Butterflies of Australia: Their Identification, Biology and Distribution

by Michael F. Braby

Overview

This outstanding work is the ultimate guide for the identification of Australia’s butterflies. Nearly 400 species – all those currently recognised from Australia, plus those from surrounding islands – are represented, with all adults and some immature stages displayed in stunning colour sections.

Introductory chapters cover the history of publications, classification, morphology, distribution, conservation and collection, together with a checklist of the butterfly fauna. The body of the text is arranged systematically, providing a wealth of information including description, variation, similar behaviour, distribution and habitat, and major literature references, giving a comprehensive summary of the present state of knowledge of these insects. Appendices provide details of those species recorded from Australian islands outside the Australian faunal subregion, those protected by legislation, the larval food plants, and the attendant ants. Extensive references, a glossary and an index of scientific and common names complete the work.

Joint Winner of the 2001 Whitley Medal.

Finalist Scholarly Reference section - The Australian Awards for Excellence in Educational Publishing 2001.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780643102927
Publisher:	CSIRO PUBLISHING
Publication date:	08/15/2000
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	1004
File size:	58 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Michael F. Braby has been collecting and studying Australian butterflies for more than 25 years. Travelling across most of the Australian continent, he has gained first-hand experience of more than 75% of Australia’s 416 species. He has reared and photographed numerous species and has built up an extensive private collection.

Michael Braby is the author of the major two-volume standard text, Butterflies of Australia, which won the Whitley Medal in 2000. He is the author of more than 40 refereed scientific papers and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Volume I

Foreword
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Preface
Aims and organisation
Presentation of species
Butterflies recorded from Australian islands outside the Australian faunal subregion
Identification of specimens

1. Introduction
History
Classification
Morphology
Geographic distribution, variation and species concepts
Conservation

2. Collection, Preservation and Study
Adults
Immature stages
Photography
Entomological contacts

3. Checklist of the Butterflies of Australia
Species and subspecies within the Australian faunal subregion
Species and subspecies outside the Australian faunal subregion

4. Family Hesperiidae
Subfamily Pyrginae
Subfamily Coeliadinae
Subfamily Trapezitinae
Subfamily Hesperiinae

5. Family Papilionidae
Subfamily Papilioninae

6. Family Pieridae
Subfamily Coliadinae
Subfamily Pierinae

Colour Plates
1–18. Hesperiidae
19–23. Papilionidae
24–28. Pieridae
29–41. Nymphalidae
42–63. Lycaenidae
64. Species outside the Australian faunal subregion
65. Eggs and adults (all families)
66. Adults (Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae)
67. Larvae and pupae (Hesperiidae)
68. Larvae and pupae (Papilionidae, Pieridae)
69. Larvae and pupae (Nymphalidae)
70. Larvae and pupae (Lycaenidae)
Label data of specimens figured in colour plates 1–64

Volume II

7. Family Nymphalidae
Subfamily Amathusinae
Subfamily Satyrinae
Subfamily Charaxinae
Subfamily Apaturinae
Subfamily Acraeinae
Subfamily Heliconiinae
Subfamily Argynninae
Subfamily Limenitiinae
Subfamily Nymphalinae
Subfamily Libytheinae
Subfamily Danainae
Subfamily Tellervinae

8. Family Lycaenidae
Subfamily Liphyrinae
Subfamily Theclinae
Subfamily Polyommatinae
Subfamily Riodininae

Appendix I. Butterfly species and subspecies recorded from Australian islands but not from the Australian faunal subregion

Appendix II. Butterflies recorded from Australian islands outside the Australian faunal subregion

Appendix III. Australian butterflies considered by the author to be of conservation concern

Appendix IV. Australian butterflies protected by legislation

Appendix V. Reference list of larval food plants

Appendix VI. List of attendant ants

Glossary
References
Index of Scientific and Common Names

Editorial Reviews

Michael Braby is to be congratulated for producing these two lavish new volumes on the butterflies on Australia that are smartly united by a single lycaenid on the spine. … This will be an important shelf reference for many years to come for anyone working on the Australasian fauna or interested in comprehensive modern reviews of butterflies in general.”

“This outstanding two volume work of Michael F. Braby is the most important definitive guide for the identification of all 397 recorded Australian butterflies. The author follows the best tradition of Australian research on Lepidoptera and has produced a magnificent piece of work of great general value. It is also a model book on the application of butterfly studies to habitat conservation and will be highly appreciated by entomologists and conservationists, not only in Australia.”

“I have no doubt that this work deserves a place on the bookshelf of everyone interested in the Australian butterfly fauna. For those actively involved with the subject it is something of a necessity.”

"In this new book on the butterflies of Australia, Michael Braby, with great support from members of the advisory panel, the editors, and the CSIRO project team, has done a magnificent job of bringing together all the essential current knowledge of Australian butterflies. The fact that two packed volumes are required to do justice to some 400 species is testament to the remarkable amount of information that now exists. More than half of the butterflies of Australia are found nowhere else on Earth. It is my earnest hope that this outstanding new book will help lay a more secure foundation for the active conservation and ultimate survival of all of Australia’s native butterflies

"Butterflies are key organisms for the monitoring of biodiversity, and constitute an important system for testing scientific hypotheses in ecology, evolution, and animal behavior. The main reason they can play these important roles is that the widespread interest they attract has led to the publication of many books detailing their taxonomy and biology. This wonderful new volume on Australian butterflies could serve as a model for a new generation of books that will make butterflies an even more important tool for helping humanity understand and manage its crucial life-support systems."

From the Publisher