A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Vanuatu

[Pete Eeles]

A message received from the author below.

Cheers,

- Pete

A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Vanuatu / Ol Buttaflae blong Vanuatu was, after many delays, published a few weeks ago in a print run of 1,000 copies. Of these, ca 650 copies will be presented to schools in Vanuatu on the basis of one copy per school. Fewer than 300 copies remain. Unusually, the book is not beng marketed through book sellers - the reason for this is that any profits that accrue (and when all copies are sold, there will probably be a modest profit) will be donated to Cancer Research. This publication is not a commercial proposition, and generous grants towards printing costs have kept costs artificially low. There will be no 2nd edition.

Details of the publication are below. Remaining copies are available on a first come / first served basis. The cost is £35 sterling per copy, post paid in the UK only, plus postage elsewhere. Postage is £5 sterling to the EU; £9 sterling elsewhere including the USA and Australia. If you're not interested, it would be much appreciated if you would please pass this on to anyone you think might be interested. Time is moderately important: I shall be away in the field for many months from early March. Payment by cheque drawn on a UK bank (payable to John Tennent), sterling IMO, or cash in Euros, US$ or Australian$ sent via registered mail (or any method which requires a signature at this end), to:

John Tennent
12 Castle Fields
Ardley
Oxfordshire OX27 7NW

John Tennent
jtstorment@googlemail.com

A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Vanuatu / Ol Buttaflae blong Vanuatu, ISBN 978-0-9542045-1-8, Storm Entomological Publications, 2009. 192pp., hardback; approximately A5 (210 x 148mm). Vanuatu is an archipelago of more than 80 islands in the southwest Pacific, stretching some 1,300 kilometres in a north/south chain. Despite being young in geological terms, the rugged interior of the larger islands, combined with the islands’ isolation, provide conditions ideal for rapid speciation. All 86 butterfly species and subspecies occurring in Vanuatu are illustrated in full colour, incorporated in the relevant text rather than on plates at the end; other species, requiring confirmation, are also illustrated together with, for example, numerous female colour forms of Hypolimnas bolina; many habitat photographs; colour throughout. Introductory sections include a brief history of entomological research in Vanuatu, lines of faunal discontinuity, and associations with the remainder of the New Hebrides Archipelago (Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz group). The main sections deal with each butterfly species, with emphasis on species’ identification including separation from closely related taxa. Information is provided on habitats, larval host-plants (where known), and island distribution. Maps and tables are provided. The guide is fully referenced with a comprehensive bibliography. Two species and 26 subspecies (30%) are endemic to the New Hebrides Archipelago; many are illustrated for the first time.