Dispar
The Online Journal of Lepidoptera
ISSN 2056-9246
The Online Journal of Lepidoptera
ISSN 2056-9246
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From the publisher:
Filmed over nine summers, this Identification Guide describes ALL the resident species of Butterflies on mainland Britain and Ireland (except the Cryptic Wood White found in Ireland – which, apart from the genitalia and habitat preferences, is identical to the Wood White). A few regular migrant species which breed here are also included - that’s 58 in total. A short film on each species is accessed from a simple menu which is split into family groups. Each species is represented by a ‘chapter’ making it easy to jump from one to another.
The complete runtime is approximately 3hrs 28mins forcing the DVD version to be split into two discs. The Blu-ray version is conveniently contained on a single disc and offers more detail on the large TV screens we all own these days. The original intention had been to include a Site Guide. This is now planned for a future disc. I hope both Guides will be of use to beginners and more experienced enthusiasts alike.
The format is PAL All regions with an aspect ratio of 16:9 with stereo sound in full colour.
This offering is the first butterfly-focused offering from Graham Sherwin, following on from his works on British dragonflies and British damselflies that can be found on his website. The following is a review of the DVD (although a Blu-ray version is also available).
The 2-set DVD offering is conveniently organised by groups of species, with the possibility of jumping to a particular species of interest. Given the extensive running time, I believe that this will make it easier to absorb the wealth of content presented here, much like watching a Netflix series of episodes! The scope of the offering is the butterflies of mainland Britain and, therefore, it does not include the Cryptic Wood White that is only found in Ireland. The species groupings are as follows, although it's unclear if any taxonomic checklist has been followed. The 'Admirals and Emperors' group should really be called 'Aristocrats' since it contains the Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Comma, and the Duke of Burgundy is the single 'Metalmark' mentioned:
The footage is high quality and, on occasion, the author has included comparison shots for similar-looking species. There are also a good number of site shots that puts each species in the context of its habitat, although it's a shame that each site is not named in the footage. Immature stages also make an appearance with some species, such as a Swallowtail caterpillar munching on the flower heads of Milk-parsley, which was nice to see. All videos have an extensive commentary provided by the author, with key features of each species highlighted.
The author has usefully made four of his videos available online, so you can form your own opinion. One niggle is that the wingspan is unnecessarily abbreviated, with no units given, such as "M28-33, F32-36". However, my comments are minor when presented with such high quality footage that is a delight to peruse.
| Green Hairstreak Video © Graham Sherwin |
| Large Blue Video © Graham Sherwin |
| Purple Emperor Video © Graham Sherwin |
| Painted Lady Video © Graham Sherwin |
The DVD can be ordered direct from the publisher.