The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland

About this book

This major new landmark publication provides the first assessment of the changing status of butterflies in the 21st Century, updating the Millennium Atlas of Butterflies of Britain and Ireland.

Butterflies are more sensitive indicators of environmental change than other well-known groups such as birds and flowering plants, so at a time of rapid climate change, continued loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitats and chemical pollution, there is a greater need than ever to keep track of their changing fortunes.

The new assessment is based on the best information on butterfly populations and distributions anywhere in the world. In the 2000-04 period alone, thousands of volunteer recorders and conservationists have contributed over 1.6 million butterfly distribution records and carried out butterfly monitoring transects at over 500 sites.

This book, richly illustrated with many colour photographs, maps and plots showing changes in distribution and abundance, provides a vital and up-to-date reference for the current state of the 59 butterfly species that regularly breed in our islands. Much has happened in the years since the Millennium Atlas; some species have continued dramatic expansions of range whilst others have been lost from entire counties and regions.

This is a must for anyone who is concerned about the future of butterflies and other wildlife in Britain and Ireland.

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