Iconographie des Tortricidae and Iconographie des Pyralidae & Crambidae de la faune de France
Oreina. Les papillons de France

Two additional special editions of the series, the moths of France have been published by oreina, les papillons de France.
The fourth in the series is the Iconographie des Tortricidae de la faune de France, format A4, 144 pages, 1096 photos.
The fifth and most recent edition published in late November, is the Iconographie des Pyralidae & Crambidae de la faune de France 140 pages, 1078 photos.
The text is concise and limited to photo captions, 8 species per page with good-sized photos.
Price for each publication is 35€, or 25€ for members, available from oreina, contact administration@oreina.org

Field Guide to the Butterflies of Cyprus with Distribution Maps.
By Eddie John and Christodoulos Makris. (Published by Siri Scientific Press, Sept. 2023)

This is an abridged version of the 2022 book, Butterflies of Cyprus by  Eddie John and Christodoulos Makris.
Each of the 57 recorded butterfly species in this new guide has two full pages, including photographs of adults, with fully updated detailed distribution maps (to 5 x 5 km2 UTM squares).
Each family section is introduced by a page on which undersides of all Cyprus representatives of the family are grouped, enabling easy identification.

Format 210 x 148 mm, 160 pages, 261 colour photos and illustrations. Available from nhbs, price £19.99

A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Romania.
By László Rákosy

From the publisher. Through its geographical position, varied topography, particular climate and complex cultural history, Romania has managed to sustain an enormously rich biodiversity. Traditional practices, which have survived longer than in most other parts of Europe, have allowed the preservation of large areas of natural habitat, little altered by human activity. All this is reflected in the breadth of lepidoptera encountered in the country.

This book considers the species (and subspecies) of butterflies known to occur in Romania. The identification guide to the butterflies of Romania is set out in a format for both  specialists and the more general naturalist or butterfly enthusiast to understand. An expansive introduction covers the various life stages (ovum, larva, pupa and imago), biology and ecology, as well as protection and conservation, and butterfly research. The following section identifies the 14 most important habitat types frequented by butterflies in Romania.

For each of the more than 200 species covered, information on taxonomy, identification, habitat, biology, conservation and distribution is presented. Each is illustrated with photographs from nature, primarily adult males and females, but also numerous images of the developmental stages.

László Rákosy was a recipient of the Marsh European Lepidoptera Award in 2017. Publication date April 2024, by Pelagic Publishing, price £30, see here to pre-order.

Atlas des papillons de jour du département de la Loire, France.
Co-authors, Christian Bellut, Claude Colomb, Patrick Subit, André Ulmer et Mickaël Villemagne.

The atlas of the butterflies of the Loire Department was published by the Société de Sciences Naturelles Loire Forez (Loire Forez Natural Sciences Society) in October 2023. This 296 page work constitutes the synthesis from the society's own data and observations, enriched with that of its partners the LPO Loire* and FNE Loire*. The atlas comprises almost 100,000 records including more than 60,000 records from the LPO Loire.

This atlas presents the diverse natural environments of the department, a history of the local entomology for over a century and monographs of the 153 species that can be found there. (134 rhopalocera and 19 zygaenidae).   
Price 30€. See here to order a copy of the atlas.

* LPO. Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux, the LPO is the official representative for BirdLife International in France
* FNE. France Nature Environnement 

La vie des papillons d'Europe.
Authors, Pierre-Olivier Maquart and Denis Richard

The authors state that this book is dedicated to the biology of lepidoptera, (butterflies and moths) and the discovery of the life and habits of the butterflies that surround us.
Published by Delachaux et Niestlé, with the support of the Société entomologique de France and the OPIE*, January 2023, format 15.6 x 21.8 cm, 240 pages, 254 photos, price 29,90€, text in French. (Available from Amazon £24.95). See here for example pages.

There is a review of this book in oreina n° 61 - November 2023, by Eric Drouet.
* OPIE -  Office pour les insectes et leur environnement

LIFE4BEST M37 Madeira - Madeira Threatened Endemic Butterflies. Video.

Butterfly Conservation Europe has been working in partnership with Madeira Flora & Fauna to conserve three endangered butterfly species endemic on the Madeira island. This video summarises the project LIFE4BEST M37 Madeira (MTEB). You can watch the video (in English), on YouTube here.

Please also see the article by Sam Ellis in EBG Issue 33, May 2023, page 22 Conserving Madeira’s threatened endemic butterflies, and the article,  A trip to Madeira (about the Madeira project), by Mike Prentice in EBG Issue 31, May 2022, page 16. You can download the eBMS butterfly identification guide for Madeira, in English here.

Plan national d'actions 2022-2031 en faveur des papillons de jour. Déclinaison en Occitanie, France.

Plan national d'actions 2022-2031 en faveur des papillons de jour. Déclinaison en Occitanie, France.
National action plan for the butterflies of the Occitanie region, France. 2022-2031

Of the 245 species of butterflies (rhopalocera and zygaenidae) to be found in Occitanie, 57 are threatened to extinction, 48 near-threatened and there are 21 species with insufficient data.
Faced with the context of decline and disappearance of butterfly populations and their environments, a plan of action is needed  for their preservation.
You can read the report here, (text in French)

Noctuidae Europaeae Essential
Authors,  Morten Top-Jensen, Dieter Fritsch and Vladimir S Kononenko

From the publisher, Noctuidae Europaeae Essential is based on the 13-volume series Noctuidae Europaeae by Michael Fibiger, which was published between 1990 and 2011 by Entomological Press and is now out of print.
This book deals with all 1623 known species of European Noctuids. The concise text describes habitats, flight periods, larval food plants and distribution of every European species and their distribution outside Europe. The European distribution for every species is shown on a clear map, and the text and maps have been fully updated.

The book contains photographs of more than 1500 living species of European moths, at rest in typical natural situations, and of more than 1000 of their larvae. All the species are also displayed as set specimens in natural size across 92 colour plates.

Published BugBook Publishing, May 2023. Hardback, 840 pages, 92 plates with colour photos; colour photos, colour distribution maps, text in English, price 200€. For more information, and to order, see here

Libellules et demoiselles de la Drôme. Atlas des Odonates du département de la Drôme. - Groupe Sympetrum.
Coordinated by Jean-Michel Faton.

This Atlas for the Drôme, France was published on 31st October 2023 and is available from the association Sympetrum, Aouste-sur-Sye, price 30€ including p+p (France).
For more information, see here

Pianura Padana species, Italy.
Revised and updated Field Guide for Butterfly identification from the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (eBMS). The first Field Guides produced in the ABLE project were the four Italian guides, the guides are currently in the process of being  updated and additional guides are also being produced for Protected Areas, different islands, and more. The new version of the Padana Plain Field Guide is now available.

The aim of this guide is to help field identification of the most common species in the area of Padana Plain and presents 93 butterfly species commonly seen in the Padana Plain and surrounding area.

You can download the guide (in English) as a free resource here

Catalogue iconographique des Lépidoptères des Pyrénées-Orientales (France). Tome I (Superfamilles dont la majorité des espèces sont diurnes) by Peslier, S.; Mazel, R.; Gaunet, A.; Varenne, T.; Nel, J.

Published by the Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie.

This is the first of a three volume series, the three volumes are due to be published in September.
This first volume includes 304 species, the majority of species are day-flying (including butterflies, burnet moths and clearwings). Hardback, text in French, 148 pages, with 988 photos, price 60€ from the Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie: https://r-a-r-e.fr/, also available from Pemberley Books.

Diatheo - Papillons de France. Tristan Lafranchis.
The species distribution maps and bibliographies on Tristan's website were updated in June 2023, the bibliographies can be downloaded in pdf, as a free resource.
Click on the species and then "Bibliographie illustrée" (where available) to download the pdf.

See here: http://diatheo.weebly.com/cartes-et-bibliographies-avec-mises-agrave-jour.html

Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea - Butterflies (Fauna d'Italia 54) - 2023
By Emilio Balletto, Francesca Barbero, Simona Bonelli, Luca P Casacci, Leonardo Dapporto.

The intent of this publication is to illustrate the current state of knowledge on Italian butterflies, providing detailed information on their morphology, biology, ecology, ethology, genetics, distribution and state of conservation. This first volume includes a thorough general introduction and is dedicated to the Papilionidae, Hesperidea and Pieridea. The book includes analytical keys for the identification of adults (in English and Italian) and preimaginal stages, illustrated with colour plates and drawings. The text is written in English, 853 pages.
Published by Calderini and available from Pemberley Natural History Books, price £165 and NHBS.

Atlas des libellules de la Bretagne à la Vendée (France)
Dragonfly Atlas of Brittany and the Vendée (France)

The atlas is a result of the collective work of 29 authors, it compiles all of the current knowledge on dragonflies from the six departments of the study. From 2000 to 2020, nearly 2,000 observers were mobilised to collect more than 165,000 records, to which 25,000 historical observations were added.
 
Each of the 68 species of the territory is presented in a detailed monograph which includes the species general distribution, history and biology in the study area, also its status and abundance, survey results etc. Publication date October 2023, 324 pages, pre-publication price 29€ plus p+p.

Sample pages can be consulted here

For more information and to pre-order the atlas see here: https://www.bretagne-vivante.org/souscription-atlas-libellules/

Atlas des Libellules et Demoiselles du Tarn (France)
Dragonfly Atlas of the Tarn, France

Initiated by the Office for the Protection of Insects and their Environment (OPIE) and the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), this book invites you to discover the fascinating world of the 57 species of dragonflies recorded in the department.

To order a copy of the recently published atlas please contact Pascal Polisset, 94 place Jean Moulin,  81600, Gaillac, France. Price 15€ plus p+p, payable to the OPIE-MP.

Atlas des rhopalocères et zygènes d'altitude d'Ariège (France) - Atlas of Butterfly and Burnet Moths mountain species of the Ariège, France. 
The Ana ‐ Conservatoire d’espaces naturels Ariège have been working for several years on a citizen science project to produce an Atlas of these butterflies that can be found at altitude.
A list of 45 targeted species can be downloaded from the website, together with a volunteers handbook, detailed species pages, flight periods, interactive map, information on how to install the application ODK Collect to record your sightings and lots of other useful information. To participate, please send an email to atlas-papillons09@ariegenature.fr

Please see here for more information:
https://ariegenature.fr/sciences-participatives/atlas-des-rhopaloceres-et-zygenes-daltitude-dariege/

Technical Report EU Grassland Butterfly Species Indicator 1990 - 2020.  Butterfly Conservation Europe.

