Matthew Oates has led a butterflying life. Naturalist, conservationist and passionate lover of poetry, he has devoted himself to these exalted  creatures: to their observation, to singing their praises, and to  ensuring their survival. Based on fifty years of detailed diaries, In Pursuit of Butterflies is the chronicle of this life. Oates leads  the reader through a lifetime of butterflying, across the  mountain tops,  the peat bogs, sea cliffs, meadows, heaths, the chalk  downs and great forests of the British Isles. Full of humour, zeal,  digression, expertise and anecdote, this book provides a profound  encounter with one of our great butterfly lovers, and with a  half-century of butterflies in Britain.

In Pursuit of Butterflies

Science & Math

Oates, Matthew

Biological Sciences

Featherstone Education

His Imperial Majesty: A Natural History of the Purple Emperor

A witty, informative, and myth-busting account of the Purple Emperor butterfly, one of Britain's most captivating butterfly species. The Purple Emperor is one of England's most elusive and least-known butterflies. Matthew Oates has spent fifty years trying to unravel the Emperor's secrets. Many mysteries remain unsolved, but enough are revealed in this book to enable experts and non-experts alike to go out in search of a butterfly that thrills and enthralls all who encounter it. This is a good-news species, at a time of massive wildlife decline. And this is a joyous--often rapturous--account, written in plain English, as a labor of love.

Bloomsbury Wildlife

A witty and informative account that busts the myths about Britain's most captivating butterfly species. A wondrous enigma, the Purple Emperor is our most elusive and least-known butterfly--we glimpse it only through fissures in its treetop world, yet this giant insect has fascinated us for centuries and has even inspired its own "Emperoring" language. Matthew Oates became captivated by the Purple Emperor following his first sighting as a boy. He has studied it assiduously ever since, devoting his life to trying to unravel the Emperor's secrets. His Imperial Majesty takes us on a journey, beginning with a dalliance into the bizarre history of our engagement with the butterfly, with daring doings and gross eccentricities from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Subsequent chapters explore all aspects of this remarkable butterfly's life cycle, including behaviour, habitat preferences, life history and conservation, all relayed in Matthew's unique, informative and witty style. Not so long ago, our knowledge of the Emperor was largely based on a blend of mythology and assumption. This book dispels the fabrications and reveals all about the Purple Emperor--the king of British butterflies.

In Pursuit of Butterflies: A Fifty-year Affair

A practical and fascinating guide to spotting some of Britain's most treasured wildlife—the butterfly. Each British species is covered, including the Skippers, the Swallowtails, the Whites and Yellows, the Hairstreaks, Coppers and Blues, the Fritillaries and Aristocrats, and the Browns. Expert advice on every aspect of identifying butterflies, from places to visit and capturing them on film, to attracting them into your garden. The fascination with butterflies has been a gloriously British pastime since the early 18th century, through the Victorian butterfly mania of the 1890s and two World Wars. This is a wonderful celebration of great British butterflies, whether you are tracking the elusive Green Hairstreak, Painted Lady, and Purple Emperor in the wild or identifying the more common Small Tortoiseshell, Orange Tip, and Chalkhill Blue from the comfort of your garden chair. This fascinating guide to the British butterfly will delight both beginners and enthusiasts alike, with practical tips on all aspects of attracting, tracking, and identifying butterflies and how to protect these beautiful creatures for future generations.

Butterflies

National Trust

Beyond Spring: Wanderings through Nature

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

Fair Acre Press

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Books by Oates, Matthew