A Photographic Field Guide to the Butterflies and Dragonflies of Sri Lanka

A Naturalist’s Guide to the Butterflies and Dragonflies of Sri Lanka

de Silva Wijeyeratne, Gehan. (2015). Naturalists' Guides: Butterflies and Dragonflies of Sri Lanka. John Beaufoy Publishing Ltd. 176 pages, Paperback, 13 x 1.5 x 18.1 cm.

 Increasingly the segmentation between birders, butterfly watchers, dragonfly watchers and photographers is reducing as interests overlap and there is a demand for books that cover the three popular groups of birds, butterflies and dragonflies. Having written and photographed the guide to the birds of Sri Lanka in the series, Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne has produced a single, compact and portable photographic guide to the butterflies and dragonflies of the country. The emphasis in the 226 species featured (148 butterflies and 78 dragonflies) is on the commoner species, covering around 90 per cent of the species that a visitor is likely to see. It is also an excellent book for residents to learn about the commoner butterflies and dragonflies before progressing to more advanced technical books.

The guide is focussed on field use to help beginners as well as more experienced users identify species and provides information on their distribution and habitats. As identification of butterflies and dragonflies require a different approach, the two sections are done as two mini photographic field guides with common introductory sections to wildlife watching in Sri Lanka. The book includes information on the key wildlife sites, general introductions to the biology of dragonflies and butterflies, up-to-date checklists with local status and useful references for people who wish to progress further with their study of these charismatic and photogenic animals.

Reviews

 ‘Perfect for carrying on field trips. Highly recommended’. Simi Kamboj

 

‘The different angles of the butterfly photographs makes it easier to identify them in the field.’ Viji Underwood

 

‘Using this book I was able to very quickly identify a number of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies from photographs I took on my last visit to Sri Lanka - if I go again it's coming with me’. Marianne Taylor

‘As a professional naturalist who has worked in Sri Lanka, I believe Gehan’s photographic guides should be a backpack staple for anyone spending anytime in on the island. His authoritative and yet user-friendly tone accompanied by just the right amount of scientific information makes this book the ideal guide for both the beginner and field professional alike’. Georgina Gemmell
 

‘This excellent guide now allows people with a general interest in the natural world or with a more specialised interest in some other group of organisms (such as birds) to get to grips with the butterfly and dragonfly faunas of the island. ..... The selective coverage of species is a strength of the book. It makes the fauna of the island more manageable for the beginner and enables them to reach identifications quickly’. Gabriel Jamie

 

 

‘This book fills a pressing void in covering this vital subject, not just for Sri Lanka, but as a representative popular field guide that would typically be absent or highly unusual in a developing tropical country............... Here, De Silva W. has used field experience and the relatively obscure historical references to resurrect and inform the reader about the island’s Lepidopeterans and Odonata – there is a fair amount of updated taxonomic information on families and subfamilies.’ Rajith Dissanayaka

 

Bookshops

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

 

Sri Lanka
Available in leading books shops including Vijitha Yapa, ODEL and Barefoot.

About the Author

Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne is one of Sri Lanka's most high profile wildlife personalities. In the words of British TV Naturalist Bill Oddie, no single individual has done so much to brand a country for its wildlife. A graduate from the Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine in London, he has been passionate about Sri Lanka’s wildlife since the age of three when he went on his first leopard safari. He has authored and photographed over 330 articles for national and international newspapers and magazines on Sri Lankan biodiversity, travel and business topics. His many books include Wild Sri Lanka also published by John Beaufoy Publishing and Sri Lankan Wildlife (Bradt Publishers). He branded the Elephant Gathering and introduced the concepts of Leopard Safaris and Dragonfly Safaris in Sri Lanka. He also publicised Sri Lanka as Best for Blue Whale, as the best chance for seeing a super-pod of Sperm Whales on a whale watch and publicised Kalpitiya as a third whale-watching hot spot. His media campaign in 2008 for Best for Blue Whale was responsible for the rapid establishment and growth of whale watching in Sri Lanka.