The new report can be downloaded from the BCE website here.
The report represents a major update on previous versions, with the incorporation of more and expanded datasets, together with new analysis techniques.
The Grassland Butterfly Indicator is the combined population trend of 17 selected grassland species monitored across Europe over a long period of time. The indicator has been calculated from population trends estimated for the whole European region and  the 27 EU Member States.
Over the last ten years, the indicator shows a linear decline of  36% in Europe and 32% in the EU27 up to 2020, with the last update of the eBMS database.

New Field Guides for three National Parks in Galicia, Spain.

You can download the butterfly identification booklets that have been designed for the BMS implementation project in the Natural Parks of Galicia. The field guides are in Spanish and Galician with species names in Latin and are available to download as a free resource.
 
For the Parque Natural Monte Aloia: see here

For the Parque Natural Baixa Limia-Serra do Xurés: see here

For the Parque Natural Complexo dunar de Corrubedo e lagoas de Carregal e Vixán: see here

Butterflies of Bulgaria Photographic field guide. Mario Langourov 
National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia.

All species of butterflies found in Bulgaria are described in Bulgarian and in English. The book features a total of 218 species from 6 families, including species known to inhabit neighbouring territories that could potentially also be found in Bulgaria.

The book published in 2022 comprises 353 pages, and is now available in pdf as a free resource.
For more information see here on the website for the National Museum of Natural History, and here, to download the pdf.

Butterflies along the Great Malaga Path. Jose Manuel Moreno-Benitez.

This 260 page guide (in English), published in 2017 describes all the butterflies which can be found along the Great Malaga Path, a long-distance footpath that encircles the Malaga Province in Andalusia, Spain.

You can download the book in pdf, as a free resource, from the Malaga website:
 https://static.malaga.es/malaga/subidas/archivos/4/8/arc_281884_v4.pdf

European Butterflies Magazine, Charaxes Publications, edited by Jason Sargerson. Issue 6 Spring 2023.

By the editor. This is an A4 magazine, 36 pages.
Articles in the magazine include: Excursions to several Swiss sites in Valais and Bern and a monthly description of the Corfu Butterfly Year. A butterfly holiday in Herzegovina is featured. The butterflies of Fejèr County in Hungary are detailed. Two sites for High Mountain Fritillaries in Switzerland are described. Purple Emperors and Lesser Purple Emperors in the Pyrenees in France are portrayed. There are features on the spring butterflies of North East France and the early spring butterflies of North East Greece. Butterflies across the Southern Green Belt (Greece, Macedonia and Bulgaria) are described by Wild Echo Tours. Contributors are butterfly enthusiasts and include: Jim Asher, Dan Danahar, Adam Gor, Tamás Hudák, John Needham, Mario Langourov, David Moore and Pete Smith. Each page has a unique selection of photographs. All photographs are identified where possible with the butterfly, date and place. Over 90 species illustrated, 150 colour photographs.
Details on Jason's website in due course: https://jasonsargerson.uk/

Field Guide of butterflies of the Parque Natural Sierra de Huétor, Spain.

Butterfly Conservation Europe, together with the Parque Natural Sierra de Huétor have created this Field Guide of the 109 butterfly species occurring there. The Sierra de Huétor is a mountain range close to Granada in Spain.
The guide is available to download as a free resource (in Spanish) here.

Regional Red lists for Butterflies. France.

Two additional Red Lists have recently been published for Normandie and the Pays de la Loire.
These lists can be consulted on the Country page for France, together with the existing Regional Red Lists for France.
See here.

Le Guide photographique des papillons de jour et zygènes de France
Jean-Laurent Hentz, Jean-Pierre D’Hondt & Philippe Dauguet. Published by Gard Nature.

Following on from previous posts this book is now available. Price 35€ plus p+p. For more information, sample pages and to order a copy of the book, see here. Please note the pre-publication price is no longer available.
Many thanks to EBG members who have participated in this project.

oreina. Les papillons de France. Iconographie de plusieurs familles d'hétérocères de la faune de France, oreina magazine supplement volume 3.

This third oreina supplement covers several Heterocera families.
Paperback, A4, 96 pages, 702 photos, price 25€, 20€ for members, including postage. 
Please contact oreina for postal rates outside the EU.

See here for more information and to order

Atlas des papillons de jour d'Aquitaine, Biotope editions, published 12th September 2022.

This collective work was coordinated by Pierre-Yves Gourvil and Mathieu Sannier. The butterfly atlas for the Aquitaine includes the validated observations and inventories carried out by amateurs, volunteers and professionals via the Observatoire de la Faune sauvage de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the conservation work carried out by the Conservatoire d'espaces naturels de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, as well as the actions of the LPO Aquitaine and their partners.
The atlas covers the administrative area of the Aquitaine before it became the Nouvelle Aquitaine in 2016. The 5 departments concerned are the Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot and Garonne and the Pyrénées Atlantiques.
The atlas is co-edited by the scientific publications of the MNHN (National Museum of Natural History)
Price 35€ plus p+p.

For more information and to order see here

Guide photographique des papillons de jour et zygènes de France.
Subscription extended until 15th August 2022.
Jean-Laurent Hentz, Jean-Pierre D’Hondt & Philippe Dauguet. Published by Gard Nature.

The "Guide photographique des papillons de jour et zygènes de France" is due to be published in August.

Format 15 x 21 cm, 500 pages. Nearly 300 species illustrated by 60 photographers, with images of both upper and underside of all male and female species to be found in France. Over 2,000 images, ID keys, species pages. Subscription has been extended until 15th August 2022. Subscription price: 25€ plus p+p 10€ Europe (5€ France), after which the public price applies: 35€ plus p+p

For more information, sample pages and to order a copy of the book, see here

La VIE des PAPILLONS
Authors: Tristan Lafranchis, David Jutzeler, Jean-Yves Guillosson and Pieter & Brigitte Kan

752 pages, format 16,5 x 24 cm, published 2015.
This book is now available to order in pdf, in both English and French versions.
Please contact Tristan directly by email to purchase: tlafranchis@gmail.com

Atlas des Papillons de Jour d'Aquitaine
Butterfly Atlas for the Aquitaine, France. Coordinated by Pierre-Yves Gourvil (CEN Aquitaine) & Mathieu Sannier (LPO). 

This Atlas follows on from the pre-Atlas of 2015. The CEN Aquitaine and their partners have continued to work on the inventory and mapping of butterflies in the Aquitaine.

With the help of 1,328 observers and 81 organisations, numerous records have been collected of 160 butterfly species during the preparation of the Atlas (including 3 previously unrecorded species). There is a monograph for each butterfly species including the ecology for each species, their habitat and host plants, distribution data with observations from 2000- 2009 and 2010-2019, the number of observations per decade, species conservation status and more.

Published by Biotope Editions and edited in conjunction with the MNHN, approximately 400 pages, 16 x 24cm, price 35€ plus p+p. The publication date is expected to be June 2022. It is now possible to pre-order this Atlas from Biotope, see here: https://leclub-biotope.com/en/.

Field Guide for the island of Corfu Greece, by Butterfly Conservation Europe and Corfu Butterfly Conservation.

This leaflet, written by Cristina Sevilleja, (Dutch Butterfly Conservation) Dan Danahar (Corfu Butterfly Conservation) and Sam Ellis (Butterfly Conservation) and funded by the Rothschild Foundation, aids the identification of all 75+ species that their members have observed on the island and comes in an English and a Greek version (translated by Anne Sordinas).

For more information and to download the pdf from the eBMS website, see here

Forthcoming publication. Butterflies Of Cyprus: A Field Guide and Distribution Atlas by Eddie John & Christodoulos Makris.

This new book summarises decades of research and collation of distribution data. From the tiny Grass Jewel (Freyeria trochylus), Europe's smallest butterfly, to the magnificent, newly arrived Lime Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus) this comprehensively illustrated reference book and field guide includes all butterfly species known for Cyprus over the past 100 years. Hardback, 376 pages. Due for publication in August 2022 , Price £95.

For more information, please refer to Issue 31 - May 2022 Newsletter and the Cyprus Butterflies website - http://www.cyprusbutterflies.co.uk/page7.html

The Nymphalidae of China (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera). Part III, by Song-yun Lang.

It took the author more than 20 years to prepare this series of books entitled the “Nymphalidae of China”, the third and final volume has just been published. This volume deals with some of the more obscure satyrid groups, such as the genus Ypthima and Mycalesis, as well as some of the more popular ones: Erebia, Melanargia, Coenonympha, Aulocera, Karanasa, Oeneis, Satyrus, Pseudochazara and Hyponephele.

Hardback, 376 pages containing the most up to date information on the distribution, differences, relationships and taxonomy of 287 species. Format 210 x 300mm, 40 colour plates. Price: 129€ (excluding postage). For more information and to order see here.

Les Lépidoptères (Papillons) du Parc national des Calanques et de ses environs, Jacques Nel & Thierry Varenne. 

This book of butterflies and moths of the Calanques National Park (Provence, France) and the surrounding area (Bouches-du-Rhône) was published as a supplement to volume XXXI of the Association Roussillonnaise d’Entomologie  (R.A.R.E.) revue in March 2022.

A4 format, 251 pages, price 40€. See here for more information and to order: https://r-a-r-e.fr/

ABLE Field Guides

Butterfly Conservation Europe have completed their 2 year ABLE project which was set up to encourage butterfly monitoring across Europe. As part of the ABLE project, field guides to butterflies have been produced for the following countries, Austria - Vienna & Burgenland,  Cyprus, Italy (4 regions), Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal - Madeira, Slovenia, Spain - Andalusia and Castilla -La Mancha. These  guides are available as a free resource from the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme website, see here
More details can be found on the eBMS website: https://butterfly-monitoring.net/bms-materials.  

ABLE - Assessing Butterflies in Europe, eBMS - The European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

Butterfly Conservation Europe - Butterfly talks

BCE has organised a series of online talks by butterfly experts, volunteers, and amateurs called Butterfly Talks. These seminars are every two weeks on a specific topic related to butterflies, with a panel discussion at the end. Anyone with the link can join.
For more information, see here
The talks are recorded and can be seen on the BCE Youtube Channel, see here

Les papillons de Dordogne et départements limitrophes by Philippe Vincenot. 

A new book has recently been published by a young Dordogne artist and naturalist. This guidebook of 135 pages, by Philippe Vincenot is aimed at the general public and describes 130 butterfly species (and day flying moths) of the Dordogne, and the surrounding areas. Produced with the collaboration of L’association Nature en Périgord and Au temps d’Eugénie, published by Edition du Machaon. 250 illustrations, A5 format, price 18€ plus p+p.
For more information and to order see here

Butterfly Conservation Europe - Butterfly talks

BCE has organised a series of online talks by butterfly experts and volunteers called Butterfly Talks. These seminars will be held every two weeks on a specific topic related to butterflies, discussing for a short time, and with a panel discussion at the end. The talks are open to the general public and anyone with the link can join.

