Butterfly Field Guides - and other useful butterfly books

A beautifully patterned, ever-colourful
Comma butterfly

Butterfly Field Guides are essential acquisitions for those who wish to correctly identify butterflies, whether in the garden, a suburban setting or in the wider countryside.

There are a number of excellent butterfly field guides available, all of which are well-illustrated with photographs and / or artwork. Most butterfly field guides also contain incidental, yet important, information relating to butterfly flight periods, habitat preferences, distribution and population status - the latter two, of course, are likely to be most up to-date in more recently published books.

When selecting a butterfly field guide, the quality and extent of the illustrations is clearly important - key identification features should be shown including, where they differ, the markings and colours of both male and female butterflies. Underwing patterns, too, should be shown as well as those on the insects' upperwings.

Book size and weight may both be significant if it is expected that the guide will be carried on field trips, whilst many people are likely to prefer books that deal only with British butterflies, rather than include the great many other species that occur in mainland Europe.

Other larger format butterfly books are also available including 'The Butterflies of Hampshire', the 'Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland' and the updated 'State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland'. These three are well-illustrated and contain fascinating background information and detailed results of relatively recent population and distribution studies. 'The Butterflies of Hampshire', in particular, is highly recommended for all those with an interest in the County's butterflies. (Local enthusiasts might also wish to consider joining the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch of Butterfly Conservation).

Websites are also potentially helpful, both when accessible on a phone, for example, whilst out in the countryside, and for more leisurely study at home.

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