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British & Irish Moths is the most comprehensive collection of photographs of British moths ever published. It covers both macro and microspecies, and the images are all of living insects, taken in natural conditions. Concise text descriptions cover wingspan, status and distribution, flight period, habitat and larval foodplants, while thumbnail maps provide a quick overview of geographical distributions.
This third edition has been significantly expanded so that it includes all species on the British list, approximately 2,500 in total, representing a magnificent achievement by the author, Chris Manley. It also includes updates to the text, improvements to the photographic selection, and extra identification hints. For the leaf-mining micros, photographs are included to demonstrate the all-important feeding signs that can often be a more reliable identification method than seeing the adult.
This revised and now comprehensive edition is an essential part of the library of any moth- or butterfly enthusiast.
Illustrated Index to Moth Families 4
Preface to the Third Edition 7
Acknowledgements 8
Introduction 9
How to See Moths 11
Photography and Recording 16
Anatomy 18
Life Cycle of a Typical Moth 19
Species Descriptions 20
Appendix: Adventives 428
Bibliography and Further Reading 436
English Index 438
Scientific Index 441
Chris Manley is an author, sculptor and moth specialist. Beyond his detailed knowledge of lepidopterans gained through years of study, Chris is an insect photographer of rare talent. His previous book The Moths of Trigon, is a photographic guide to the 500 species recorded in that corner of Dorset. He is also the compiler of a comprehensive app covering the Butterflies of Europe.
"Drawings and paintings of moths are indispensable but the photographs in Chris's book complement these admirably and give the user more a "feel" for the moth. I have nothing but praise for this book and am constantly flicking through it. If you are at all interested in moths then buy it!"
– Dave Emley; County Moth Recorder for Staffordshire, BES Bulletin 46(4), December 2015
"The first edition of this popular photographic guide was published in 2008 as British Moths and Butterflies. The second edition represents a significant revision, and has much new material to offer.
Although the new edition has exactly the same number of pages and is the same size as the first, it is now in a more robust hardback format; but the greater changes are inside. Butterflies and larvae, which were included previously, are no longer covered, and the resulting space has been used to good effect by including an additional 800 species, mostly micro-moths, which now receive extensive coverage. The moths are listed in the order proposed in 2013 by Agassiz, Beavan and Heckford in their Checklist of the Lepidoptera of the British Isles, although the older Bradley and Fletcher numbers are also given.
Many new photographs have been included, including significant numbers of leaf mines, and those of adult moths are arranged where appropriate in a common orientation with the head to the upper right. UK and Ireland species maps are included for the first time, and a dark line below photographs of adult moths indicates their typical length.
This is an excellent volume, and will justly be consulted alongside moth guides relying on artwork or set specimens to assist the ever increasing number of moth enthusiasts in identifying their catches."
– Graham Geen, BTO book reviews
Reviews of the first edition:
"Jam-packed with photographs [...] this book really is superb and the quality of the photographs excellent. I'd say that you should make room on your bookshelf for this but I suspect you will use it so frequently it will rarely be on the shelf!"
– Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists' Society (February 2009)
"A real breakthrough [...] There are two main points which make this book such a winner: the photographs and the range [...] I enthusiastically recommend this book."
– The London Naturalist (December 2009)
"For relative beginners as myself, a good field guide is essential and the recently published British Moths & Butterflies by Chris Manley ticks all the right boxes as an introduction to this fascinating groupd of insects."
– thevisitor.co.uk (6 August 2009)
"One of the most comprehensive guides to the subject ever published."
– Bexley Times (26 February 2009)