The next butterfly talk is programmed for Wednesday ️23th March with Robert Wilson from the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid, Spain. Robert will give a talk about Butterflies, microclimate and climate change at 13h CET (which is 12h in the UK!)

Everyone is welcome to the 30 minutes talk, for those unable to attend, the talk will be posted on the BCE YouTube Channel.
To join the talk please use the Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/91209073240 or enter the Meeting ID: 912 0907 3240

You can catch up on previous Butterfly Talks here

The incredible migration of the Painted Lady

The Museum of Natural Sciences of Granollers in Spain, in collaboration with our colleague Constanti Stefanescu, has produced a poster summarising the Western Palaearctic journey of the Painted Lady. Although this poster is aimed at the general public, the information is based on recent research.

The painted lady, Vanessa cardui, is an almost cosmopolitan species of butterfly. It completes a journey of more than 10,000 km between Africa and Europe every year, through a succession of generations, looking for optimal breeding conditions at any moment.  
See here for the poster:  https://mcng.cat/uploads/mg.%20plafo%20cardui%20eng.pdf?v=2

Butterflies of the Levant and Neighbouring Areas (Southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, North-west Saudi Arabia & Cyprus). Vol. III: Nymphalidae.
By Benyamini, Dubi.

This is the second book in a four-volume series and is now available to purchase from specialist bookshops.
This series includes all available present-day information for all butterfly species in the Levant.
In addition to regular lists/catalogues and photographs of set specimens the book includes photographs of all life-history stages, larval host plants and adults in their natural biotopes, plus 18 categories of ethology (behaviour), conservation status, actual distribution and flight period.
Hardback, 240 pages , 1466 colour images, price £120 - £180, depending on the seller.

European Butterflies Magazine, Charaxes Publications, edited by Jason Sargerson. Issue 5 Spring 2022.

By the editor. This is an A4 magazine, 36 pages.
Articles in the magazine cover endemic and rare butterflies in Spain and the progress of rare butterflies in Hungary. There is a trip to three countries: Bulgaria, Greece and Macedonia in just three days. Local excursions to find butterflies in Croatia are described. Developments at Corfu Butterfly Conservation now include species recording and distribution maps. A mountain site in Graubünden in eastern Switzerland is described. There are features on the Southern Swallowtail in France and the butterflies of La Palma in the Canary Islands. Butterflies in Turkey are introduced by Wild Echo Tours. Contributors are butterfly enthusiasts and include: Dan Danahar, Robin Fox, James Gibbs, Adam Gor, Mario Langourov, Gyorgy Liptovszky, David Moore and Pete Smith.
Each page has a  selection of photographs. All photographs are identified where possible with the butterfly, date and place. Describes butterflies in sites in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia,Corfu, the Canaries, Croatia, France, Hungary, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.Over 100 species illustrated, 150 colour photographs.

Available from Jason Sargerson, £9 including postage (UK), details on Jason's website in due course: https://jasonsargerson.uk/

Zakgids Vlinders van de Benelux. Authors Wil Leurs en Marc Guyt

Pocket guide to the Butterflies of the Benelux.
This guide is due for publication on the 21st February and has been produced with the collaboration of De Vlinderstichting and Natuurpunt.
The Butterflies of the Benelux describes all species of butterflies for the Benelux. Relevant features that are important for the identification are displayed next to the images; the guide also contains information on habitat, host plants and species distribution. Format 11 x 17cm, 264 pages, price €17.95
For more information and to order see here

Clé d'identification des Mélitées, Damiers et Nacrés de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (France)
Ryelandt J., Jugan D. & Mora F., 2022.

Identification guide for the Argynnis, Boloria, Brenthis, Fabriciana, Issoria, Speyeria, Euphydryas & Melitaea species.  
Edited by the Conservatoire botanique national de Franche-Comté (Observatoire régional des Invertébrés), l'Office pour les Insectes et leur Environnement of Franche-Comté and the Société d'Histoire naturelle d'Autun (Observatoire de la faune de Bourgogne). See here to consult the guide - click on Télécharger le PDF to download the file.

VI Jornadas Nacionales de Lepidopterología 2022

The association ZERYNTHIA who are celebrating 15 years of existence this year, are organising the VI National Lepidoptera event, with the participation of the Aranzadi Science Society. The event will take place in Ataria, in the Salburua wetlands, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain on the 26th and 27th February 2022. There will be a series of talks and study initiatives, regarding the conservation of butterflies and moths of Spain, also presentations from speakers from Portugal and France, and a field trip on the second day to visit the Arrikrutz caves (Oñati, Gipuzkoa).

Details and registration (until 11 February 2022) please see here: https://www.asociacion-zerynthia.org/encuentros-cientificos

Regional Red List for the Butterflies of Occitanie, France

This new report containing the Regional Red List for the Butterflies of Occitanie, also summarises the 2019 evaluation report and is available to consult here in PDF: https://www.insectes.org/listesrouges/papillons_occitanie.pdf

According to the report, 57 species i.e. 23% of the 245 species that were evaluated in 2019 are considered threatened by extinction, (categories CR, EN or VU)  in Occitanie.

Forthcoming publications.

Les Lépidoptères (Papillons) du Parc national des Calanques et de ses environs.
By Jacques Nel & Thierry Varenne

This book of butterflies (and presumably moths) of the Calanques National Park (Provence, France) and the surrounding area is due for publication in early 2022.

Butterflies of the Levant and Neighbouring Areas (Southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, North-west Saudi Arabia & Cyprus). Vol. III: Nymphalidae.
By Benyamini, Dubi.

This is the second book in a four-volume series. Publication due for December 2021.

Please check back for updated information on both of these publications.

Iconographie des Noctuidae de la faune de France.
By oreina, les papillons de France.

The Iconographie des Noctuidae de la faune de France is due for publication in December 2021, together with a revised and updated edition of the Iconographie des Geometridae de la faune de France, which was previously published in December 2020.

Both publications are A4 paperbacks. Noctuidae, 140 pages, with 1094 photographs of species in their natural resting positions. Geometridae 120 pages with 902 photographs.
Price 30€ each or 45€ for both publications. Contact: administration@oreina.org to order and for information of postal rates to the UK and Europe.

La Familia Hesperiidae en la Península Ibérica.
By Blázquez Caselles Á., Garretas Muriel V.Á., Santamaría Hernández, M.T.

This book is the result of 15 years of study and has been compiled using more than 35,000 records and over 1,100 references. Colour photographs illustrate the life stages (egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult) of the 30 species of skipper (Hesperiidae) recorded from the Iberian Peninsula. Foodplants and genitalia are also illustrated, as well as information on distribution (10 x 10km grid) and habitats.

Text in Spanish, paperback, 28 x 21 cm, 447 pages, weight 1.8 kg, ECN Editiones, Cáceres (Spain), price 80€ plus p+p. For more information and to order a copy of the book please contact Ángel Blázquez Caselles: abcaselles@gmail.com

The Lepidoptera of Romania: a Distributional Checklist 2021 and the Romanian Red List of Lepidoptera 2021.

The Lepidoptera of Romania, a Distributional Checklist 2021. Authors: László Rákosy, Marin Goia. In Romanian and English, Cluj University Press, hardback, 17x24 cm, 369 pages. This book can be purchased from László Rákosy, e-mail: laszlo.rakosy@ubbcluj.ro. Price 28 € plus postage.

The Romanian Red List of Lepidoptera, 2021 Editor: László Rákosy. Authors: László Rákosy, Constantin Corduneanu, Andrei Crișan, Vlad Dincă, Sándor Kovács, Mihai Stănescu, Levente Székely. In Romanian and English. Cluj University Press. Hardback, 17x24 cm, 187 pages. This book is also available from László Rákosy. Price 30 € plus postage. For more information please see the Romanian Lepidopterological Society website: http://www.lepidoptera.ro/english.htm


Our colleague László was awarded the 2017 Marsh award, this Award aims to recognise the efforts of those whose work has had a major and positive impact on butterfly and moth conservation within Europe.

Passion Papillons by Monique Mus.

Monique Mus, a self-taught naturalist who lives in Saint-Antoine-de-Ficalba in the Lot-et-Garonne France, has identified more than 600 species of butterflies and moths in her garden and the surrounding area over a 20 year period and written a fascinating book entitled Passion Papillons.

Published by Yellow Concept: https://www.yellowconcept.fr/passion-papillons-P249.html, with over 1,700 photos, prefaced by the French glaciologist and climatologist Jean Jouzel. Price 34€, text in French.

Atlas of the butterflies and burnet moths of Germany: Verbreitungsatlas der Tagfalter und Widderchen Deutschlands.

Authors: R. Reinhardt, A. Harpke, S. Caspari, M. Dolek. E. Kühn, M. Musche, R. Trusch, M. Wiemers, J. Settele.

This is a hardback reference book designed for anyone who would like to know where to look for species anywhere in Germany. The text is in German but little is needed to interpret the maps.
The introductory pages include a brief history of German butterfly faunistics, explanations of how the maps were produced and monitoring. There is a double page spread on each species including a full-page distribution map, photos of upper and underside of each species.
The book contains sections on:
• Distribution and occurrence (habitat type)
• Biology and ecology (flight times, larval food sources etc.)
• Potential threats (e.g. changes in land management)
• Protection

Published April 2020, 432 pages, 49.95€ (+p&p). See here to order and to view a selection of pages from the book.

A simplified identification key of the Butterflies of Aquitaine, France.

This useful identification guide for butterflies of the Aquitaine was produced in 2017, written originally in French by Mathieu Sannier from the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux, Aquitaine.
Translated into English by David Simpson (European Butterflies Group, Dordogne).

The guide covers approximately 159 species that can be seen in the Aquitaine.

This key has been adapted for the Aquitaine context from: Lafranchis T. (2014) Papillons de France, Guide de détermination des papillons diurnes (Rhopalocères, Zygènes et Hétérocères diurnes) and Lafranchis T. Jutzeler D. Guillosson J-Y.  Kan P. & B. (2015) La Vie des Papillons, Ecologie, Biologie et Comportement des Rhopalocères de France

The simplified identification key in English, is available as a free resource in PDF see here.
David has a few copies of the guide in paper format, please contact David directly to request a copy.

Guide photographique des papillons de jour et zygènes de France. Subscription extended until 30th September 2021
Jean-Laurent Hentz, Jean-Pierre D’Hondt & Philippe Dauguet. Published by Gard Nature. 

Following 6 years of research and study, and aided by the participation of many specialists, the "Guide photographique des papillons de jour et zygènes de France" is due for publication during November.

