On the face of it this is just another field guide to butterflies. Yet this one is different - it is a field guide that goes that extra field. Each species has its own page and shows not only the butterfly (male and female where appropriate) but the caterpillar and chrysalis as they would appear in their natural habitat. There is also a section which shows the butterfly eggs (10 x life size) and life-size caterpillars - quite often, these are not included in the field guides.
For the beginner, the book gives a very good introduction to butterflies and moths and explains the make-up and identification of their named parts. The book also explains lifecycles and lifestyles, as well as movement and migration, different habitats, gardening for butterflies and identification techniques.
I really think this is an excellent field guide containing nearly 200 pages of knowledge, which is ideally suited to both the beginner and the enthusiast. Furthermore, the pages have a laminated quality, and the book is lightweight and pocket-sized.
David Saunders recommends a guide for butterfly watching.
August is a key month in the butterfly watchers calendar, and that means everyone, for few can fail to be moved by striking examples of these fine insects at the garden buddleia or crowding on to the pink flowers of sedum. Even the much maligned large white, or 'cabbage white' a quite magnificent insect, deserves more than our casual attention.
For instance did you know that travelling at up to ten miles per hour many cross from the continent each summer to lay eggs on our cabbage plants.
Although roughly 560 species of butterfly occur across Europe only 59 are regularly found in Great Britain and of these 42 are recorded in Wales and along the borders. Most are relatively easy to identify and would be watchers now have the advantage of a new guide Britain's Butterflies by David Tomlinson and Rob Still.
The colour plates are quite remarkable and excellent when it comes to identification. Using digital image technology and bringing together many images never previously published the quite delightful series of plates shows a variety of views of each butterfly, not forgetting both caterpillar and chrysalis.
Armed with the guide butterfly watching takes on a new dimension, for in addition to the colour plates there is a small distribution map, life cycle calendar, identification features, notes on behaviour, habitat requirements and conservation. Tips on observation and where to best to find each species add to the knowledge succinctly imparted.
Having said easy to identify I commence with the skippers, the least conspicious of our butterflies and among the more difficult to identify are the skippers, so called because of their agility and rapid, almost bee-like flight. Four occur in Wales, the small skipper, a secretive species of rough grasslands and broad verges has been expanding northwards though is still abent from parts of Snowdonia, nor does it seem to have become established on Anglesey.
The large skipper occurs throughout Wales, save for the highest ground. A restless butterfly best seen when most active during late mornings in hot weather when males patrol their territory before taking a siesta in the afternoon. In contrast to the golden-bronze of the preceeding species by contrast both the dingy skipper and grizzled skippers are dark brown or black with handsome white markings.
Sadly both are declining, the former largely restricted to the south and west coastal region and the North Wales coast, the latter mainly in South Wales coastal districts. Both bask in the sun on bare patches of ground, from time to time buzzing off on patrol or to a new spot; the grizzled skipper having an especially rapid flight as it darts about or attacks a rival male.
Rarest of the white butterflies is the delicate wood white, a woodland butterfly which brushes Wales with its wings occurring in the Forest of Dean while one of its strongholds is Herefordshire and Worcestershire. By contrast the familiar large, small and green-veined whites are all highly successful and widely occurring, the latter even found on the highest ground.
Often the first butterfly to rise from hibernation is the brimstone, often seen on warm days in February. A long-lived butterfly, which may survive for up to twelve months, the sulphur-coloured wings of the male are those of the original 'butter-coloured fly.' The caterpillars are dependent on leaves of buckthorn and alder buckthorn so the brimstone is largely restricted to where these plants occur in south and south-east Wales, in the border counties and close to the north Wales coast.
A spectacular migrant from the shores of the Mediterranean, the clouded yellow is the only other yellow butterfly to regularly occur in Wales. Numbers vary from maybe millions to a few hundred, and when here are likely to be seen anywhere though they are very partial to fields of clover foodplant of its caterpillar.
The elegant orange-tip, only the males have the bright orange markings, is a short-lived sprite of spring to be seen throughout Wales. Indeed most of its life-cycle is spent as a chrysalis which is remarkably well camoulflaged being in the shape of a seed pod and coloured either brown or green.
White-letter hairstreaks are now mainly confined to the borders, though not so long ago it was much more widespread, this before Dutch elm disease ravaged the trees which were its foodplant. Like others of its family the white-letter hairstreak spends much time high in the canopy so that binoculars are required, though you may be fortunate to view them at close quarters when they descend to a convenient bramble patch for nectar.
A delightful insect of oak woodlands is the purple hairstreak, on the wing throughout much of August, chiefly in the late afternoon and early evening. Described as our most elusive butterfly one of three key areas for the brown hairstreak is south-west Wales.
Here naturalists often only become aware of its presence by locating the conspicious white eggs on blackthorn twigs during the winter.
Much more easily found green hairstreak, the only British butterfly with a green underside to the wings is on the wing in May and June when it can be seen on open grassy areas and heaths with patches of scrub.
