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Volume 40, Number 2
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123
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Walker, F. 1859. List of the specimens of lepidopterous insects in the collection of
the British Museum, London, 19:967. Zeller, P. C. 1866. Beschreibung einiger amerikanischen Wickler und Crambiden.
Entomol. Ztg., Stettin 27:137-157.
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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 40(2), 1986, 123
BOOK REVIEW
Butterflies of Europe, vol. 1. Concise Bibliography of European Butterflies, by Otakar Kudrna. 1985. AULA-Verlag GmbH, Postfach 1366- D-6200 Wiesbaden, West Germany. 447 pp. Octavo, hard bound. $67.00 (including shipping).
This is the first in a series of planned volumes reappraising knowledge of European butterflies. Future volumes will cover all butterfly families except skippers; also, introduction to lepidopterology, ecology, and conservation. When completed, the series promises to be the most in-depth study of European butterflies, and will include taxonomy, life histories, biogeography, ecology, behavior, etc. There is a minimum of typographical errors in this first volume.
The bibliography lists about 6,000 references, primarily those between 1901 and 1983, the period before 1900 already having been covered by Horn and Schenkling, Derksen and Scheidung, Bang-Haas, Bretherton, Junk, and Kusnezov. The succinct Preface and Introduction discuss methods, purposes, history, 19th century works, and acknowledgements. Information content on ecology, biogeography, conservation, and taxonomic revision proves sparse for Europe. "The present bibliography is . . . aimed to serve the needs of all students of the butterflies of Europe, whether they take primary or secondary interest in lepidopterology, whether they are professionals or amateurs, whether they are beginning students, or experienced scientists and/or university lecturers." Kudrna estimates that over 50,000 titles bear directly or indirectly on the butterflies of Europe, with the included 6,000 being selected on merit and usefulness. He plans to update the bibliography with supplements, and eventually produce a larger, more comprehensive work of 10-15,000 references. Especially relevant to North American workers are the many general studies cited; part of our nearctic butterfly fauna was derived from the Palaearctic.
This bibliography is a useful reference source that must have been a Herculean effort to prepare. Over 80% of the references were checked against the original works for citation accuracy. Europe presents special problems because of its multitude of languages and the scattered references. The completion of the eight volumes of the Butterflies of Europe toward the end of this century, produced by a team of modern specialists and edited by Kudrna, promises to be a major advance in the scientific study of butterflies.
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Oakley Shields, 4890 Old Highway, Mariposa, California 95338.
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