Format 15 x 21 cm, 500 pages. Nearly 300 species illustrated by 60 photographers, with images of both upper and underside of all male and female species to be found in France. Over 2,000 images, ID keys, species pages. Subscription has been extended until 30th September 2021. Subscription price: 25€ plus p+p 10€ Europe (5€ France), after which the public price applies: 35€ plus p+p

For more information, sample pages and to order a copy of the book, see here: 
http://gard-nature.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021_souscription_papillons_de_france2.pdf

Atlas des Papillons de Jour d'Aquitaine
Butterfly Atlas for the Aquitaine, France. Coordinated by Pierre-Yves Gourvil (CEN Aquitaine) & Mathieu Sannier (LPO). 

This Atlas follows on from the pre-Atlas of 2015. The CEN Aquitaine and their partners have continued to work on the inventory and mapping of butterflies in the Aquitaine.

With the help of 1,328 observers and 81 organisations, numerous records have been collected of 160 butterfly species during the preparation of the Atlas (including 3 previously unrecorded species). There is a monograph for each butterfly species including the ecology for each species, their habitat and host plants, distribution data with observations from 2000- 2009 and 2010-2019, the number of observations per decade, species conservation status and more.

Biotope Editions, edited in conjunction with the MNHN, approximately 400 pages, 16 x 24cm, price 35€ plus p+p, available in due course from https://leclub-biotope.com/en/. To ensure that the Atlas is as up to date as possible, 2021 butterfly data will be included. The publication date is now expected to be early 2022.

Butterfly Red List - Pays de la Loire - France
Liste Rouge Régionale des Papillons de Jour et Zygènes de la Pays de la Loire. 

The report containing the Red List for Butterflies and Zygaenidae of the Pays de la Loire can be consulted here.

The report was coordinated by Chevreau Johannic, Banasiak Marek (CEN Pays de la Loire), Cherpitel Thomas & Herbrecht Franck (GRETIA). Please refer to annex 1 of the report, pages 17 - 22, for the Red List. 13 species (10%) have been classified with the status RE (Regionally Extinct from the Pays de la Loire), 33 species (26%) with the status CR, EN or VU, (Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable) and 16 species (12.6%) with the status NT (Near Threatened).

(CEN: Conservatoire d'espaces naturels. GRETIA: Groupe d’étude des invertébrés armoricains)

European Butterflies Magazine, Charaxes Publications, edited by Jason Sargerson. Issue 4 Spring 2021.

This is an A4 magazine, 36 pages.
Articles in the magazine cover: Butterflies in the Queyras Regional Park in France and in the Eastern Pyrenees in France. The further development of Corfu Butterfly Conservation is featured. A species rich Butterfly Garden in Bulgaria is described and illustrated with photographs and paintings. The search for the False Comma in Serbia is featured and also the discovery of new sites in Northern Italy. A wetland butterfly site in central Switzerland is described. There are features on variation in Cynthia’s Fritillary and the prospects for a butterfly tour in Herzegovina. Butterflies in Morocco are introduced by Wild Echo Tours.

Contributors are butterfly enthusiasts and include: Jim Asher, Dan Danahar, Dobromir Domuschiev, Robin Fox, Mario Langourov, David Moore, Dan and Rosemary Powell, Pete Smith and Ervin Szombathelyi.

Each page has a unique selection of photographs. All photographs are identified wherever possible with the butterfly, date and place. There are descriptions of butterfly sites in France, Bulgaria, Corfu, Italy, Herzegovina, Switzerland, Morocco and Serbia, with book and website reviews. Over 90 species illustrated, 140 colour photographs. See here for more information: https://jasonsargerson.uk/european-butterflies-issue-four-spring-2021.html

Available from Jason Sargerson, £9 including postage, details on his website: https://jasonsargerson.uk/

Guide des Papillons de Jour & Zygènes des Pyrénées. 

Authors: Jean-Louis Fourés, Etienne Urrustoy, Jude Lock, Bruno Serrurier and Philippe Dauguet from the association Natura pyrenaica.

The book covers the French Pyrénées, generally south of a line that runs from Bayonne on the Atlantic coast to Perpignan on the Mediterranean. It also includes the Val d'Aran and Andorra.

194 butterfly species and 30 Burnet & Forester Moths are described, all of which may be encountered in the area concerned. The guide contains almost 600 photos, plus 6 pages of caterpillar images and 6 pages of species identification by size and colour.

The format is a concise pocket paperback, designed for use in the field by the amateur enthusiast. 240 pages, 11cm x 18cm, text in French, species names also in English and Spanish. Price 18€ plus p+p.

Visit youtube here to see a short video on the layout and presentation of the book. 

Publication date is May 2021.
For more information and to reserve a copy please contact naturapyrenaica@gmail.com

Online national seminars for the National Action Plan (PNA) for Butterflies, France.

The videos from the national seminars for the PNA butterflies of France of 22nd and 29th January are available to watch on replay.

The first seminar on the 22nd January for amateur enthusiasts was opened by Bérangère Abba, the secretary of state to the Minister of Ecological Transition, in charge of biodiversity. Two videos of PNA species were presented, the Marsh Fritillary and Woodland Brown, as well as presentations and interviews with conservationists.

The second session of the webinar, for experts working in conservation, was held on January 29th. Three video presentations of PNA species were shown for Southern Marbled Skipper, Clouded Apollo and the Violet Copper, as well as presentations and interviews with conservationists.

The first video is 1.49 hours long, the second 2.37 hours. Click on the following link to see the summary of each seminar and to watch the videos:  http://seminaires.papillons-libellules.fr/revivez-le-seminaire-national-du-pna-papillons-de-jour/

You can find all the information related to the National Action Plan for butterflies (PNA) on the dedicated website, see here:  https://papillons.pnaopie.fr/

ABLE - Field Guide to the butterflies of Slovenia. 

This new field guide available in English, aims to assist with field identification of 100 of the most common butterfly species found in Slovenia. The guide also serves as a support tool for those involved with the monitoring of butterflies through the methodologies standardised by eBMS throughout Europe.

Slovenian Butterflies 1 is a national field guide showing pictures of butterfly species that occur more frequently in the diverse ecosystems of Slovenia. The second field guide, Slovenian Butterflies 2 is being prepared.

You can download the Field Guide Slovenian Butterflies 1 in English (or Slovenian) as a free resource, in pdf directly to your device or print it from the website : https://butterfly-monitoring.net/bms-materials.

ABLE - Assessing Butterflies in Europe, eBMS - The European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

Online seminar for the National Action Plan (PNA) for Butterflies, France.

A national seminar for the general public (video conference using zoom) will be held on Friday 22nd January 2021 from 9.30am - 11.30am. Short films on some of the PNA species will include the Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia), Clouded Apollo (Parnassius mnemosyne) and the Woodland Brown (Lopinga achine).
More information on the programme and how to book, can be found here:
http://seminaires.papillons-libellules.fr/seminaire-national-du-pna-papillons/

Click on "inscriptions" if you wish to attend the seminar and to receive the link to the presentations.

ABLE - Field Guide to the Butterflies of Cyprus. 

This guide available in English, aims to assist with field identification of 48 butterfly species, the most common species that you can see in Cyprus. The 8 page booklet also serves as a support tool for those involved in the Monitoring of Butterflies through the methodologies standardised by eBMS for all of Europe. The Field Guide is available to download and print, as a free resource, see here.

More details can be found on the eBMS website: https://butterfly-monitoring.net/bms-materials. Other guides in the series include; Italy by Regions, Andalucia-Spain, Castilla-La Mancha-Spain, and Common Species Portugal Continental.

ABLE - Assessing Butterflies in Europe, eBMS - The European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

Identification key for the Zygaena of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (France)
Ryelandt J., Jugan D. & Mora F. 

This useful identification guide for the Zygaena of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, has been produced by the Conservatoire Botanique national de Franche-Comté, in collaboration with the OPIE (Franche-Comté) and the Société d'Histoire Naturelle d'Autun.

The guide is available as a free resource, 13 pages, in French, with distribution maps, see here.

Butterflies of the Levant and Neighbouring Areas (Southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, North-west Saudi Arabia & Cyprus). Vol. II: Papilionidae, Pieridae, Hesperiidae. By Dubi Benyamini and Eddie John. 

This is the first book to be published in a four-volume series. The current volume includes 92 species: 10 species of Swallowtails (Papilionidae), 45 species of Whites (Pieridae) and 37 species of Skippers (Hesperiidae).

This series includes all available present-day information for every butterfly species in the Levant. In addition to regular lists/catalogues and photographs of set specimens it presents photographs of all life-history stages, larval host plants and adults in their natural biotopes, plus 18 categories of ethology (behaviour), conservation status, actual distribution and flight period.

Published June 2020, hardback, 208 pages, price from £110 depending on the bookseller.

Il faut sauver nos insectes! By Denis Richard and Pierre-Olivier Maquart. 

Insects are disappearing at an alarming rate. This book portrays some of the emblematic and threatened species and the degradation of their environment. The message of the book is that there is still time to act, both individually and collectively. Published 15 October 2020 by Delachaux & Niestle, format 26cm x 26cm, 192 pages, in French, price 29.90€.
See here for an extract of the book:
https://ref.lamartinieregroupe.com/media/9782603027578/146201_extrait_Extrait_0.pdf

Guía de Bolboretas Baixa
A new Butterfly Guide for Pontevedra (Spain) in Galician and available here in pdf format

"Papillons de France" a photographic exhibition by Yves Lanceau and Nathalie Truchet, 1st July - 15th October 2020, Villeny, France. 

Yves and Nathalie presented their spectacular film, "Etonnants papillons d'Europe, l'envol par nature" at the Proserpine - and (formerly) EIG conference held at Digne-les-Bains in June 2013. The exhibition "Papillons de France" comprises a dozen photographs from their various collections, and is showing until the 15th October at la Maison du Cerf, 41220, Villeny, France. Further information can be found on the website for la Maison du Cerf: http://lamaisonducerf.e-monsite.com/pages/les-animations.html

LIFE Awards 2020. Project: LIFE-Aurinia. The successful reintroduction of Euphydryas aurinia (Marsh Fritillary) in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany.

LIFE Citizens' Prize. The LIFE Awards recognise the most innovative, inspirational and effective LIFE projects in three categories: climate action, environment and nature protection. A short video on the reintroduction of Euphydryas aurinia in northern Germany, can be found on the link below. Please consider voting for this worthwhile project, by clicking on ❤ VOTE FOR THIS PROJECT https://www.lifeawards.eu/?contest=photo-detail&photo_id=412#img

The contest is organised by the European Commission, and the aim of the voting campaign is to allow the public to choose the winner of the ‘Citizens’ Prize’ category within the LIFE Awards 2020. Participation is free of charge and the voting period runs until 21st October.

