The world in several volumes
Producing an exhaustive treatment of all the world's butterflies
is a task that takes many years and can never truly be completed
- new species are regularly discovered, and the classification
and nomenclature of all species is in a state of constant flux.
The works of d'Abrera are true classics, and unlikely to be
surpassed. The Bauer and Frankenbach series of paperbacks are
best regarded as complementary to d'Abrera, and are useful when
additional illustrations of particular genera or species are
needed. None of these works include the Hesperiidae. |
d'Abrera |
Butterflies of the
World |
An incomparable and
essential set of 16 large format books covering all
zoogeographical regions. Covers all families except the
Hesperiidae. Life-size photos of every species in the collection
of the BMNH. |
Hill House
Publishers
various
dates |
various authors |
Butterflies of the
World |
Large format
paperbacks covering selected genera or subfamilies. Life-size
colour photographs. Text very limited - just specimen data. |
Hillside Books
various dates |
Books dealing with a single country or region
These are generally single volumes or 2 volume sets which deal
with the butterflies of a particular country or small group of
countries. They are particularly valuable for the travelling
lepidopterist who doesn't want to be side tracked with species
that are not applicable to the area he or she is visiting. These
books generally have an introductory section in which the
various habitat types in each region are described in detail.
The species descriptions provide further information about the
distribution, habitat requirements, behaviour, foodplants and
ecology of each species. |
Ackery, Smith & Vane-Wright |
Carcasson's African Butterflies |
|
CSIRO
1985 |
Baytas |
Field Guide to the Butterflies of
Turkey |
Includes
over 750 photographs of butterflies taken in their natural
habitats and species accounts of all Turkish
butterflies, including recently described Agrodiaetus
blues. |
National
Geographic Turkiye
2007 |
Braby |
Butterflies of Australia |
Covers the biology, identification and distribution of all
Australian spp. |
CSIRO
2000 |
Canals |
Mariposas de Misiones |
Photographic field guide to the butterflies of Iguassu Falls and
surrounding areas of Argentina and Brazil. Covers about 30
percent of the species, including Skippers. |
Literature
of Latin America
2003 |
DeVries |
Butterflies of Costa Rica |
2 paperback volumes covering all families except Hesperiidae and
Lycaenidae. Reduced-size colour photographs of all species.
Excellent and informative text. |
Princeton University Press
1987 |
Eliot |
Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula. |
Portable hardback covering all West Malaysian butterflies
including the Skippers. Colour photographs of all species.
Useful text. |
Malayan Nature Society
1992 |
Garwood & Lehman |
Butterflies of Southern Amazonia |
Photographic field guide covering 1000 of the commonest
Amazonian species, including Skippers. |
RiCale
Publishing
2007 |
Hernandez |
Field Guide of Cuban / West Indies Butterflies |
Covers all species found in Cuba and the West Indies. |
Apollo Books
2004 |
Lafranchis |
Butterflies of Europe |
Comprehensive guide covering all of the European butterflies.
Distribution maps, taxonomic keys, and genitalia drawings of
difficult species. |
Diatheo
2004
|
Larsen |
Butterflies of West Africa |
Large format. 2
volumes covering all West African species including the
Skippers. Excellent text. |
Apollo Books
1997 |
Larsen |
Butterflies of Kenya |
Hardback field guide
covering all Kenyan species including Skippers. Illustrated with
colour photographs. |
Oxford University Press
1991 |
Makris |
Butterflies of Cyprus |
Describes and
illustrates all species
found in Cyprus, with information on distribution & ecology.
