Butterflies of Papua New Guinea

New Guinea, the world's second largest island, lies at the heart of the Australasian centre of species diversity. Their remarkable faunal richness of the region is no more spectacularly evident than in its bewildering and beautiful array of butterflies. Michael Parsons draws on 15 years of study to present a comprehensive description of this butterfly fauna, describing and celebrating their evolution and ecology. New Guinean butterflies provide an excellent example of how a single animal group can diversify to fully exploit the wide array of niches within a tropical rainforest environment, especially in a country where the some of the world's highest mountains produce extreme weather effects, such as phenomenal rainfall and temperatures representing climatic changes to temperate and even tundra-like conditions near the peaks. Consequently, New Guinea is rich in montane endemic butterflies like the renowned Delias and Graphium weiskei, as well as spectacular indigenous giants like the famed birdwings, Ornithoptera. More than 960 butterfly species have so far been recorded from the island and its adjacent archipelagos, and each has developed a unique relationship to its environment, foodplants, predators, and competitors. The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea: Their Systematics and Biology presents a reference of outstanding importance, essential to both the amateur naturalist with an interest in butterflies as well as to the evolutionary ecologist interested in adaptation and speciation. The text describes the geography of New Guinea, the origins and characteristics of its butterfly fauna, and special aspects of New Guinea butterfly ecology and conservation. The 820 species recorded from Papua New Guinea (PNG) are taxonomically and systematically documented and their biologies and ecological specialisations are described in detail. A complete checklist of the 960 species occurring in PNG and Irian Jaya as a whole further enhances this systematic treatment. Some 3000 colour photographs of adult specimens depict both sexes and numerous important forms of every PNG species. A further 381 colour photographs illustrate many aspects of the ecology of the immature stages, and many life histories are described and pictured in this work for the first time. A wealth of over 800 line drawings of genitalia and wing venation of adults provide the reader with further characters to enable the identification of less easily determined species. Features: * The first ever comprehensive scientific treatise that analyses and accurately documents the lives of New Guinea butterflies, both at the individual species level and as an entire faunal group * Explores butterflies as key indicators of the health of ecosystems within this unique and fragile region of the world's tropics now under threat from environmental pressures * Extensively illustrates, with some 3000 colour photographs, the remarkable beauty and diversity of New Guinean adult butterflies * A further 380 colour photographs depict all aspects of butterfly life histories and ecology, which include a wealth of entirely new pictorial data * Over 800 line drawings of genitalia and wing venation provide important additional features for the accurate identification of less easily identifiable species

Author: Michael Parsons
Publisher: Poyser
Extra Details: Hardback 9 x 12 inches tall,916 Pages, lavishly illustrated throughout with Colour and B&W photos and artworks.