Guia de les Papallones Diürnes de Catalunya (Guide to the Diürnal Butterflies of Catalonia, Spain), by Roger Vila, Constantí Stefanescu and José Manuel Sesma. 

The Guia de les Papallones Diürnes de Catalunya sums up the biology, distribution and conservation status of the 202 species of diurnal butterflies known to exist in Catalonia. Hardback, 509 pages, colour photos, colour distribution maps, published 2018 by Lynx Edicions. Text in Catalan.  Constantí Stefanescu is the European Butterflies Group partner in Catalonia.

Further information in English and sample pages can be found on the Lynx Edicions website: https://www.lynxeds.com/product/guia-de-les-papallones-diurnes-de-catalunya/#.

A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies. A celebration of Britain's 59 species by Jonathan Bradley with photographs by Yealand Kalfayan. 

This is a book of poems (with lots of other information, anecdotes and stories) about the 59 species of butterfly found in the UK. Forward by Julie Williams of Butterfly Conservation. The beautiful butterfly photographs have been taken by Yealand Kalfayan, an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and European Butterflies Group member who, like the author, has had a life-long fascination with butterflies and has looked for them throughout the UK and Europe.

Published by Merlin Unwin Books. Format: 230 x 214 mm, hardback, 92 pages with 141 colour photographs and 6 black & white photographs, price: £16.99. See here for more information.

A photographic guide. BUTTERFLIES of Central Europe and Britain by Peter Gergely

This useful field guide, produced by de Vlinderstichting (Dutch Butterfly Conservation) is available to download as a free resource in pdf, see here.
The guide includes 269 species occurring in Britain, Western and Central Europe.

New Field Guide to the Butterflies of Andalusia Spain, by ABLE.
ABLE recently produced a Field Guide to the Butterflies of Andalusia, in collaboration with the regional coordinators from the Sierra Nevada and Doñana National Parks and together with Miguel Munguira the BMS coordinator for Spain. This useful guide covers 93 species of the region, it also serves as an aid for those involved with butterfly monitoring.

The English version of the guide is available to download as a free resource, from the eBMS website : https://butterfly-monitoring.net/sites/default/files/Pdf/Field%20Guides/Field-Guide_SP_Andalucia_English%20(low).pdf  

ABLE - Assessing Butterflies in Europe, eBMS - The European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

Papillons des Alpes by Gianluca Ferretti.
This guide book comprises 238 species of the alpine arc, covering  the Alps of  Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Published in January 2020 by Delachaux et Niestlé in the Guide Delachaux  series, format 14 cm x 23 cm, 351 pages, price 34.90€. Text in French.

Butterfly Atlas for the Val d'Oise department France - Atlas des papillons de jour du Val d’Oise.
The Val d'Oise is a department situated in the Île-de-France region. The atlas was initiated in 2014 in partnership with the OPIE (office pour les insectes et leur environnement) and presents the 70 species to be found in the department with their distribution, ecology and Red List status.
The atlas is based on 14,645 records and can be downloaded in pdf (45.9M) as a free resource here: https://www.valdoise.fr/ressource/424/9-l-atlas-des-papillons-de-jour-du-val-d-oise.htm 

You can download the regional Red List for the Île-de-France here: https://www.actu-environnement.com/media/pdf/news-27939-liste-rouge-papillons-idf.pdf

New mobile application from eBMS "Butterfly Counts App" a free resource. (See the News entry 8th March. Making your European butterfly observations count)

This Butterfly Counts App has been launched by the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme which is led by Butterfly Conservation Europe and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. The application enables you to contribute to butterfly conservation by providing important information on where different species occur and the abundances in different places across Europe. Contribute with your counts of butterfly species alongside accurate location information, added via a dynamic map or via GPS acquired route information. You can upload photos to support the observations of your 15 Minute counts and you can also make visits visits to your eBMS transects directly with the app. There is a small species picture guide with photos per country. You just need to create an eBMS account and log in on the app. The information contributed to the app goes to eBMS and eventually to GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

See the link on the eBMS website explaining how to install the app and complete the 15-min count and transect visit step by step: https://butterfly-monitoring.net/ebms-app   

You can download a link to the Butterfly Counts App for Apple (iPhone, iPad) here:  https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/ebms/id146171137 and for Android here:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.ac.ceh.ebms&hl=en_GB   

Please note that due to COVID-19, Butterfly Conservation have requested that members do not to walk their transects at the present time.

European Butterflies Magazine, Charaxes Publications, edited by Jason Sargerson. Issue 3 Spring 2020.
The third issue of European Butterflies Magazine has been published. Format A4, 36 pages. More information and sample pages will be available shortly on Jason Sargerson's website, see here

From the editor. Articles in the magazine cover: Butterflies in the Piedmont Alps in Italy, in Valgaudemar in France and in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The development of Corfu Butterfly Conservation is featured. Conservation work of the European Butterflies Group in Spain is described.  Naturetrek describe the butterflies of Normandy in France. There are features on Cardinal Fritillaries in Switzerland and the Lapland Fritillary in Turkey. Articles also cover butterflies in North East Hungary, St Petersburg in Russia and in Eastern Turkey. Butterflies in Armenia are introduced by Wild Echo Tours.

Contributors are butterfly enthusiasts and include: Andy Adcock, Tom Brereton, Dan Danahar, James Gibbs, Mario Langourov, Gyorgy Liptovszky, Dave Maertens, David Moore, Nick Morgan and Mike Prentice.

Each page has a unique selection of photographs. All photographs are identified where possible with the butterfly, date and place.

Describes butterflies in sites in Spain, Hungary, Russia, Armenia, Corfu, Cyprus, Turkey, Switzerland, France and Italy.  Book Reviews, over 90 species illustrated and 140 colour photographs.

Making your European butterfly observations count.
Sam Ellis, Butterfly Conservation’s new International Director, has been working with Butterfly Conservation Europe and the EBG Committee to consider how best to ensure that members’ butterfly data can be recorded and used to help increase knowledge and conservation of butterflies. The following short paper has been authored by Sam and Chris van Swaay, Cristina Sevilleja and Martin Warren from Butterfly Conservation Europe. Further details on using iNaturalist.org and Observation.org and 15 minute counts for European butterfly recording  will be provided on the new International section of the Butterfly Conservation website, due to be live from April 2020. 
In order to conserve butterflies effectively we need to have good information on species distributions and trends in abundance. However outside parts of western and northwestern Europe such data is sparse. You can help us gather better data from across Europe in the following ways: 

• Conduct a butterfly transect. This provides high quality data on densities and trends (as well as distribution). The method is simple: make a transect of approximately 1 kilometre and try to count the butterflies each week in the flight season with good weather conditions. It does not matter if you miss a week or two, we can still make an estimate of the numbers. A detailed manual on how to set up and monitor a transect is available at this link. If you live in a country with an existing Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (BMS) then the webpage of eBMS  will give you an overview who to contact. If you live in one of the other European countries without a BMS, you can make your own transect directly on the eBMS website. The project Assessing ButterfLies in Europe (ABLE) aims at filling the gaps for transect counts in Europe. 

• Conduct a 15 minute count. With the ButterflyCount smartphone app you can count butterflies for 15 minutes (and pause at any point to make a photo or identification). You can walk around, move along a path or stay in a field, as long as you enter all the butterflies (including the very common ones) using the app. The app has made it very simple to do so, it records the route with your phone GPS or you can draw yourself the area recorded. You can do one or more 15 minute counts anywhere in Europe as long as the weather is good enough for butterflies to be active.

• Such 15 minute counts are especially ideal for either remote locations (e.g. rare species on high mountain tops or other remote places) or when you are on holiday. You can do it everywhere: in the garden of your hotel, on the camping site, on a great butterfly spot, or simply along a field beside the road. All counts are welcome.

• Make casual records of butterflies you see and add them onto a database where they can be used for research and conservation. You can also enter any 'old' data as well. You can either enter data onto an existing national website (if one exists) or use one of the international websites observation.org or iNaturalist.org in the butterfly projectswhich accept records from anywhere in the world. All such data becomes available to researchers as well as BCE partners. Both these international systems have a smartphone app which you can use in the field, and you can also upload ‘old’ records from an excel file or enter your old observations via a web portal. Once verified, all data is gathered at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF.org). If you are worried about privacy or sensitive records, there are settings to control this. You can hide your observations from all other recorders or make them open. However, observations of rare of threatened species are almost always hidden and can only be viewed by administrators.

Any records you submit will improve our knowledge and help protect the butterflies we love. Butterflies are also useful indicators of changes in other less well known insect groups. Such knowledge thus helps us to understand changes in our environment and conserve wildlife as a whole.

EU Pollinator Initiative
On 1 June 2018, the European Commission adopted a Communication on the first-ever EU initiative on pollinators. The Initiative sets strategic objectives and a set of actions to be taken by the EU and its Member States to address the decline of pollinators in the EU and contribute to global conservation efforts. It sets the framework for an integrated approach to the problem and a more effective use of existing tools and policies.

Please see the attached letter from a collection of NGO's including Butterfly Conservation Europe, to the European Commission regarding the recent passing of a motion at the European Parliament on the Pollinator Initiative, and the need to tackle the decline in insects, particularly pollinators.

Guide pratique des papillons de France by Jean-Pierre Moussus, Thibault Lorin and Alan Cooper
This book presents the butterflies of metropolitan France and Corsica, with more than 680 photographs, 257 species monographs and identification key.  
Published in November 2019 by Delachaux et Niestlé, text in French, 414 pages, 15 x 21 cm, price 39€.

Distribution of Butterflies and Skippers in Europe. Mapping European Butterflies by Dr Otakar Kudrna
24 years mapping European butterflies 1995-2019, Dr. Otakar Kudrna
The publication contains the authors final report after 24 years of the research project “Mapping European Butterflies” (MEB).

Published by the Czech Butterfly Conservation Society (SOM), this Atlas is now available to purchase. Format A4, 364 pages, price 45 € plus postage. See here for further information and of details of how to order a copy of the Atlas

The butterflies of the Villars-Gryon by Guy Padfield
This book is a complete guide to the butterflies of the Villars-Gryon region of the Alpes Vaudoises in Switzerland, including a fully-illustrated appendix extending the coverage to the whole of Switzerland. 

Paperback, 175 pages price £24.99 plus p&p. For more information, sample pages and to order see here:  https://www.guypadfield.com/villarsgryonbook.html

Red List of Butterflies and Zygaenidae of Occitanie (France)
The Red List for Occitanie, was validated by the UICN (on the 7th November 2019) and by the CSRPN (on the 25th November 2019).

