Product Description

"Philip's Guide to Butterflies of Britain and Ireland" begins with a valuable introduction to butterflies, explaining the differences between butterflies and moths, the life cycle and structure of butterflies, their movement and migration patterns, and helpful information on the distribution and habitats of the main family groups so that readers will know at a glance which species they are likely to see and where - useful for both identification purposes and for those readers who want to find a specific species.The introductory section finishes with information for gardeners, detailing which plants to grow and when. Each section is illustrated with diagrams and photographs. There then follows an illustrated key to the main family groups, detailing principal physical and flight characteristics, as well as other key information to aid identification. The next section consists of 60 specific species descriptions. These comprise detailed identification notes for both adult and young stages, information on life cycle, habitat and behaviour, and distribution and status - all accompanied by life-cycle artwork and time charts, a distribution map and a large colour photograph. Finishing with photographs and information on the most common day-flying moths, "Philip's Guide to Butterflies of Britain and Ireland" is an essential guide for both experienced naturalists and newcomers to the subject.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #258355 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 175 pages

About the Author
The author, Jeremy Thomas, is former Head of Site at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Dorset and is widely recognized as one the UK's leading experts on butterflies.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Butterfly Reference Book
A superb book that provides exquisite details of the life stages of British butterflies - a must have reference and identification book.

Great little butterfly guide
Butterflies are undoubtedly the most popular group of insects and this is reflected by the wide range of books available to help identify them, so what then are the chief selling points of this little guide?

The Philip's guide is the latest version of a book that began life as the RSNC Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Ireland in 1986 and the publication of the current version (in 2007) allowed for extensive revision and updating to reflect changes in the status of the butterflies since the earlier edition as well as the changing state of our knowledge and understanding of their biology.

One of the key differences between the Philip's guide and many of its competitors is the fact that it is restricted to the butterflies of Britain and Ireland. This means that it will not be a satisfactory choice for anyone intending to use it on butterfly hunting holidays on the European continent where there are about six or seven times as many species as are found in the British Isles. The benefit gained however is that it allows much more space to be allocated to each species in what remains a slender volume that would not weigh you down on a foray into the field.

Each species is thus accorded a two page spread which provides a much more detailed account than is the case in most field guides. The text, by Jeremy Thomas, is clearly written and provides an informative portrait of each species and its biology. The text is supported by clear diagrams that indicate the typical time of year at which one can expect to encounter each life stage and life cycle drawings that indicate the habitat in which each of the immature life stages occurs as well as indicating what it looks like.

For the illustration of adult butterflies opinions differ as to the relative merits of paintings versus photographs but this guide opts to provide the best of both worlds. In a section near the beginning of the book, each species is illustrated at approximately life size by the well known insect painter Richard Lewington. These high quality illustrations show both upper and undersides of each sex and are annotated in order to highlight key identification features. In the individual species accounts that follow, each species is further illustrated by decent photographs that show the insect in typical attitude and habitat as the reader might encounter it in the wild.

Overall, then this is an excellent little guide that is well worth its purchase price.