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Recommended Reading

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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