United States
£ GBP
This handy pocket-sized book has become the essential guide to identifying the butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. It contains over 600 superb illustrations of the life stages of each species, together with beautiful artworks of butterflies in their natural settings and pertinent species information, distribution maps and life history charts. A selection of day-flying moths is also included for comparison. Presented in an accessible, easy-to-use field-guide format, this is an ideal guide for beginners, as well as for more experienced butterfly enthusiasts.
This second edition has been fully revised and features a new, illustrated 'at-a-glance' identification guide to species within families, updated distribution maps and species accounts, as well as new spreads and artwork for the Cryptic Wood White and Scarce Tortoiseshell.
Introduction / Conservation / The structure of a butterfly / The life cycle of a butterfly / The six butterfly families / How to use this guide / At-a-glance guide / Main descriptions / Swallowtail / Skippers / Whites and yellows / Browns / Fritillaries, admirals and tortoiseshells / Duke of Burgundy / Coppers, hairstreaks and blues / Extinct species and rare migrants / Day-flying moths / Further reading / Index
Over almost forty years, Richard Lewington has built up a reputation as one of Europe's finest wildlife illustrators. He first became interested in butterflies as a child when he inherited a cabinet of insects from his father. He studied graphic design at the Berkshire College of Art, and since leaving in 1971 has specialised in natural-history illustration. His meticulous paintings of insects and other wildlife are the mainstay of many of the modern classics of field-guide art, including Insects of Britain and Western Europe, Collins Butterfly Guide, Field Guide to Dragonflies of Britain and Europe, Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland, Pocket Guide to Butterflies of Britain and Ireland and Guide to Garden Wildlife. He was, for many years, the principal artist on the multi-volume series, The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. He has also designed and illustrated wildlife stamps for a number of countries, including a set of ten stamps of British butterflies for Royal Mail in 2013.
"[...] This is a good update to an already excellent book, with the addition of the ‘at a glance’ guide and new treatment of the wood whites likely to tempt some owners of the first edition to move to the new edition."
– Mike Toms, BTO book reviews