Brilliant copper forewings and dark hindwings with copper margins quickly identify the small copper which may be encountered from May to October when males vigorously attack any insect that passes close to its own favourite perch.
Our smallest butterfly is the small blue which in Wales exists in a series of colonies from North Pembrokeshire to Glamorgan.
The silver-studded blue is even more restricted, being found on the Castlemartin Peninsula, Pembrokeshire along the North Wales coast, the colony on Great Orme being especially noteworthy.
Although a 'blue' the brown argus as the name suggests is anything but blue, again the coast of North and South Wales is the place to look for it.
By contrast the common blue may be encountered pretty well anywhere save for the higher ground. Also widespread and earliest of the blue's to be on the wing is the holly blue which may be seen in March and can be found wherever there are holly trees.
Some say the white admiral is unrivalled for its graceful and agile flight, if you wish to see for yourself then search in the Forest of Dean and northwards along the borders where current increases give hopes of an expansion into Wales.
The red admiral can occur almost anywhere, its numbers like those of other migrants vary considerably from year to year. Likewise the painted lady, another highly migratory butterfly, many which reach Wales will have travelled from the edge of the North African desert belt, and as it cannot overwinter here our population depends on successful immigration.
Small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies are familiar in our gardens for most of the summer and frequently found hibernating in garages, cellars and our garden sheds.
Both will emerge from hibernation in March, the eggs being laid on the underside of nettle leaves. The resulting adults will be those we see in flight throughout late summer and into autumn before hibernation.
Less well known, but now widespread is the comma, its name from the comma mark on the marvellously camoulflaged underside of the wing which resembles a dead-leaf.
Six of the fritillaries occur in Wales including those splendid large residents of woodland glades and grass and moor the silver-washed and dark green, the colours in both cases refer to the underside of the wings.
While the small-pearl bordered fritillary is widely distributed, the pearl-bordered, once widespread, is now only known at some 30 sites.
The high brown fritillary has also experienced an even more catastrophic decline, and is virtually restricted to a handful of colonies mainly in south-east Wales. On the credit side the rhos pastures in the south and west, remains, at least for the present a stronghold in Great Britain for the marsh fritillary whose larvae spend much of their life as colonies within strong silken cocoons on their devil's-bit scabious foodplants.
My own favourite butterfly is the marbled white of Gower, the Carmarthen coalfield and the borders, the striking black and white pattern means it is easily identifiable when on the wing throughout July and August. It belongs, rather surprisingly in view of the colour to the group of butterflies referred to as the browns, all with black "eye-spots" on the upper and lower side of the forewing.
The other "browns" occurring in Wales are the speckled wood, wall, grayling, gatekeeper, meadow brown, ringlet, small heath, and our only northern species, the large heath of boggy moorlands which reaches the southernmost limit of its range in Ceredigion. The others occur throughout much of Wales save for the primarily coastal grayling. This is the butterfly you encounter on cliff paths on a hot day which when disturbed flies a few yards, settles and lowers the forwings down between the hide pair and leans over to reduce the tell tale shadow, a remarkable performance.
In days past butterflies were collected, now there is no need, our collecting is done using cameras and digital recorders, then with good identification guides like Britain's Butterflies and handbooks like The Millenium Atlas of Butterflies of Britain and Ireland, we can identify our 'captures' learn of their habits and extra-ordinary life styles while they fly free to grace our gardens and countryside.
In The Island Naturalist Winter 2001, under the heading There She Blows! We reviewed Whales and Dolphins of the European Atlantic, a book published by WILDGuides with photographs created by digital technology. Now comes another WILDGuides book using the same technique, this time covering butterflies. The text is by David Tomlinson the well known writer on wildlife and countryside matters, and an island visitor and Rob Still a graphic artist with extensive experience of computer based design.
A full-page description is provided of each of our 59 species with sub-headings Identification including chrysalis, caterpillar and egg, Behaviour, Habitat, Population and Conservation. Opposite which a full page, and most charming coloured photograph, with typical views of the adult butterfly plus chrysalis and caterpillar. These are outstanding and will bring a whole new dimension to butterfly watching.
In addition other plates show the egg x10 plus lifesize photographs of caterpillars and chrysali. Then to whet ones appetite are the illustrations of butterflies that have been like the Large Copper and Black-veined White, rare migrants like the Queen of Spain Fritillary and Monarch and one to look out for the Geranium Bronze. A serious pest in the horticultural trade on the continent in view of its caterpillars liking of Geraniums. If your Geraniums show heavy leaf damage this butterfly may be the culprit.
Even if you only have a casual interest in butterflies you cannot afford not to have this book, it will prove an indispensable guide for years to come.
Britain's Butterflies is a clear and well-illustrated book that claims to show every new species. There are photographs of male and female butterflies - as well as their caterpillars - and the descriptions and the text are useful to beginners as well as for those with some knowledge. It also makes an ideal present.
