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Recommended Butterfly
Books & DVDs
Books
The
world in one volume
There
are at least 18,000 species of butterfly in the world, no single book that covers them all. Several authors however have
produced single-volume books illustrating a fairly
representative selection of the world's butterflies. These are
of little value for identification purposes, but offer an interesting
overall coverage of the showier and / or commoner species, and make
an excellent gift to a newcomer to butterfly-watching, acting as a
stimulus for further investigation.
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d'Abrera |
Concise Atlas of
Butterflies of the World |
Large format book
covering several thousand species from all regions of the
world, excluding Skippers. Reduced-size colour photographs.
Lengthy text dealing with anatomy, taxonomy and
controversial counter-evolutionary arguments. |
Hill House Publishers
2001 |
|
d'Abrera |
World Butterflies |
Paperback version of
the above, with reduced text. Excellent value, and ideal as a
general overview of the world's butterflies. |
Hill House Publishers
2006 |
|
Smart |
Encyclopedia of the
Butterfly World |
Large format book.
2000 species illustrated life-size. Excellent text covering
all aspects of butterfly biology, written for the general
naturalist. |
Salamander Books
1975 |
|
Lewis |
Butterflies of the
World |
Large format book.
Reduced-size illustrations of 7000 species. Includes the
Skippers, so covers many species not depicted in other works.
Outdated nomenclature. |
Harrap
1973 |
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 of the zoogeographical
regions. Covers all families except the Hesperiidae. Life-size
colour photographs of every species in the collection of the
British Museum Natural History. |
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.
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Ackery, Smith & Vane-Wright |
Carcasson's African Butterflies |
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CSIRO
1985 |
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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 species. |
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. Full-size colour photographs of all species.
Useful text. |
Malayan Nature
Society
1992 |
|
Garwood & Lehman |
Butterflies of Southern Amazonia |
Photographic field guide covering about 1000 of the commoner
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 |
|
Lanfranchis |
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 |
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Makris |
Butterflies of Cyprus |
Describes and
illustrates all the
butterflies of Cyprus, with
information on distribution and ecology.
Photographs of uppersides and undersides of both sexes of all
species. |
distributed
by NHBS
2003 |
|
McCubbin |
Australian Butterflies |
Large format. Covers all Australian species
including Skippers. Beautifully illustrated with water-colours.
Exhaustive and entertaining text. |
Nelson |
|
Monastyrskii |
Butterflies of Vietnam |
A series of
identification guides covering the butterflies of Vietnam |
Apollo Books
2005 |
|
Neild |
Butterflies of
Venezuela |
4 part series covering the Venezuelan
members of the Nymphalidae, Pieridae and Papilionidae.
2 volumes published so far. Extremely
thorough text and superb plates depicting uppersides and
undersides of both sexes of every species at life size. |
Meridian Publications |
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Otsuka |
Field guide to the butterflies of
Borneo & south-east Asia |
|
Borneo Books
2001 |
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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 with
colour photos of about a third of the butterfly species found
in Papua New Guinea, all reproduced smaller than life-size.
Useful text. |
Bishop Museum Press
1991 |
|
Pinratana |
Butterflies of Thailand |
6 volume set of handbooks covering all
species found in Thailand, including Skippers. |
White Lotus
1988 |
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Riley |
British and Irish Butterflies |
Field guide with
photographs of all subspecies of British butterfly. |
Brambleby Books
2007 |
|
Scott |
Butterflies of Mexico & USA |
Portable guide to
all North American butterflies. Mediocre life-size colour photographs.
