Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland

This latest edition of the Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland has been fully revised, updated and restructured, bringing it in line with the latest thinking in taxonomy. Moths are illustrated in their natural resting postures, and there are also paintings of different forms, underwings and other details to help with identification. New descriptions and illustrations have been included for species that have been newly recorded in Britain and Ireland since the last edition of the guide was published. The text descriptions of all other species – covering field characters and similar species, flight season, life cycle, larval foodplants, and habitat – have been revised and updated where necessary, and particular attention has been paid to updating the distribution information, which is now supported by maps. The revised general introduction explains how the methods of identifying and recording moths have evolved over recent years with the advent of new technologies and as a result of data analysis.

Paul Waring was born in the New Forest, Hampshire. A schoolboy interest in caterpillars led ultimately to Honours Zoology at the University of Oxford and a PhD on the impact of woodland management on the moth fauna of Bernwood Forest. Since 1987, Paul has worked full time on moth conservation in Britain, both within the government conservation agencies and as a freelancer, as well as mothing elsewhere throughout the world. He is based in Peterborough, and has authored over 1,000 papers and reports in scientific journals, including a regular report on moths in British Wildlife magazine for the last 20 years.

Martin Townsend has had a life-long interest in natural history, and started specialising in Lepidoptera at the age of ten. He works as a consultant ecologist, concentrating on insects and other invertebrates, with Lepidoptera as his main field of expertise. He graduated with a BSc in Zoology from the University of Aberdeen in 1985, and since then has worked in ecological research and conservation, including work for IACR Rothamsted, Oxford University Department of Zoology and the RSPB. He has published a number of research papers and articles and has been an independent consultant since 1998, carrying out site surveys for conservation bodies and other landowners. He is based in Oxford.

Richard Lewington is an acknowledged leader in the field of insect illustration. His meticulous paintings of wildlife are the mainstay of many of the modern classics of field-guide art, from butterflies and moths, to bees, spiders and dragonflies. Richard has also designed and illustrated wildlife stamps for several countries. In 1999 he was awarded Butterfly Conservation's Marsh Award for the promotion of Lepidoptera conservation, and in 2010 the Zoological Society of London's Stamford Raffles Award for contribution to zoology. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society.