According to the introduction to this handy little guide, there are fewer than 50 butterfly species in New Zealand, not dissimilar to the UK, which covers about the same area. As in the UK, there are many more moths – 2,000 or so species. More than 90% of these butterflies and moths are endemic, the highest proportion for any country in the world. So how did the favoured 360 species included in the 176 pages make the cut? The most common species earned a place, but the book also covers a small selection of rare species that are particularly fascinating ecologically.
The introductory section outlines the geography, climate and habitats of New Zealand, lepidopteran anatomy, life cycles and how to find and study butterflies and moths. There is also a section on the particular requirements of conservation to ensure the survival of endemics, especially through planting native wildflowers. Finally, there is a glossary.
The identification guide is laid out, according to the introduction, in alphabetical order of the lepidopteran families. When I read this, I though it odd, as it would lead to butterflies being interspersed with moths throughout the book. The author has got round this by including all the butterflies under the superfamily name, Papilionoidea, but has not explained this. It still results in the butterflies being sandwiched between moths, but at least as a single filling. Nonetheless, I find this approach rather strange, even if the author is trying to make the point that butterflies are a particular type of moth. I wonder whether it would have been better to split the book up by day-flying, crepuscular and night-flying lepidopterans, which would help beginners narrow down their search. After all, most readers are unlikely to be bothered about which family their sighting is in. Each species (or sometimes genus, with selected species examples) description is brief and covers morphology, distribution, behaviour and habitat, and includes a photograph. The photos vary in quality and in the insects’ pose. They are necessarily small in order to cram 360 species into half that number of pages in a pocket-sized book. A bigger problem is the size of the writing – or is it just my age? I’m sure that this book will be very useful to fledgling lepidopterists in New Zealand, or Aotearoa to give its Māori name, and, indeed, I would most definitely want a copy in my pocket if I was visiting this wonderfully scenic and diverse country. At around £12, it is extremely good value.
