Best butterfly ID book for a beginner? (1 Viewer)

[senatore]

I am getting interested in butterflies and months and need to know the best ID book out there please.

Ideally it should be:-

* For a begginer.

* Limited to Europe.

* Be easily carried round when out and about.

* Easy to use to ID the butterfly/moth in front of you.

Max.

 

[PaulK]

The Richard Lewington book is an exceptional guide to the butterflies of Great Britain. His illustrations are brilliant and it shows each stage of the lifecycle.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pocket-Guid...3911842?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184321781&sr=1-5

If you want a guide to European Butterflies a reasonable book is the Green Guide to butterflies of Britain and Europe. It isn't particularly detailed but it does show british and european species and it is pretty cheap.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Butterflies...3911842?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184322003&sr=1-1

 

[Lawts]

What about site guides and time of year guides - Are there any of those?

Particularly useful would be info. on how to watch butterflies. Takes me back to the 70's. John Gooders' invaluable books at the time for me:

"Where to watch birds?"

"How to watch birds?"

I just think at the moment it's all a bit sweeping e.g. "Essex Skipper" - south-east England in open country, or whatever it might be.

It needs a guide equivalent to what Lee Evans produced for birds. I have visions of arriving in a wood somewhere, trashing through the undergrowth looking on the ground in the early morning in late August, where in reality I should have my scope trained at the top of a particular tree in early August in the heat of the afternoon.

I just think it needs more than we have now. Long-standing butterfly watchers would then watch me catch up in terms of listing, just as I'm experiencing with the new birding generation.

I've always wondered how a birder picks up the hobby late. It must be difficult without the experience. However, I am in that position with butterflies.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Hi Lawts,

Try the UK butterflies website by Pete Eeles for loads of map refs to some great sites for the scarcer species.

There is a book that's a site guide to British Butterflies and Dragonflies, but it's out of print and I haven't managed to get a copy. It may also be slightly out of date for some sites now. I'd also recommend the book "the state of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland" for very recent distribution maps and a terrifying insight into how quickly some spp are declining. It has dots in each 10km square, so you can see if you've found a new site for something.

 

[PaulK]

If you want a site guide, there's plenty of info on the internet. This website has loads of information.

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/index.php

 

[PYRTLE]

I am getting interested in butterflies and months and need to know the best ID book out there please.

Ideally it should be:-

* For a begginer.

* Limited to Europe.

* Be easily carried round when out and about.

* Easy to use to ID the butterfly/moth in front of you.

Max.

Mitchell Beazley Guide for flutterbies

 

[Adey Baker]

What about site guides and time of year guides - Are there any of those?

Particularly useful would be info. on how to watch butterflies. Takes me back to the 70's. John Gooders' invaluable books at the time for me:

"Where to watch birds?"

"How to watch birds?"

I just think at the moment it's all a bit sweeping e.g. "Essex Skipper" - south-east England in open country, or whatever it might be.

It needs a guide equivalent to what Lee Evans produced for birds. I have visions of arriving in a wood somewhere, trashing through the undergrowth looking on the ground in the early morning in late August, where in reality I should have my scope trained at the top of a particular tree in early August in the heat of the afternoon.

I just think it needs more than we have now. Long-standing butterfly watchers would then watch me catch up in terms of listing, just as I'm experiencing with the new birding generation.

I've always wondered how a birder picks up the hobby late. It must be difficult without the experience. However, I am in that position with butterflies.

Might be worth starting a new thread. There should be enough collective knowledge on BF to help with sites and ID tips 'in general' or specifically upon request for a particuler species in a certain area.

A site-guide can be useful for some of the rarer species, where well-known locations can take pressure of visitors off more vulnerable spots. Some species though, such as Brown Argus, are spreading so a site-guide for them could soon be out of date and make you travel farther than necessary.

 

[Surreybirder]

Hi, Lawts, I am very much a beginner with butterflies, too, but I think that birding experience will probably help - at least you should be practiced at observing the creatures in detail and looking out for ID features. As with birds, there are some common and wide-spread species - perhaps 20 in southern England. It's a good idea to get to know them first before trying to ID the rarities.
I've never 'twitched' butterflies so I have no advice on how to find rarities. But, as with birds, visiting a variety of habitats at different times of the year is not a bad approach. Some people carry nets, so they can examine them in minute detail. Not something I've tried.
Good luck,
Ken

PS Great shearwater has definitely been one of my bogey birds, too! I was at St Ives when one went past and everyone was saying things like, "Best/closest view I've ever had." and "Look it's being attacked by a bonxie" but I never managed to get on to it!

 

[Lawts]

I'm hoping I might have a chance this autumn Ken. I'm visiting the south-west in August.

 

[Surreybirder]

Best of luck!

 

[senatore]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Max.

 

[petereeles]

Hi Max,

I think it would help to know if your focus is on European butterflies or UK butterflies, a field guide or more detailed information, a small book that can be carried around or something more substantial, and a butterfly, moth, or "both" book.

The definitive European ID guide is Tristan LaFranchis' "Butterflies of Europe".

A handy field guide for UK butterflies is "Britain's Butterflies" by David Tomlinson and Rob Still (from WildGuides - see http://www.wildguides.co.uk/).

I can't think of any guides that cover both butterflies and moths and that fit the other criteria. For moths, I'd recommend "Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland" by Paul Waring and Martin Townsend.

Cheers,

- Pete
www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

P.S. Thanks for the endorsements for the UK Butterflies website everyone!

 

[senatore]

Hi Max,

I think it would help to know if your focus is on European butterflies or UK butterflies, a field guide or more detailed information, a small book that can be carried around or something more substantial, and a butterfly, moth, or "both" book.

The definitive European ID guide is Tristan LaFranchis' "Butterflies of Europe".

A handy field guide for UK butterflies is "Britain's Butterflies" by David Tomlinson and Rob Still (from WildGuides - see http://www.wildguides.co.uk/).

I can't think of any guides that cover both butterflies and moths and that fit the other criteria. For moths, I'd recommend "Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland" by Paul Waring and Martin Townsend.

Cheers,

- Pete
www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

P.S. Thanks for the endorsements for the UK Butterflies website everyone!

Hi Pete,
A small book that can be carried around for UK butterflies and moths if one is out there somewhere.

Max.

 

[petereeles]

I think this is going to come down to how much detail you want! Personally, I'd recommend 2 books:

"Britain's Butterflies" by David Tomlinson and Rob Still

Concise Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland (Concise Guide) by Martin Townsend, Paul Waring, and Richard Lewington (this is a condensed version of the Waring and Townsend field guide).

I'm sure there are books that cover both, but these 2 are both small and excellent!

Cheers,

- Pete

 

[senatore]

I think this is going to come down to how much detail you want! Personally, I'd recommend 2 books:

"Britain's Butterflies" by David Tomlinson and Rob Still

Concise Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland (Concise Guide) by Martin Townsend, Paul Waring, and Richard Lewington (this is a condensed version of the Waring and Townsend field guide).

I'm sure there are books that cover both, but these 2 are both small and excellent!

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks Pete.

Max.