News Items

From the publisher: Wiltshire is one of the finest counties in the United Kingdom for its abundance and variety of butterflies. This guide directs you to the best places in Wiltshire to see them. Amply supplied with habitat and species photographs, it also gives the most useful information about how and when to find butterflies and some moths at these sites, with clear maps to get you to them easily. Click here for more details.

Kate Santry is Head of Archives and Library at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. In this interview, Kate shares aspects of her career and work, shedding light on some of the activities going on behind the scenes at the museum. Kate has been extremely helpful in tracking down materials now referenced from the UK Butterflies website. Click here to read the interview.

The UK Butterflies 2014 Calendar is now available to order! The calendar has been produced in association with Butterfly Conservation and includes photographs from several UK Butterflies members, with one species shown per month. All profits will go to Butterfly Conservation. Click here for more information and details on how to order.

Congratulations to Pete Withers, Nigel Kiteley and Neil Hulme - 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the annual 2013 UK Butterflies Annual Photography Competition! With a stunning photo of a Blue-spot Hairstreak, Pete wins a copy of The Video Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Ireland (DVD) which has been kindly donated by NatureGuides. Click here to see all of the winning entries.

The UK Butterflies Outstanding Contribution Award for 2013 has been awarded to Neil Hulme. Neil received a Richard Lewington print of Long-tailed Blues and a UK Butterflies / BC calendar. Neil does a tremendous amount of conservation work in his home county of Sussex, and has also made a significant contribution to UKB's aim of Building a Community of Responsible Butterfly Enthusiasts through his regular and popular postings in the UKB forums. A very deserving winner.

From the publisher: BB's Butterflies is a treasure trove of extracts from BB's many books and magazine articles featuring the Purple Emperor and other butterflies. Readers will delight in BB's descriptive prose which reveals what a marvellous observer and entomologist he was, interspersed throughout with BB's own distinctive colour illustrations, monotone scraper boards and colour photographs. Immerse yourself in the world of the Purple Emperor and Nature in general and enjoy this taster of BB's enormous literary output, along with first-hand contributions from many who knew and supported him in his conservation work. Click here to read the review.

From the publisher: Butterflies of Surrey Revisited, published in October 2013, is the 14th book in the Surrey Wildlife Atlas series and the first to be full colour. It is neither a revision nor second edition of 1995's Butterflies of Surrey. With 240 pages and 110 photographs, it is a new work by members of Butterfly Conservation Surrey branch that takes advantage of additional data and improved technology. Butterflies of Surrey Revisited, with legendary lepidopterist Ken Willmott as chief author, sheds new light on many of the county's 42 regular species. It is a mine of information that will delight natural history lovers in Surrey and beyond. Click here to read the review.

From the publisher: This concise photographic field guide will help you identify any of the 155 day-flying moths found in Britain and Ireland. Combining stunning photographs, authoritative text, and an easy-to-use design, this book makes a perfect traveling companion - one that will increase your enjoyment of these colorful and intriguing creatures. Click here to read the review by Mike Wall and Pete Eeles.

On 19th July 2013, some of the UK's finest butterfly experts went head-to-head in an eccentric battle to claim butterfly bragging rights in Sussex and Hampshire. Two teams, both named after rare butterflies, scoured the two counties for "The Big Butterfly Race" armed only with their wits and a pair of binoculars to see which team could count the most species in a day. The "Wood Whites" (from Sussex), led by TV naturalist and Butterfly Conservation Vice President Nick Baker, toured Hampshire while the "Glanville Fritillaries" (from Hampshire), led by the National Trust's butterfly expert Matthew Oates, covered Sussex. Click here to read the race report.

It's not usual for a family holiday to result in a butterfly trip report, but this was no typical destination, being distinctly "tropical". Click here to read a trip report to Koh Samui, Thailand, by Peter Eeles.

Butterfly Conservation has recently opened a shop on its website, with all purchases resulting in a donation to the charity. Click here to visit the shop.

Belvoir fruit farms are running a wildlife photo competition, the winner enjoying a 7-day trip to Greece with Greenwings on their Butterflies and Birds of North Greece tour. For each entry Butterfly Conservation will receive £,1. Click here for more information.

The Royal Mail issued a set of butterflies stamps today, all beautifully illustrated by Richard Lewington. Click here for information on the Stamp Set, Presentation Pack, Stamp Cards, Retail Book and First Day Cover.

BirdGuides has just released their new bumblebees app (published in partnership with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust). The app is up to the usual high standard, includes various charts (including comparison charts), wonderful illustrations by Richard Lewington, detailed information, photos and, best of all, video footage. Quite a nice little package for anyone even remotely interested in identifying what they're seeing out in the field. Click here for more information.

From the publisher: From the Cumbrian fells to the Broads of his native Norfolk, Patrick Barkham, acclaimed author of The Butterfly Isles, has travelled the country to present this personal and definitive guide to British Butterflies. All 59 species have been beautifully captured on film in their natural habitat. Detailed descriptions and close-up comparisons with similar species provide comprehensive coverage of each butterfly. Rare vagrants are also featured, as are those species which have sadly become extinct in Britain. Click here to read the review.

From the publisher: Describes 198 species found in Switzerland with more than 100 colour photographs of key species. Includes the location of butterflies according to canton and habitat and a guide to the Swiss Butterfly Data Base. It also provides recommendations on maps, weather, websites and books. Click here to read the review.

The abundance of the UK's larger moths has crashed during the past 40 years with three species becoming extinct in the last decade, a major scientific report reveals today. The State of Britain's Larger Moths 2013 found that the Orange Upperwing, Bordered Gothic and Brighton Wainscot had all become extinct in the last 10 years, these follow the extinctions of an additional 62 species during the 20th Century. Click here to read more.

Fancy spending six weeks as a Large Blue Ranger volunteer, working with Britain's leading butterfly experts? Applications for the post at Collard Hill, Britain's only open access site for the rare Large Blue butterfly, are now being taken up until Friday 8th March. Click here for more information.

UK Butterflies is pleased to announce a donation of £1201.82 to Butterfly Conservation. The donation comes from sales of calendars, cards and photos - once again organised by Gary and Lisa Richardson.