What do the Queen of Spain and the Duke of Burgundy have in common? (Photographic Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Europe - Tom Tolman)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	Photographic Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Europe - Tom Tolman
Date:	05/11/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Covers all the species likely to be encountered.

Disadvantages: Map is useless in identifying locations to see specific species.

For many people, seeing butterflies with their gorgeous colours and gentle flying motion is one of the highlights of a summer's walk. Most are happy to just watch the butterflies flutter by without knowing what species they are or whether they're common or rare.

Others, like me, really enjoy naming what we see and finding out whether our sighting was unusual or common place.

Butterflies are not the easiest insects to identify, however. Their fast wing beats means that it's difficult to get a good look at their patterns whilst in flight. Once landed, they often close their wings preventing any look at all at the upper wing markings.

There are sixty eight species of butterfly in Britain, some common, others rare and extremely localised. Many, such as the fritillaries are very similar to other species so a guide book is necessary in order to identify them.

'The Photographic Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Europe' is an excellent field guide to aid identification. As well as the British species, continental species are covered including those from the popular holiday spots of the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores so butterflies seen on holiday can be identified too.

The various butterfly families are separated into chapters; all the blue butterflies grouped together, for example. Each species is given from one half to two full pages for its description.

A large map of Europe shows where the butterflies can be located. Due to the size of the map, only very crude details of exactly where the butterflies live can be shown, however.

The heart of the guide is, of course, the photographs. These are all of exceptional quality and show the butterflies in their usual poses. With species that can be seen with wings open or closed, photographs of both poses are given.

There are also photographs shown where there are regional specific races; the Adonis blue has several different varieties, for example. Together with the photographs, the chapter on description will help the reader identify the butterflies 'in the field'.

If looking for a specific butterfly, it's important to note that their flight times vary; not all butterflies are 'out and about' throughout the summer so the book's information on flight periods is useful.

The butterflies' habitats are also described; whether they like damp, lowland conditions or are happy at high elevations.

Information on the butterflies' behaviour is given as is their conservation status. Depressingly, many species are described as rare, declining, or threatened, especially in the UK.

This is a typical species identification guide where the focus is on describing the insect, rather than having a readable book. The text is well written, but this is not a book that can be read from cover to cover.

I have used this book many times to identify butterflies I've seen. It has been extremely useful in this regard and helped me to identify many species including several rare ones.

For anyone who wants to know the species that they've seen, rather than enjoy them as just butterflies, this is an excellent guide to buy. The book is available from Amazon for £11.55 in paperback.

Summary: An excellent reference for helping to identify the butterflies of Europe.