United States
£ GBP
Butterflies of Hertfordshire and Middlesex is copiously illustrated with colour photographs taken in the two counties, and provides the first in-depth account of butterflies found in this area for almost 30 years.
The book includes present-day and historic distribution maps for all 34 resident and migrant species recorded in recent years, together with an analysis of trend data. It also provides an expert evaluation of changing rural and urban landscapes and their impact on butterfly populations since the 1980s. Descriptions of more than 50 publicly accessible ‘top spots’ for butterflies are accompanied by maps and other information on visiting them.
Everyone interested in seeing and appreciating butterflies in Hertfordshire and Middlesex – or in understanding their ecology at a time of significant habitat and climatic change – will want to own this attractive and scientifically important book.
"Substantial volumes of data are now available through the efforts of volunteer recorders (4,800 people contributed records to this volume); as a result the standard of regional butterfly books has improved considerably in recent years. This is one of the 'new breed' of books: professionalIy produced, and as much a historical record of times gone by as presentation of current butterfly distribution. It is a substantial book, and one might question how 266 pages of A4 sized pages can be filled with a mere 35 species. The author has given much thought to what information can and should be usefully included – and succeeded admirably [...] The species accounts (pp. 32-166) are well-written and informative, supported by excellent photographs of adult butterflies, and include current and historical mapped distribution [...] In common with other recent regional books, this is written for butterfly watchers, and it became evident that this is a book about adult butterflies and where to find them. It is disappointing – and frankly surprising – that with so few species to chronicle, all of whose life histories have been well-documented, there are so few photographs of early stages. [...] J. A lack of early stages aside, this is a successful book, reasonably priced."
– John Tennent, Atropos 61, 2018
