delegate at this year’s World Ocean Summit in Lisbon where he met fellow delegate and President of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach, Steve Bender.

Additionally, Steve Andrews has many talents which includes being a talented musician which I got to see first hand as he shared ‘Butterfly in My Beard’ with me whilst he enthusiastically played guitar and showed me how to make butterflies with my hands, making it a memorable song. If you are interested in hearing more of Steve Andrews music you can find him on Spotify and YouTube.

For more information, please visit https://www.bardofely.org/ and to order your very own copy of ‘The Magic of Butterflies and Moths’ please visit Amazon. Alternatively, for those of you in Portugal, you can purchase it at https://www.wook.pt/ebook/the-magic-of-butterflies-and-moths-steve-andrews/28079148. You can also keep up to date with Steve Andrews by searching for Bard of Ely on Facebook or @bardofely on Instagram.

Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes