Britain's Butterflies is a comprehensive and beautifully designed photographic field guide to the butterflies of Britain and Ireland. Containing hundreds of stunning colour photographs, this revised and updated edition provides the latest information on every species ever recorded. It covers in detail the identification of all 59 butterfly species that breed regularly, as well as four former breeders, 10 rare migrants and one species of unknown status. The easy-to-use format will enable butterfly-watchers-beginners or experts-to identify any species they encounter.

Foreword 7Preface 9
Introduction 10
How butterflies and moths differ 12
The life-cycle of a butterfly 14
Butterfly biology. 15
Egg 15
Caterpillar 16
Chrysalis 17
Adult 18
Where to look for butterflies 24
Gardening for butterflies 25
Butterfly habitats 26
Favoured habitats 32
Key places for rare and localized butterflies 33
How to identify butterflies 34
Key features of adult butterflies 34
Butterfly identification 35
Colour variation: forms and aberrations 36
The types of butterfly 38
Glossary 40
THE SPECIES ACCOUNTS 41
Species of doubtful provenance 192
Caterpillar foodplants 194
Butterfly nectar sources and caterpillar foodplants 202
Eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises. 206
Eggs 207
Caterpillars 212
Chrysalises 219
List of British and Irish butterflies. 225
Butterfly watching and photography 230
Butterfly Conservation 231
Recording and monitoring 231
Conservation and legislation 232
Further reading 234
Sources of further information and useful addresses 235
Acknowledgements and photographic/artwork credits 236
Index of English and scientific names 239