The Red List can be consulted on the CEN's website (link below). The detailed evaluation report in pdf, and the Red List in Excel format, can be downloaded from the website. In addition to the Red List for Occitaine, the Excel file includes the Red List for Europe (2010), France (2012), Catalogne (2018), Auvergne (2013), Rhône-Alpes (2018) and Aquitaine (2018). (Click on "Données" to consult the lists).
Of the 245 species evaluated, 57 species, or 23%, are considered as threatened (categories CR, EN or VU)

See here to consult the documents:
Red List Occitanie - Liste rouge des Lépidoptères rhopalocères et Zygènes d’Occitanie

Liste rouge des Papillons de jour d'Aquitaine - Butterfly Red List for the Aquitaine (France)
This Red List (published April 2019) was published as a 16 page booklet in November by the OAFS, in partnership with the CEN Aquitaine and the LPO Aquitaine. More than 21% of the 154 species evaluated are considered threatened.

The Red List is available to read here

Atlas papillons de jour & zygènes Provence-Alpes Côte d'Azur. (Butterfly atlas for the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur)
This Atlas coordinated by the Conservatoire d’espaces naturels Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is due for publication at the end of the year.
The region hosts an exceptional biodiversity of species, the atlas comprises 680,000 records, covering 260 species (87% of species in France) for the period 1834 – 2019. 550 pages, in French, available to pre-order from le Naturographe price 49€ plus postage.
For orders received before the 15th January 2020 the postage is included, after which date the postage to the UK (or France) will be 12.50€ 
(Payments can be made by PayPal in euros). See here for more information, sample pages and to order the Atlas.

The Butterflies of Russian Far East (Khabarovskiy and Primorskiy Kray, Jewish Autonomous and Amur Regions), Sakhalin and Kuril Islands. V. Tshikolovets, A. Streltzov (new book published 2019)
The Butterflies of Russian Far East is the fourteenth volume in the series, "The Butterflies of the Palaearctic Asia" and describes the  butterfly fauna of the Russian Far East (Khabarovskiy and Primorskiy Kray, Jewish Autonomous and Amur Regions), and the Sakhalin and Kuril Islands.

This book differs from previously published works, not only by its rich illustrative material, but also that during its preparation all historical collections and almost all type material has been investigated, original descriptions and available literary sources have been studied. Species distribution maps are published for the first time. This book covers 308 species of Rhopalocera belonging to 5 families.  Approx. 4,000 illustrations. 472 pages, price 129€. The book can be ordered from Vadim Tshikolovets or Willy De Prins (also Natural History bookshops). Further information and to order see here.

E-book - Butterflies of Madeira by Roger Coghill

This electronic book includes over fifty photos, with detailed information on each species, their caterpillar food plants, and easy trails of where to find them. Download purchase price 6.99€, for further information and to purchase see here

Distribution of Butterflies and Skippers in Europe. Mapping European Butterflies.
24 years mapping European butterflies 1995-2019, Dr. Otakar Kudrna
The publication contains the authors final report after 24 years of the research project “Mapping European Butterflies” (MEB).
Format A4, approx 363 pages, price 48 € plus postage.The book is due to be published in December and available to purchase in January 2020, further information to follow in due course.

See here for further details.

Biodiv'Occitanie - GeoNat'Occitanie - OCNat (France)
This website is an online Atlas of the flora and fauna of Occitanie.
The records on the database are provided from a grouping of the naturalist associations in Occitanie and covers the enlarged region of Occitanie, France (previously Midi-Pyrénées and the Languedoc-Roussillon).
The website has been developed by the Parc National des Ecrins using GeoNature-atlas. Currently the site is still under construction, however, it can be consulted, to date the database comprises 675,578 observations for 10,318 invertebrate species.
See here for further information and to consult the atlas: https://biodiv-occitanie.fr/  

Alexanor - French Review of Lepidoptery.

Alexanor, the French Review of Lepidopterology, celebrates sixty years of existence this year. Founded in 1959 by Jean Bourgogne in the continuity of L'Amateur de Papillons, the Alexanor Review is dedicated to the butterflies and moths of France and more widely of the Western Palaearctic region.

2019 also marks for Alexanor the creation of their website. The website is currently under construction, although you can already see details of their various publications, summaries of previous reviews and abstracts of articles, some of which are available to downloadable in PDF. Information on the website, see here:  https://alexanor.org/

To mark the occasion they are offering an exceptional subscription offer for all new subscribers, more than 50% discount. For more information see here: https://alexanor.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Promo-2019.pdf

Butterfly Conservation - Hawk-moth poster.

You can download the free Hawk-moth poster from BC's website here:
https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/why-moths-matter/mothsmatter/free-hawk-moth-id-guide/download-your-free-hawk-moth-id-guide.

European Butterflies Magazine, Charaxes Publications, edited by Jason Sargerson.

The 2019 issue of European Butterflies Magazine has been published. Format A4, 36 pages, see here for the cover page.
More information and sample pages will be available shortly on Jason Sargerson's website, see here

From the editor. Articles in the issue cover: Butterflies in the Sierra Nevada, Mountains in Spain, the Monte Universales in Spain and the Champsaur Valley in France. Conservation work of the European Butterflies Group is described. A Naturetrek butterfly holiday in Hungary is featured. There are special features on hill-topping butterflies in Spain and Italy and on Asian Fritillaries in Switzerland and Large Tortoiseshells in the Rhone Valley in Switzerland. Butterflies in Bulgaria are described by Wild Echo Tours.

Contributors are butterfly enthusiasts and include: Dominic Couzens, Dobromir Domuschiev, Robin Fox, James Gibbs, David Moore, Nick Morgan and Simon Spencer. Each page has a unique selection of photographs. All photographs are identified where possible with the butterfly, date and place.

The magazine describes butterflies in sites in Spain, Hungary, Bulgaria, Switzerland, France and Italy, with over 90 species illustrated and 140 colour photographs.

Parc National des Ecrins (France) Liste provisoire des Lépidoptères du Parc national des Écrins, by Jacques Nel, Thierry Varenne, Patrick Rosset & Damien Combrisson. This atlas is a supplement to volume XXVII of the Revue de l’Association Roussillonnaise d’Entomologie.
Published in 2019, it lists the 2697 species of the Ecrins National Park, with 426 species photographs and some habitat photographs. Format A4, 88 pages, price £39.99 available from nhbs see here

DVD Swiss Butterflies: West (2019) by Jason Sargerson. From the publisher: This original 90 minute film of butterflies in Western Switzerland shows easily accessible butterfly sites. Bern, Geneva, Jura, Ticino, Valais and Vaud are visited, including the Lütschine Valley, Laubach Valley, Allondon Valley, Tabeillon Valley, Melezza Valley, Rhone Valley, Val d’Anniviers, Trient Valley, Vispa Valley and Saas Valley. A varied range of habitat is featured, including Woodland, Wetland, Rocky Steppe, Mountain and High Mountain. Butterfly subspecies found in specific locations are highlighted. Butterflies filmed include: Asian Fritillary, Bath White, Cardinal, Grison’s Fritillary, Large Copper, Large Tortoiseshell, Poplar Admiral, Scarce Large Blue and Woodland Brown. A species list, site by site is included.
More than 90 species filmed, from 2014 to 2018. See here for two short clips on YouTube. Details to follow on Jason's website.

Artemisiae. Internet database for the Lepidoptera of France. Artemisiae is a new internet portal for the butterflies of metropolitan France and Corsica, developed by our partners at oreina.
Artemisiae is a tool created for the recording and validation of Butterflies, Moths, Micromoths, Burnet and Forester Moths using the latest national taxonomy TAXREF.
In the first 2 months more than 185,000 records were entered or imported into the database. See here.
You can watch the explanatory video on YouTube here

National Action Plan (Plan national d'actions) butterflies of France 2018 - 2028. National Action Plans are strategic tools from the French Ministry in charge of biodiversity issues. They are intended to ensure the maintenance or restoration of populations of endangered species or species of special interest within a conservation status.
Plan national d'actions butterflies of France 2018 - 2028 (7mb) - Please refer to pages 10 and 11 for the priority species lists.

Updated checklist of European Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea). An updated checklist of European Butterflies has been published. See here for the link to the article.    
This public paper presents an updated checklist of the butterflies of Europe, together with their original name combinations, and their occurrence status in each European country. Article by: Martin Wiemers, Emilio Balletto, Vlad Dincă, Zdenek Faltynek Fric, Gerardo Lamas, Vladimir Lukhtanov, Miguel L. Munguira, Chris A. M. van Swaay, Roger Vila, Albert Vliegenthart, Niklas Wahlberg, Rudi Verovnik.

European Marsh Award 2018 to Professor Constanti Stefanescu. Constanti Stefanescu is that rare scientist - someone who combines a powerful intellect with a human touch that inspires and informs everyone around him.  He  devoted much of his professional career to co-ordinating the Catalonian Butterfly Monitoring Scheme which he has been running since its inception in 1994; a remarkable 24 years of hard work and dedication. As a result of his infectious enthusiasm he has successfully engaged many hundreds of volunteers and generated invaluable data on this very diverse part of Europe.

Butterfly ID guides. The first European Butterflies Group identification guides are now available on the website. These are for Pieris and Gonepteryx, see here. Many thanks to Bill Raymond.

New study from France highlighting the importance of landscapes with a mosaic of habitats.
Research article. Online access to this article has been provided by Springer Nature SharedIt.
Landscape drivers of butterfly and burnet moth diversity in lowland rural areas.
Authors, Frédéric Archaux, Claire Lorel and Anne Villemey.
See here

Bulgaria Butterflies -  Nikolay Shtinkov
The Butterflies of Bulgaria Android app is now available on Google Play.
See here:  http://bulgariabutterflies.com/app.html

Papillons des Pyrénées. Compte-rendu d’inventaire élémentaire des papillons diurnes des Pyrénées, Volume 2 Pieridae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae by Jean-Louis Fourès.
Almost 200 butterfly species populate the Pyrénées, in this second volume Jean-Louis covers the 91 species of the Pieridae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae families.
Published by Editions La Cassignole, 2018, paperback 16 x 24 cm, 320 pages, price 34,50 €. Text in French, available from Editions La Cassignole, regional bookshops in France and from the author at jeanlouis.foures@orange.fr
See here for further information.
See here for the 36 minute video on YouTube, narrated by Jean-Louis about his life, work, passion for the natural world, butterflies and his book.

New magazine. European Butterflies Magazine, Charaxes Publications, edited by Jason Sargerson.
This is a new butterfly enthusiasts magazine covering Europe, and includes articles about Individual Species, Conservation, Life Cycle, Field Trips and Butterfly Sites.