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 |
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Swaay &
Warren |
Prime Butterfly Areas in Europe |
Of the 576 species known to occur in
Europe, 71 are considered threatened. This book aims to
identify the areas where conservation efforts should be
urgently focused. Within these 431 areas, described country by
country, the focus is on target species. |
Wageningen
2003 |
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Tennant |
Butterflies of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria |
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Gem Publishing
1996 |
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Thomas and
Lewington |
Butterflies of Britain & Ireland |
The most complete, up to date and best illustrated book about
British butterflies, bar none ! |
British Wildlife
Publishing
2010 |
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Tolman and Lewington |
Butterflies of
Britain and Europe |
Field guide covering
all butterflies found in Europe, including Skippers. Superb
watercolour illustrations. |
Harper Collins
1997 |
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Tomlinson & Still |
Britain's Butterflies |
Field guide
to British butterflies illustrated with composite photographs
depicting all stages of the lifecycle |
Wild Guides
2002 |
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Tratt |
Butterfly Landscapes |
A collection
of water-colour paintings depicting British butterflies in
context with their habitats. |
Langford Press
2005 |
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Whalley & Lewington |
Mitchell Beazley Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Britain&
Europe |
A truly pocketable guide covering all British & European
butterflies, with superb and
accurate water-colour illustrations by Richard
Lewington |
Mitchell Beazley
2008 |
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Wikramanayake |
Butterflies of Sri Lanka |
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Wikramanayake
2006 |
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Woodhall |
Butterflies of
South Africa |
Introduction covers biology, anatomy, and
taxonomy. The species accounts cover distribution, foodplants
and identification. Photographs are mostly of live specimens
taken in the wild. |
Struik
2005
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Books dealing with British counties
These
books are mostly produced in collaboration with county
branches of Butterfly Conservation, and analyse the history, current
status & future trends of each species found in that county.
Most counties of Britain now have their own book,
so those listed below are just a tiny sample. Most include
distribution maps, flight tables and information about habitats and
their management.
|
visit
www.butterfly-conservation.org
for links to the various county and regional branches of
Butterfly Conservation, which list publications covering the
relevant areas. |
Biology and ecology
There
are many books dealing with the biology and ecology of
Lepidoptera. Most are technical in nature and directed at
the scientific community. Those listed below however are aimed
at amateur butterfly enthusiasts and written in an easily understood
but comprehensive style.
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Preston-Mafham |
Butterflies of the
World |
Fascinating and thoroughly readable Handbook dealing
comprehensively with anatomy, lifecycle,
behaviour, survival, variation and ecology. |
Blandford Press
1988 |
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Vane-Wright & Ackery |
The Biology of
Butterflies |
|
Princeton University
Press
1989 |
|
Scott |
Butterflies of Mexico & USA |
Superb coverage of
the anatomy, biology and ecology of North American species.
Amazing value. |
Stanford University
Press
1992 |
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
( read review
here ) |
Stunning photographs
of Monarchs at the over-wintering sites in Mexico,
plus with a selection of high
quality images of other species taken by wildlife photographer
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 |
Videos and DVDs
Productions dealing with a single country or region
A superb set of videos and DVDs from John Banks
illustrating butterflies from all over the world. These depict
hundreds of species in their natural habitats, and often include
thought-provoking questions about the ecology, evolution and
behaviour of butterflies.
More information at
www.cinebutterflies.com
|
Banks |
Puzzles of the past |
A film probing the
history of British butterflies. 75 species filmed in their
natural habitats. |
Cinebutterflies
1997 |
|
Banks |
Beauty for Survival |
A film of living
butterflies from many parts of the world, showing how a
butterfly's appearance increases it's chance of survival. |
Cinebutterflies
1995 |
|
Banks |
Diversity in the rainforest |
A delightful film
about the butterflies of Tambopata, an Amazon rainforest
reserve in Peru which has one of the richest butterfly faunas
on Earth. |
Cinebutterflies
1996 |
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Banks |
Ghana's other gold |
Butterflies of the
West African rainforest. 120 species filmed at Kakum and other
reserves in Ghana. |
Cinebutterflies
|
|
Banks |
Wonders of the East |
Malaysia's
breathtaking Birdwings, Lacewings, Dragontails, Tree Nymphs
and many others, filmed in West Malaysia and Borneo. |
Cinebutterflies
1998 |
|
Banks |
What's going on here
? |
An introduction to
the butterflies of the Amazonian rainforest, filmed in Brazil. |
Cinebutterflies
2006 |
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