With detailed descriptions and photos of the adult, egg, caterpillar and chrysalis of each species, this book provides unique insights into a hidden world, illustrated with over 1,300 high-quality colour photos that reveal the subtle beauty in something as small as a butterfly egg.
Butterflies are infinitely fascinating. What may start as a simple hobby of photographing the adult insects can evolve into a deep interest in their immature stages, ecology and conservation and this book will help light your way.
While aimed at the typical butterfly enthusiast, the book's content has been successfully tested by conservation scientists who need to record all stages when measuring the impact of habitat management and climate change. The book also includes recent discoveries that are documented here for the first time. Butterflies are infinitely fascinating. What may start as a simple hobby of photographing the adult insects can evolve into a deep interest in their immature stages, ecology and conservation and this book will help light your way.
"Not since that lepidopteran legend F.W. Frohawk studied and etched them nearly one hundred years ago have all the stages in the life cycles of all of Britain and Ireland's butterflies been illustrated in one volume. No mean feat!" – Chris Packham CBE
"Absolutely stunning - one of the candidates for nature book of the year." – Stephen Moss
"My wildlife book of the year 2018, a gamechanger!" – Matthew Oates
"This beautiful book gives overdue attention to the miracle that is a butterfly's lifecycle – it's marvellous caterpillars, chrysalises and eggs. What a superb achievement." – Patrick Barkham
"Over the past decade or so, Peter Eeles has patiently compiled photographs of every stage of the life cycle of every regularly breeding British butterfly, 59 species in all. The result is a profusely illustrated book which documents the development of the butterfly from egg to adult in greater detail than ever before [...]" - Peter Marren, British Wildlife