WILDGuides are a relative newcomer to the publishing world, but their efforts so far (Birds, Mammals & Reptiles of the Galápagos Islands and Whales & Dolphins of the European Atlantic) have been well received. With more publications in preparation, they look set to become a driving force in wildlife book publishing. Their books represent excellent value for money in a market where prices have been rising so much, that birders have become more choosy about where they put their cash. Gone are the days when auntie's Christmas book token was used to purchase the only book to come out that year.
WILDGuides have chosen to work with conservation organisations, which in-turn receive a portion of the profits. Hopefully the success of WildGuides will encourage other publishers to take a look at their pricing structures, if they wish to compete.
Although not mentioned in the title, Britain's Butterflies is clearly an identification guide. So how does it differ from other guides on the market? Britain's Butterflies begins as you would expect with an introductory section covering anatomy, life cycle, food plants, movements, habitats, gardening for wildlife, photography and conservation, among others. David Tomlinson's text is brief but clear, cutting out unnecessary waffle and presenting the key features by getting straight to the point.
By covering only British species (as well as Irish; a fact curiously not mentioned in the title?), it has the space to explain things not usually found in a European Field Guide. For example, a paragraph on the important relationship that some butterflies have with ants is covered (the caterpillar of the Large Blue is carried into an ants nest where it feeds on grubs!). At the same time, it removes the chance of confusion with many similar-looking butterflies restricted to the continent, and means less weight to carry in one's pocket.
Each species is treated to two pages with sections on identification, behaviour, habitat and status. A calendar, distribution map and observation tips, which are critical in a book like this; are all covered well. Most of the above can be found in other publications too big to take into the field, but Britain's Butterflies is the first to use the latest computer technology, to create accurate and pleasing photographic plates that depict most aspects of the life-cycle of each species. A full-page photographic plate for each species (other than vagrants) illustrates adult male, female, upperwings, underwings, caterpillar and pupae, all placed on the relevant foodplants.
Having accomplished this graphics design package successfully in his previous offerings, Rob Still has repeated the format to good effect here. The photographs are all reproduced to 1.5 times life size to allow comparisons to be made, while permitting fine detail to be seen. A nice touch is to place Essex and Small Skippers in similar poses, side by side on the same flower. This provides a great comparison. Photos of different subspecies such as Durham Brown Argus and some aberrant forms reduces the chance of finding something in the field not covered in this book. For various reasons, photographs of a few species in certain poses were not available (i.e.: those that do not open their wings in the field). These have been painted, but one has to look hard to find them to tell the difference.
Complementary chapters at the rear also show photographs of egg, caterpillar & pupae, next to others for comparison. A nice touch is the useful measuring line at the foot of each egg photograph to allow for accurate size comparisons.
The beauty of this book is that it shows the animal in its natural habitat, rather than an isolated photograph. For example, I struggled to see the chrysalis of the Small Heath on the photographic plate, despite a label next to it. Useless, you may think? A glance at the chrysalis section at the rear of the book, showing a photograph of it in isolation gives the illusion that finding them would be relatively easy as they are bright green. Returning to the plate to see it placed among the grass gives a useful lesson in how well camouflaged they are, and that one would have to hunt through grass stems to find it. A technique that cannot be learned from other guides and almost as valuable as field experience.
If at first glance, you think that the clutter of plant stems in the background are not as aesthetically pleasing as the plain diffuse backgrounds of old-style photographic field guides, you will change your mind after using it. This is not a coffee table book, but one that will help you work through the learning process in butterfly identification.
One nice touch (though not essential) that graphics wizards at WILDGuides may wish to consider in future guides, would be to blend the picture into a landscape of the habitat, right at the top of the page. For example, there is a lot of wasted space on the White-letter Hairstreak plate, that could have faded into the open canopy of an elm, or the Mountain Ringlet could have had the Cumbrian Fells in the background.
Bang up-to-date with discussion about digital photography and a plate of the newly discovered (in 2001) Real's Wood White, Britain's Butterflies looks set to become the most popular field guide here. It is perfect for use in Britain AND Ireland, all the info you would need to identify our butterflies without confusing European species, at a sensible price and size.
Presents a comprehensive photoguide to the butterflies of Britain and Ireland, covering the 60 regularly occurring species. 81 colour plates depict typical views of each butterfly, as well as their egg, caterpillar and chrysalis. Accompanying text covers the key identification features of each species, and includes information on behaviour, habitat requirements, population and conservation. Colour distribution maps are also included for each species. A great book, immensely useful in the field.
WILDGuides have just published an essential companion to butterfly watching 'Britain's Butterflies'. The book contains a forward from Alan Titchmarsh and catalogues every indigenous and vagrant breed of butterfly to be found in Britain. The guide is packed with brilliant colour photographs and follows the whole lifecycle of each breed. There is a section on how to attract butterflies into your garden. The aim of the book is to make butterfly identification as simple as possible and to get as many people as possible to take an interest in butterflies.
