Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #312279 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 528 pages

Garden Answers
A comprehensive and beautifully illustrated field guide to all the butterfly species of Britain.

Synopsis
A comprehensive field guide to all the butterfly species of Britain and Europe, illustrated with over 2,000 paintings by the leading artist in the field, Richard Lewington. This comprehensive guide to the butterflies of the whole of Europe and North Africa describes and illustrates all 440 species. There are paintings of the male, female, and, where appropriate, all major forms. Distribution maps accompany every widespread species and all the information for the book has been researched from original sources. The text covers all taxonomic nomenclature, distribution, flight period, variation, habitat, behaviour, life cycle, food plants and conservation. An ideal field guide for travelling naturalists and the perfect reference for those wanting to discover more about butterflies themselves.

Customer Reviews

Best field guide yet
In the beginning (1970?) there was a ground-breaking field guide, known in the bug world affectionately after its authors; Higgins & Riley. Tom Tolman pays fine tribute to these men and picks up where they left off. Tolman has expanded the scope to cover specifically the Aegean and Eastern Europe much better. Now that we holiday there so much, more people want to identify the unique species that exist only on certain islands etc. Overall the whole guide has been revised too. If Higgins & Riley was the original Rolls Royce of field guides, this is the current model. As at 2006, there is NO COMPETITOR as a European field guide, whatever anyone claims.

Beautifully crafted - essential for identifying European butterflies
This is the best field guide to European butterflies and not just by default. Although there is currently no other decent European field guide to butterflies, this has undoubtedly set the standard for many years to come.

All 440 species of Europe and North Africa are fully described and illustrated with male and females depicted and - where there is significant variation - subspecies.

The text itself is accurate, concise and oriented at the field observer. A monochrome thumbnail map accompanies the detailed range / distribution section. Under "Description", it is heartening to see comparative comments rather than a re-hashing of what can be seen on the plates - something that used to occur often in field guides. Habitat is described in great detail. Life history includes a list of larval food plants.

The 104 plates do not accompany the text, but are found together in the centre of the book. They are, of course, superb. Extremely lifelike, wonderfully helpful for identification and pleasing to the eye, they are everything we have come to expect from Richard Lewington's brush.

This is a "must have" for anyone travelling to Europe and no British naturalist will want to be without it either. In 1970, Higgins & Riley were the pioneers. This book is the worthy successor to that groundbreaking first guide, taking the art of identification to even higher levels.

Compact & Concise
I've been after this title for sometime, and I must confess; now that I have it - i'm not disappointed! Each species found in the region is described in detail and accompanied by superb illustrations by possibly the finest insect illustrator in the world - Richard Lewington. The book is worth the price on those alone. If I have to be critical on any part of this book, then it would have to be on not having range maps accompanying the illustrations - which is pretty much becoming a prerequisite on any ID / field guide these days, but I am really splitting hairs over an otherwise faultless book.
Overall, this is a compact and concise field guide, and good enough for the beginner and seasoned lepidopterist alike.