Much has been written in recent years about the decline of butterflies in Britain as a result of habitat loss. Whilst not denying the extent of this problem, this booklet aims to present a more optimistic picture by showing how twenty-four species of butterflies can and do thrive in the urban, suburban and rural environments which make up Greater Manchester, and many of these species range through the whole area virtually to the city centre. The author Peter Hardy is an amateur entomologist who was born and bred in the Manchester area. He has traveled worldwide studying and photographing butterflies and has published several scientific papers. For this, his first book, he has chosen the butterflies of his ‘home’ patch as the subject of a detailed study of how they interact with the pressures and changes of civilization in and around a large city, and the ecological requirements (hostplant-habitats and nectar sources) which they require. This book will be of interest to naturalists, conservationists and indeed everyone with a love for the living things with which we share the environment.

Published 01/01/1998