This DVD contains all fifty eight species of British butterflies, all beautifuly filmed in their natural habitat.

"To have seen all of the British butterflies is for any naturalist quite an achievement - but to have recorded them in such a closeup and comprehensive manner is no less than a remarkable feat. This DVD contains some beautiful images of some of our most attractive insects, all free and in their natural environment. If Fritillaries, Skippers and Blues excite you then you should take a look at this DVD" - Chris Packham

A Review by Peter Eeles - 15th April 2007

Having spent the last several years trying to get decent stills of our UK butterfly species, I was curious to see how a fellow enthusiast, Rodney Goodhand, had faired in trying to take such an aspiration to the next level - by photographing all of the species on film!

Having watched this 58 minute DVD a number of times, I have to say that I'm extremely impressed with two specific items. The first, as you'd expect, is the quality of the footage - it really is first class. The second is the information that goes along with the footage - which seems to "go deeper" than other videos I've seen, with accurate and informative facts and figures narrated throughout. Even the flight times appear up-to-date in our ever-changing climate.

Last year, in 2006, I attempted to see and photograph all of the British species (I failed with Mountain Ringlet, due to a lorry fire on the M6!). So what has this got to do with the DVD?! Well, the DVD presents the species by habitat, and then order of emergence. So watching this DVD took me back to 2006 where I would avidly wait for news of sightings of each species as it emerged - it really did feel like I was reliving my year! I guess you could watch the DVD piecemeal as the year unfolds so that you know what should be on the wing at any given time! Habitats described are woodland, hedgerows, chalk downland, grassland and, finally, mountains, wetlands, heath and bog.

In terms of footage, the highlights for me were the Large Blue (the quality of the filming is top notch!), seeing a persistent male Heath Fritillary attempting to mate, the stunning underside colours of the White Admiral, and footage of the valesina form of the female Silver-washed Fritillary.

To provide a balanced review, I should mention a few niggles. The first is the background music, which seems excessive in places. I'd rather hear birdsong than a celtic ditty! Another minor comment is that there's no mention of the arete Ringlet aberration - although it's clearly on film. Finally, the male Purple Emperor shown on film looks somewhat stunned and not, in my experience, how you'd typically see them in the wild. But these are minor niggles compared to the overall production.

All in all, I really enjoyed watching this DVD and would consider it the closest experience to seeing our UK butterflies, other than getting out there and seeing them for yourself!

Ordering

Click here to order the DVD directly from RMG Wildlife.