The first issue, Spring 2018 is now available from Jason. Format A 4, 32 pages, price £7.50 including postage (UK). More information and sample pages on Jason Sargerson's website, see here

UICN Regional Red List of Butterflies (Rhopalocères et Zygènes) of the ex-region Rhône-Alpes, France.
Published March 2018.
The Red List of Butterflies and Zygaena of the Rhône-Alpes was initiated in 2017 by the DREAL* Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and implemented by Flavia, in collaboration with many specialists, naturalists and environmental structures.

The former Rhône-Alpes** region comprises the Ain, Ardèche, Drôme, Isère, Loire, Rhône, Savoie and Haute-Savoie and hosts nearly 88% of the butterfly species present in mainland France, making it the richest area of France.

Of the 266 species and 2 subspecies of butterflies and Zygaena present, 10.6% are considered endangered, although it would appear that no species has yet completely disappeared.

This Regional Red List also shows the current decline of species, even in the mountains.

For more information and to download the Regional Red List, see here

Information kindly communicated by Yann Baillet of Flavia, Association pour les Papillons et leur Etude, and European Butterflies Group partner for the Rhône-Alpes.

 *  DREAL: Direction régionale de l'environnement, de l'aménagement et du logement
 ** Rhône-Alpes is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Biohistoire des papillons, 2ème état des lieux.
The AER (Atlas entomologique régional [Nantes]) has just published the "Biohistoire des papillons, 2ème état des lieux", compiled by Jean-Alain Guilloton. This 120 page colour atlas documents the butterfly recordings from the period 2006-2015 and follows on from the book "Biohistoire des papillons. Diversité et conservation des lépidoptères rhopalocères en Loire-Atlantique et en Vendée" by Christian Perrein, (published 2012) which was presented at the conference in Digne les-Bains in 2013.

Details on the website here. Sample pages here and order form here. 

La collection des papillons et les espèces menacées d'Auvergne.
Les collections du Muéum Henri-Lecoq, Volume V111 - Zoologie.
Authors, Philippe Bachelard and Marie-Françoise Faure

The Henri-Lecoq Museum in Clermont-Ferrand is pleased to announce the publication of its latest booklet, which is dedicated to the museum's butterfly collections and the endangered species of the Auvergne, France. See here for more info.

The museum houses important Lepidoptera collections totalling 100,000 specimens, these are an important resource for the study of historical butterfly populations, and have been used to establish the Regional List of threatened species for the Auvergne.

88 pages, 17 x 24 cm, 132 illustrations, price €10, to order: dvogt@clementmetropole.eu

Crossbill Guides: Dordogne, France. Authors, David Simpson and Frank Jouandoudet. Publication date April 2018

This new title in the Crossbill Guides covers the well-known region of Dordogne in south western France.

The book describes the flora and fauna, landscape, history and conservation of this region, plus 21 detailed routes and around 23 sites with specific suggestions on where and how to find the birds, wildlife and flora.

David is a wildlife guide living in the Dordogne, the local contact for European Butterflies Group and a former nature reserve warden of Ravenglass Reserve.

Paperback, €28.95, 256 pages, 21 x 15 cm, ISBN: 978-9491648137. See here

Details of a discount for European Butterflies Group members can be found in the Spring 2018 Newsletter.
For a 50 page preview of the book see here

Swiss Butterflies: East
DVD by Jason Sargerson.
From the publisher: This is an original film of butterflies in Eastern Switzerland. Easily accessible butterfly sites in Graubünden, Uri and Schwyz are visited, including the Albula Valley, Alp Valley, Beverin Valley, Oberalppass, Inn Valley, Poschiavo Valley and Rhine Valley.
More than 60 species filmed, over four years, from 2014 to 2017.
See here for more information 

A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America, Jeffrey Glassberg. A photographic field guide to almost all of Mexico's butterfly species and many of Central America's
Revised second edition. Softback, 304 pages, 3,250 colour photos and maps. 2018, Princeton University Press, price £32.95.

Film. Papillons de France en liberté, by Thierry Carabin. In this film, butterflies were filmed over a five year period in their natural environment, from sea level up to 3,000 meters of altitude Of the 200 species filmed, 180 are featured in the 48 minute version of film, including Spanish Fritillary, Scarce Fritillary, Scarce Large Blue, Southern Swallowtail and Provence Hairstreak.
There are sequences showing butterfly emergence, the territorial behaviour of butterflies, butterflies in flight, courtship displays, mating, egg-laying, as well as sequences showing the wild flowers of the various habitats.
You can see the video trailer here

Papillons des Pyrénées. Compte-rendu d’inventaire élémentaire des papillons diurnes des Pyrénées, Volume 1 Papilionidae et Nymphalidae by Jean-Louis Fourès. Jean-Louis is a passionate amateur entomologist, he is a farmer and cheese-maker in the department of the Haute-Garonne, Occitanie (previously Midi-Pyrénées).
He is originally from Bagnères de Bigorre in the Hautes Pyrénées, and has spent his life in the mountains and valleys of the Pyrénées where he developed a passionate interest in butterflies.
This book is the fruit of his observations and studies, he shares his knowledge of the butterflies of the French Pyrénées, Andorra and the Val d'Aran with more than 600 photographs, 91 species and butterfly landscapes. All photographed across the Pyrénées, from the Pyrénées-Orientales to the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
A second book is underway and will include the other families.
Published by Editions La Cassignole, 2017, paperback 16 x 24 cm, 320 pages, price 34,50 €. Text in French, available from bookshops in France. See here
You can watch the video on YouTube here

New. Les Papillons de jour du Poitou-Charentes, France.
This book, covering the four departments of the Poitou-Charentes, has survey details covering a period of over ten years.
It is illustrated with more than 300 photographs,140 maps and contains 260,000 observations.
Special launch offer €28.50 (5% discount).
Sample pages on Calmeo, see here
Further information and to order on the Poitou-Charentes Nature website, see here

Butterfly Conservation’s European Interests Group changes name to Butterfly Conservation’s European Butterflies Group 
When EIG was started in 2006 it was described to Butterfly Conservation (BC) Council as a way of bringing together those members of BC who were ‘interested’ in European Butterflies.  We were therefore set up as Butterfly Conservation’s ‘European Interests Group’ which soon became shortened to EIG.  Now with over 450 members and contacts and partnerships all over Europe we are recognized as a valuable source of information, expertise and in several countries where we have done surveys, as ‘boots on the ground’. 

However, ‘European Interests Group’ is incomprehensible to foreigners, does not appear to have anything to do with butterflies and requires the Butterfly Conservation prefix to make any sense.  It is invariably shortened to EIG which is just as incomprehensible and also does not appear to have anything to do with butterflies.

EIG Committee has determined that the name should be changed from ‘Butterfly Conservation’s European Interests Group’ to ‘Butterfly Conservation’s European Butterflies Group’. ‘European Butterflies Group’ is self-explanatory.  It is less likely to be shortened as it does what it says on the tin.  We have secured the domain name www.european-butterflies.org.uk which will give us a much higher hit rate on search engines for anyone looking for ‘European Butterflies’.  
In all other aspects we will remain exactly the same.  There will be changes to our website etc, bank account, BC’s membership documentation etc.  We have a new logo based on the existing logo.  The website etc has now been changed but anyone with a link to www.bc-eig.org.uk will be redirected automatically to www.european-butterflies.org.uk.

Simon Spencer
Chairman
Butterfly Conservation’s European Butterflies Group

Les invertébrés dans la ­conservation et la gestion des espaces naturels
The proceedings from the conference held in Toulouse (France), from 13-16 May 2015, are available from the MNHN website (Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris).
Scientific publications, collection patrimones naturels, volume 76, 29 Nov 2017, price 28€. Conference coordinated by Nicolas GOUIX & Daniel MARC from the Conservatoire d'espaces naturels Midi-Pyrénées.
Summary see here
Further information, and to order see here

European Marsh Award 2017 to Professor László Rákosy
László is the pre-eminent Lepidopterist in Romania and is an expert on both macro and micro-moths. His knowledge has led to the publication of the Catalogue of Romanian Lepidoptera, documenting over 4,000 species from across the country.
Read more here

A photographic guide to INSECTS of southern Europe and the Mediterranean by Paul D. Brock. This new and eagerly awaited book by Paul D. Brock is now available from Pisces Publications, NatureBureau.
Paul is a scientific associate of the Natural History Museum, London, and acclaimed author of A Comprehensive Guide to Insects of Britain & Ireland (Pisces 2014).
The number of species in southern Europe and the Mediterranean is enormous compared to that of Britain.
This guide covers representative species from most insect orders, including many endemic species, concentrating on what the naturalist, photographer, or holidaymaker is likely to find.
It is the first English language book to offer a comprehensive guide to the species of southern Europe.
Over 412 pages, with more than 2000 colour photographs, and 1500 distribution maps, it covers all the major insect groups to be found in the region. Flexibound, £27.50. See here

Atlas des Papillons « de jour » du Nord – Pas-de-Calais, 2000-2014. Lépidoptères Papilionoidea.  France. This is volume 2 of the collection: Faune de Nord - Pas-de-Calais by GON (Groupe ornithologique et naturalistes du Nord - Pas-de-Calais, animated by Daniel Haubreux).
It is the result of 15 years of data collecting, recording and research, from 646 contributors and 17 technical partners. The volume comprises 494 pages and covers 96 species.
There are over 500 illustrations including photos, designs, watercolours, graphs, distribution maps etc.
The preface is by Tristan Lafranchis. The following 11 chapters cover themes such as the history of the working group on the Lépidoptères Papilionoidea, Nord - Pas-de-Calais, the presentation of the regional Red List of threatened butterfly species, the list of regional heritage butterfly species and the regional plan of action for the conservation of butterflies and their habitats.
Chapter 6 forms the heart of the Atlas, it is dedicated to the species monographs which comprise more than half of the book.
Price 35 € plus postage. To order:
·         Postal address: GON - 23 rue Gosselet, 59 000 Lille, France
·         Email: contact@gon.fr Website: https://gon.fr/gon/produit/atlas-des-papillons-de-jour/

Information communicated by Robin Quevillart (European Butterflies Group partner, GON)

Identification key for the Lycaenidae of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (France).
New. Detailed and illustrated identification guide of the Lycaenidae of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté from the Conservatoire botanique national de Franche-Comté - Observatoire régional des Invertébrés.
Theclinae: 8 species, Lycaeninae: 7 species, Polyommatinae: 25 species, Riodininae: 1 species.
See here

Index for European Butterflies Group Newsletters 1 to 21
An updated index of the contents of all European Butterflies Group Newsletters up to and including the tenth anniversary magazine has been prepared by Graham Revill and is now on the website, see here

New exhibition. The Apollo butterfly, Muséum Henri-Lecoq, France.
16 May - 1 October 2017 at the Muséum Henri-Lecoq, 15 rue Bardoux, Clermont-Ferrand.
The Apollo is threatened with extinction in Auvergne. The Museum Henri-Lecoq has devoted an exhibition to this species (see here). Information supplied by Philippe Bachelard, SHNAO partner of the Muséum and European Butterflies Group partner for the Auvergne.

