Butterflies of Europe and Mediterranean area: Tshikolovets,

[JProchera]

Hi there,

I am thinking about purchasing this book - I know that it is not an identification guide as such.

I was wondering if anyone owned a copy and if they could comment on the quality and usefulness of it?

I'd really appreciate it as it is quite costly!

Thanks in advance.

Jon

Link to book: https://sites.google.com/site/tshikolov ... anean-area

[Tony Moore]

Hi Jon,

I bought a copy and then sent it straight back as I thought the illustrations too small to be of any use. I do have to wear glasses for reading, so you may do better... There are better, more modern books on the market. If possible, i would certainly get a look at the book before you get your card out.

Kind regards,

Tony M.

[JProchera]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the speedy reply and your opinion on the matter. I have only managed to look at a few plates and they do look very small and cramped.

I have the Collin's guide which I find pretty adequate. If anyone else has anything to add or perhaps some similar suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them!

I have had a quick look at the uide to the Butterflies of the Palearctic Region (http://www.nhbs.com/series/91724/guide- ... tic-region) so if anyone can offer any thoughts on them that'd be great.


Thanks a lot

[Mikhail]

I'm with Tony here. It's really just an illustrated (not very well) and annotated check list. The idiosyncratic systematics unconvincing. I find it difficult to know who it's intended for.

M.

[Padfield]

I agree with the various comments about the Tshikolovets book. I do refer to my copy frequently, as it is a useful catalogue and extends further than most European books - including Turkey, for example. But the pictures are, as everyone says, far too small to be of use, there are no tips about identification, and the maps are often indecipherable, with near-identical colours used for subspecies. Tshikolovets did a lot of research and there is interesting taxonomic stuff there, but it is impossible to tell without chasing up references how authoritative the departures from orthodoxy are.

I recently acquired the new NAP Editions Butterflies of Europe (http://www.pemberleybooks.com/product/b ... ons/30392/), which also covers a greater geographical range than most books, though it does not cover Turkey completely. As an identification guide, it is much better than Tshikolovets and has extraordinarily comprehensive illustrations, but above all it made me conscious what a genius Richard Lewington is. There is nothing on the market to compare with the Collins Guide for field identification of European butterflies. Photographs of dead specimens miss all the character and lustre of living butterflies - aspects that often make identification easy. You could not identify Pyrgus or Erebia confidently in the field from the copious illustrations in the NAP book. Its systematics are also idiosyncratic, to use Mikhail's word, but equally, very interesting, reflecting a lot of recent research inevitably absent from Tolman (which has never been updated). If you want a supplement to Tolman, and have this sort of sum available, I'd recommend this over Tshikilovets, though be aware I think there are some errors and the English edition seems rather hastily translated to me.

The Butterflies of the Palearctic series is great, but trickling off the press so slowly I doubt I'll live to see the series complete. It's worth collecting, but if you start from scratch now you will have to fork out a lot of money to get just the volumes already published (18, if I remember correctly, at about £30 each).

Guy

[JProchera]

Thank you both for your time commenting on here. I think I will give it a miss - at least until I can maybe flick through it. I have the Collins and the Higgins/Riley books - they will do for the time being. I'd just like a few more pointers of what to look for along with images

[Mikhail]

Caveat emptor. Anyone tempted by Leraut's book flagged up by Guy be aware that the NHBS is asking for £97.99. It's a snip for £79 from Pemberley Books.

M.