Britain's Day-flying Moths: a Field Guide to the Day-flying Moths of Britain and Ireland

The recent surge of interest in butterflies, dragonflies and, to a lesser extent, moths has been largely fuelled by birders being inspired to take a wider look at the natural world they see while out birding.

The day-flying butterflies and dragonflies with their bright colours are an obvious starting point; however, sooner or later a small and sometimes colourful moth will either fly past or be disturbed from rest. It was a desire to put a name to these 'honorary butterflies' that sparked my interest in moths. However, until recently it was necessary to wade through the hundreds of species in moth identification guides to locate the relative handful of day-flying species.

This guide represents the first work to feature all the day-flying species, along with a good sample of the most frequently disturbed 'light sleepers' among those that do not habitually fly by day. The bulk of the guide is comprised of individual accounts of 155 species, as well as photographs of another 20. Each species has a high-quality photograph, along with text detailing the identification features, behaviour, habitat and flight season and a distribution map.

This little book represents an excellent source for identifying the regular day-flying moths. When it comes to what is included as easily disturbed species or, even more so, those that can be discovered at rest, it can naturally only represent a sample. However, if this is borne in mind the book can act as a good first port of call when looking for an identification. The short section on micro-moths is also just a taster which will hopefully lead the reader further into the subject.

It is a practical book to take into the field, coming with a waterproof cover, and at only £17.95, it is a bargain introduction to these fascinating insects.