|
The world in one volume
There are at least 18,000 species of butterfly in the world, and 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 for a newcomer to butterfly-watching, acting as a
stimulus for further investigation.
|
|
d'Abrera |
World
Butterflies |
Large format
paperback illustrating several thousand sp from all regions of
the world, excluding Skippers. |
Hill House Publishers
2006 |
|
Smart |
Encyclopaedia of the
Butterfly World |
Large format.
2000 sp 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.
Illustrates 7000 sp. Includes Hesperiidae, 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Outdated nomenclature.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 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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
Preston-Mafham |
Butterflies of the
World |
Fascinating introduction to anatomy, lifecycle,
behaviour, survival and ecology of butterflies. |
Blandford Press
1988 |
|
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 |
|
Scott |
Butterflies of North
America |
Invaluable introduction to anatomy,
biology, ecology and identification of North American
butterflies. |
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
( 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 |
|
|
|
|
|
