138 BR. J. ENT. NAT. HIST., 7: 1994 



BOOK REVIEW 



The butterflies of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire by J. Asher. Newbury, 

 Pisces Publications, 1994, viii+136 pages, £18.95, hardback. — This beautifully 

 illustrated atlas, presenting the results of one of the most intensive local butterfly 

 surveys ever undertaken, will be welcomed by all ardent butterfly conservationists. 



The foreword by the chairman of the Upper Thames branch of Butterfly 

 Conservation is followed by acknowledgements and then the introduction. This has 

 sections on what are butterflies?; life cycle of the butterfly; the key features of the 

 three counties; and a detailed description of the origin and development of the national 

 organization, Butterfly Conservation. As befits the planning and undertaking of such 

 an intensive survey, which embodies over 90 000 sightings made by over 350 people, 

 there is a full description of the Upper Thames butterfly atlas project. 



The main part of the book (pages 17 to 102) consists of a description of each species, 

 its behaviour and conservation status. Each species description is headed with a coloured 

 flight season chart, the deepest colour thereon indicating when butterflies were seen in 

 every year of the 1987-1992 survey, and a paler colour when they were seen in some years 

 but not in others. Each species distribution map also has its tetrads colour coded, yellow 

 indicating one record, brown, two to nine and red ten plus records. The work of 

 processing all this data and the final production of the maps must have been enormous, 

 but if the data only related to adult butterflies (as presumably such a time-consuming 

 task must have done) without any allowance for larval numbers, a misleading picture 

 can sometimes result. For example, red is not used on the map relating to that very local 

 and elusive species, the brown hairstreak, yet, when this reviewer worked Hell Coppice 

 in the early 1940s, it was not difficult to find 25 larvae of betulae upon the stunted little 

 blackthorns, but only twice was the adult butterfly ever seen there! Much useful 

 information is given relating to each of the 48 butterfly species known from the three 

 counties, though when speaking of that currently absent species, the large tortoiseshell, 

 this reviewer would not agree with the ending of Mr Asher 's statement . . . 'while it is 

 possible that it may stage a recovery from the continent, it is also increasingly uncommon 

 there now, which makes the chances of a resurgence in numbers seem remote'. 



The sections following the species descriptions are headed: sightings of unusual 

 vagrant species; predators and parasites; managing habitats to conserve butterflies; 

 and when and where to see butterflies. The management section is lengthy (pages 

 105 to 125) and, relating as it does to famous localities well known to this reviewer, 

 made fascinating reading. When woodland management is being discussed Bernwood, 

 long known nationally as an important place for butterflies, receives special mention. 

 It would be appropriate to have included here a mention of the pioneering work of 

 the late Dr Roger Clarke, formerly Oxfordshire County Secretary of BBONT who, 

 in addition to organizing conservation tasks, collected eggs of purple emperors from 

 the wild, bred them through to adult butterflies, and then delighted many visitors 

 to his annual 'emperor releases'. 



The final pages contain a glossary; species check list; check list of foodplants; 

 bibliography; and conservation organizations. The atlas is well bound, clearly printed 

 and, at £18.95, not unreasonably priced, when considering the high quality colour 

 work therein. Jim Asher is to be congratulated, not only for his photographic skills, 

 but for seeing his mammoth task through to completion. However, he has set a difficult 

 precedent to follow for, as David Redhead says in his foreword 'this achievement 

 should be seen only as the start . . . the recording effort must continue to enable 

 an up-to-date picture to be kept available'. 



Brian R. Baker 



