John Nielsen and Martin Purvis

A Naturalist’s Guide to the Butterflies of Australia is an introductory photographic identification guide to 280 butterfly species commonly seen in Australia. It is suitable for all levels of naturalist, and is perfect for resident and visitor alike. High-quality photographs from Martin Purvis and from Australia’s other top nature photographers are accompanied by John Nielsen’s detailed species descriptions, which include nomenclature, size, distribution, habitat and habits. The user-friendly introduction covers the structure and life cycle of butterflies and their behaviour as a key to observing them. Also included is an up-to-date checklist of the butterflies of Australia encompassing, for each species, its common and scientific names and its IUCN status.

The fully updated third edition includes extensive updates to the text, taxonomy and many new images of the species covered.

John Nielsen is an entomologist by training with over 20 years’ experience working in biosecurity and medical entomology. Passionate about butterflies since childhood, he has observed and photographed them for over 30 years, with his favourites being the Swallowtail family and the genus Morpho from South America.
Martin Purvis was so obsessed by butterflies as a small child that his class’s nature table was full of jars of caterpillars that his Mum wouldn’t let him keep at home. With the advent of digital cameras, he began photographing butterflies, and over the last 20 years his little collection of butterfly photos has, without him understanding quite how it happened, evolved into a website comprising around 9,000 photos.

Specifications:
• 180 x 128 mm (7 x 5”)
• 176 pages
• 45,000 words approx.
• 300 photographs
• ISBN 9781917879118
• £12.99 paperback (UK), A$29.99 including GST (Australia)
• November 2026