Dr Michael Braby has been collecting and studying Australian butterflies for 35 years. He is a visiting fellow at the Australian National University, Canberra, and chief editor of Austral Entomology. He is interested in all aspects of Australian Lepidoptera and has published extensively in the field. The first edition of this book received good reviews, and the publishers tell us that this second edition has been extensively updated and any anomalies have been corrected.
There are 435 species of butterfly currently represented; both on the Australian mainland and remote islands, and all are illustrated in full colour. There is also a distribution map and flight chart for each species found on the mainland, together with information on similar species, variation, behaviour, habitat, status and larval plant foods.
Butterflies have long fascinated – they are beautiful and a pleasure to watch. As such, many are collected and displayed, both in museums and private collections. The author includes a useful chapter on catching these invertebrates, preserving them and displaying them to advantage. However, I am sure that he would stress that where a particular species is becoming rare, it might be unwise to net them, except in exceptional circumstances.
Before listing each species, the book has short chapters on the adult structure of butterflies, their higher classification, distribution and habitats and their life cycle and behaviour. There are photographs of all the different types of habitats – ranging from tropical rain forest in Northern Queensland to tussock grassland and the bush in the south and west. There is also a full chapter on how to use the book and how to get the best out of it. This is followed by the main body of the work – the actual butterflies themselves – and this is divided into appropriate sections on swallowtails, skippers, whites and yellows, nymphs, blues and the island species. There is a checklist to follow, and then a glossary is followed by a good bibliography. There are two indexes – one to common names and one to scientific names.
The whole work is well presented, printed on paper from responsible sources and is competitively priced. It is certainly a must for larger specialist libraries.