Photographs of upper / undersides of both
sexes. |
distributed by NHBS
2003 |
McCubbin |
Australian Butterflies |
Large format. Covers all Australian
species. Beautifully illustrated with water-colours. Exhaustive
and very entertaining text. |
Nelson |
Monastyrskii |
Butterflies of Vietnam |
A series of identification guides covering the butterflies of
Vietnam. |
Apollo Books
2005 |
Neild |
Butterflies of
Venezuela
www.thebutterfliesofvenezuela.com/ |
4 vols covering Nymphalidae, Pieridae and
Papilionidae. Thorough text. Superb
plates depicting life-size dorsal and verso of both sexes. |
Meridian Publications |
Otsuka |
Field guide to the butterflies of Borneo &
south-east Asia |
|
Borneo Books
2001 |
Parsons |
The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea |
Exhaustive study covering the identification, biology,
distribution & systematics of all PNG species. |
Academic Press
1988 |
Parsons |
Butterflies of the Bulolo-Wau valley |
Handy pocket guide. Colour photos of about a third of the
butterfly species found in Papua New Guinea. |
Bishop Museum Press
1991 |
Pinratana |
Butterflies of Thailand |
6 volume series covering all species found
in Thailand, incl. Skippers. |
White Lotus
1988 |
Scott |
Butterflies of North
America |
Excellent species text. Superb coverage of anatomy, biology and
ecology of N. American species. |
Stanford University Press
1992 |
Smith |
Butterflies of Nepal |
|
White Lotus
1995 |
Swaay & Warren |
Prime Butterfly Areas in Europe |
576 species are
known to occur in Europe, of which 71 are considered threatened.
This book identifies 431 areas where conservation efforts should
be urgently focused. |
Wageningen
2003 |
Tennant |
Butterflies of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria |
|
Gem Publishing
1996 |
Thomas and
Lewington |
Butterflies of Britain &
Ireland |
The most complete, up
to date and best illustrated book about British butterflies.
Absolutely delightful. |
British Wildlife Publishing
2010 |
Tolman and Lewington |
Butterflies of Britain and Europe |
Field guide covering
all butterflies found in Europe, including Skippers. Superb
watercolour illustrations. |
Harper Collins
1997 |
Tratt |
Butterfly Landscapes |
A collection of water-colour
paintings depicting British butterflies in context with their
habitats. |
Langford Press
2005 |
Wikramanayake |
Butterflies of Sri Lanka |
|
Wikramanayake
2006 |
Woodhall |
Butterflies of South Africa |
Biology, taxonomy,
distribution, foodplants and identification. Photos of live
specimens taken in the wild. |
Struik
2005 |
Books dealing with British counties
There are numerous books providing excellent coverage of British
butterflies at county level. They often contain local
distribution maps, site information, and observational data e.g.
regarding local voltinism, larval foodplants and other data
specific to a particular county or site. As well as books, many
county branches of
Butterfly Conservation produce
annual reports detailing the current status of each species.
Several of the branches also run websites with information about
local sites, and regularly updated "sightings" pages. |
Biology and ecology
There are many books dealing with the biology and ecology of
Lepidoptera. Most are academic in style and directed at the
scientific community. A few such as "Butterflies of the World"
by Preston-Mafham, and "Butterflies" by Ford are written in more
easily understood popular style. |
Capinera |
Encyclopedia of Entomology |
Highly comprehensive encyclopedia
of entomology. Fully illustrated. |
Springer
2008 |
Ford |
Butterflies |
In depth coverage of the anatomy,
biology, genetics and ecology of British butterflies. A classic. |
Collins
1945 |
Matthews & Matthews |
Insect Behaviour |
Exhaustive academic
coverage of insect behaviour. Well written and easily
understood. Essential. |
Springer
2010 |
Nijhout |
The Development and Evolution of
Butterfly Wing Patterns |
A brilliant
and engrossing analysis of the biochemistry, morphology and
evolution of wing structure and patterns in butterflies.
|
Smithsonian
1991 |
Vane-Wright & Ackery |
The Biology of Butterflies |
A set of 33 papers dealing in depth with all aspects of
butterfly biology. Essential for serious students of
biochemistry, phylogenetics, logic and many other
disciplines. |
Academic Press
1984 |
Photo-essays
These books are
generally produced by wildlife photographers rather than by
entomologists. They are intended primarily as showcases of a
particular photographers work. |
Arndt |
Nomads of the Wind
( review here
) |
Stunning photographs
of Monarchs at the Mexico over-wintering sites.
Many high quality images of other species taken by Ingo Arndt. |
Papadakis
2008 |
Dalton |
Caught in Motion |
Amazing photographs of
butterflies, moths, dragonflies, birds, bats and other animals
frozen in flight with a high speed camera. |
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
1982 |
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