Updated species checklist There is now an updated species checklist on the website, as published in the recent magazine, see here

European Butterflies Group Magazine - additional copies The European Butterflies Group's tenth anniversary magazine 'Butterflies IN EUROPE' has articles on many of the best butterfly regions in Europe as well as an up-to-date checklist of European butterfly species.  Copies were posted to members in May 2017.  A supply of additional copies is held by Butterfly Conservation in Wareham and they may be purchased by members and non-members at £5 per copy including postage.  The maximum purchase is five.  Cheques should be made payable to Butterfly Conservation European Butterflies Group Branch and sent to Butterfly Conservation, Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5QP.  Payment may also be made by bank transfer - phone 01929 400209 or email info@butterfly-conservation.org for details.

See here for the cover page of the magazine

European Butterflies Group Newsletter The European Butterflies Group Anniversary Magazine, May 2017, 'Butterflies IN EUROPE' has been dispatched to members. Our thanks go to Nigel Peace, the European Butterflies Group Newsletter Editor.
See here for the cover pages of the magazine.

European Butterflies Group Bursaries The 2017 European Butterflies Group bursaries of £500 have been awarded to Mathew Sparks who will join an European Butterflies Group team surveying in Mount Taygetos, Greece for Acantholimon androsaceum the foodplant of Turanana taygetica (Odd Spot Blue).  He will use a drone to assist in surveying remote areas of the mountain. A second bursary has been awarded Will Langdon for a project on Scarce and Dusky Large Blues (Maculinea telejus and nausithous) in Hungary.  There were two applications and we have awarded two bursaries.
In line with our policy of encouraging young people to get involved with European butterflies both applicants are either at University or recent graduates.  The closing date for 2018 applications is 17/04/2018 see here

A Naturalist's Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Northern Europe, by Ted Benton
New book written by our European Butterflies Group colleague, Ted Benton. Comprehensive identification guide to the 159 butterfly species found in Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, Belgium, Netherlands and the Baltics. Detailed species descriptions, wingspan, distribution and habitat. The introduction covers living with butterflies, anatomy, behaviour, ecology, distribution and conservation. Paperback, 176 pages, 300 photographs, price £11.99. Publisher John Beaufoy Publishing Ltd. http://johnbeaufoy.com/ Available in book stores. Summary is here
21st May 2017 a review by Martin Davies of this book is here

Butterfly Atlas of Bretagne (Britanny, France) This Atlas is due to be published in June 2017. In French. 324 pages, with over 300 photographs, covering the current status of the butterflies of Britanny. Almost 110,000 records for the period 2000- 2015 and 10,000 historical records, including the analysis of the main Breton collectors. Monographs of the 89 species present or extinct, biology, regional status, distribution maps etc. Special pre-publication price 22€ plus postage until 31st May 2017. Further information on the Bretagne Vivante website, see here:

http://www.bretagne-vivante.org/Actualites/SOUSCRIPTION-Atlas-des-papillons-diurnes-de-Bretagne

Order form is here

'A photographic guide to insects of Southern Europe and the Mediterranean' New. 'A photographic guide to insects of Southern Europe and the Mediterranean' by Paul D. Brock, Scientific Associate, Natural History Museum, London. This book covers all the major insect groups of this region. 'Pre-publication price £19.95, offer ends 31 August 2017. More information and order form here

Butterfly Conservation Europe - Activity Report 2016
The Butterfly Conservation Europe, Activity Report for 2016 can be consulted here
European Interests Group assisted with the Report by asking Matthias Dolek to summarise progress to date on the Colias myrmidone project which European Butterflies Group has supported both financially and with volunteer time. Simon Spencers report is on page 15 of the PDF.

Diatheo : updates Distribution maps have been recently updated and a bibliography added. See here:
http://diatheo.weebly.com/cartes-et-bibliographies-avec-mises-agrave-jour.html
(Click on the species for the PDF)
For an example, the pdf for Aricia nicias can be seen here:
http://diatheo.weebly.com/uploads/2/8/2/3/28235851/aricia_nicias__bib.pdf

Papillons de France by Tristan Lafranchis (in French) has recently been updated, reprinted and is now available.
Butterflies of Europe is available as a PDF, in English price 15€.

Papillons du Jura by Jean-Claude Gerber This reference book describes the butterflies and Burnet moths that can be found in the Jura mountains of Switzerland and the Franche-Compté, (French Jura). 368 pages, beautifully illustrated with watercolour drawings, photographs and line drawings. Published December 2016, hardback, in French, price CHF 58.
Example pages and order form here: http://www.papillonsdujura.ch/livre
(The book can also be purchased in the UK, including from Pemberley books at £65)

National Plan of Action for Maculinea (Phengaris). France. Plan National d'Actions en faveur des Maculinea (PNA). You can download the PNA report 2011 - 2015, from the Website dedicated to the National Plan of Action. In French.
See here for the report

Swiss Butterflies Site Guide 2016 by Jason Sargerson This book describes 30 top butterfly sites in Bern, Geneva, Graubünden, Jura, Schwyz, Ticino and Valais. Paperback, 35 pages, in English, price £10 including postage. Jason is also the author of Swiss Butterflies. Second edition 2016.
Front cover here
Further details on Jason's website, see here

NEW - Pyrgus ID key for France by Cédric Jacquier. Photos Roger Gibbons and Stéphane Bence. See here

Dr Martin Warren awarded OBE for services to the environment in the 2017 New Year Honours list. Martin has just retired as Chief Executive of BC, Martin has devoted his working life and the majority of his spare time to protecting butterflies and moths, read more here

Les Procris de France / French Forester Moths (Lepidoptera, Zygaenidae, Procridinae & Chalcosiinae), Eric Drouet The aim of the edition is to help facilitate the identification of the 14 species of Forester Moths present in France. 128 pages in French and English, 30€ plus postage. This comprehensive information has been compiled by GIRAZ over a 15 year period, and comprises detailed monographs, distribution maps, water colours, photographs of species in their natural habitat, figuration of genitalia etc. For more information and the order form see here

Online Atlas for the fauna and flora of the Parc National des Ecrins - France. Over 500,000 records for 4,077 species can be consulted from the online Atlas.
Records comprise data submitted by Parc National staff, since the creation of the Parc National des Ecrins in 1973.
From the "Homepage" http://biodiversite.ecrins-parcnational.fr/  enter the species name under "rechercher une éspece", to see the species data sheet.

As an example, you can see the species data sheet for Boloria napaea: Mountain Fritillary, here:  http://biodiversite.ecrins-parcnational.fr/espece/53923

You can read a descriptive of the Atlas on the "journal du Parc" here: http://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr/dossier/biodiv-ecrins-connaissance-direct

National Plan of Action (PNA) and the Regional Red List of butterflies and Zygaena for the Île de France. The National Plan of Action for Maculinea [phengaris], which was presented at the Proserpine / European Butterflies Group conference at Digne-les-bains in 2013, came to an end in 2015. The next stage of the National Plan of Action will include additional species, such as protected and threatened species as well as those of special local interest. An initial list of species has been drawn up by the MNHN, to be ratified by the Minister of the Environment over the coming months.

You can see the Regional Red List of butterflies and Zygaena, for the Île de France here.

Pré-Atlas des rhopalocères et zygènes d’Aquitaine, France. The pré-atlas is available to download from the Faune-Aquitaine website of the LPO http://www.faune-aquitaine.org, and will be available to download shortly from the website of the CEN Aquitaine http://www.cen-aquitaine.org.
See here for the link to the pré-atlas.

Records towards the Atlas are welcomed, by our colleague David Soulet, please see the Requests page.

European Marsh Award 2016 to Rudi Verovnik
Rudi Verovnik, BCE's Slovenian board member, received the 2016 Marsh Lepidoptera Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Lepidoptera Conservation and Research in Europe from Martin Warren. Read more here

Papillons du Loiret, Atlas des Rhopalocères et Zygènes du Loiret (France). Co-edited by the Société pour le Muséum d'Orléans et les Sciences and by Alexanor, published December 2015. In French.
This atlas of butterflies and burnet moths includes a synthesis of 36,000 records, covering the period 2000 - 2013.
344 pages,authors Frédéric Archaux (watercolours), Patrice Chatard, Franck Faucheux, Antoine Lévêque, in colaboration with Michèle Bichaud.
See more info here Price 38€, further information and to order: somosorleans(at)gmail.com

New - Butterflies of Europe and neighbouring regions by Patrice LERAUT (author of Moths of Europe) NAP Editions, published
16 September 2016. English version, hardback.

Information and example pages on the NAP Editions website:
http://www.napeditions.com/en/39-butterflies-of-europe-and-neighbouring-regions.html
The book is also available from Pemberley, price £79
http://www.pemberleybooks.com/product/butterflies-of-europe-and-neighbouring-regions/30392/

The IUCN Mediterranean Red List, of Threatened Species

All species assessments, of the Mediterranean Red List can be found here: http://www.iucnredlist.org/initiatives/mediterranean.
The report 'The status and distribution of Mediterranean Butterflies' can be downloaded here: https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/46183

New butterfly identification guide for Switzerland, from Lepido.ch.

'Guide d'identification des papillons de jour de Suisse'.
Michel and Vincent Baudraz (lepido.ch, butterflies of Switzerland)
192 pages, 216 species, price CHF 30, text in French, published July 2016.
Full details here: http://www.lepido.ch/guide-d-identification

New - Volume 4 of The Bibliography of the Lepidoptera of France, by Sylvain Delmas.
Volume 4 includes corrections and additions to the previous 3 volumes and an update, to cover the period from 2011 - 2015.

Price for volume 4 is 15€ plus postage, for non-members. Bon de commande_20 juin 2016.pdf

New - Moth atlas for Lower Normandy & the Channel Islands.
This book covering the 359 moths known in Lower Normandy & the Channel Islands can be pre-ordered at a discount price of 35€ plus postage 18€ until 31 July 2016, after which the book is full price, available Sept 2016. Order form is here

New - Atlas des papillons de l'Orne - Butterflies of the Orne, Normandy, France, 1980-2010. Price 35€.
Order here, example extract here