THERE ARE SEVERAL books on the butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore originally
intended to help collectors identify their captured specimens. However, the information,
descriptions and photographs contained in these volumes are just as useful to butterfly watchers
as they are to collectors.
Common Malayan Butterflies by R. Morrell
provides an introduction to the subject. It
describes about 100 of the more common species that the beginner will most likely encounter in
his initial forays. Some not-so-common species, famous because of their beauty or some remarkable
feature, are also included. This book is illustrated with hand-drawn pictures of mounted specimens.
This small volume in the Malaysian Nature Handbooks series was published in 1960 by Longman
Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
W.A. Fleming's
Butterflies of West Malaysia and Singapore
is a handy field guide which identifies the 1,015 species known up to 1983 when its second edition
was completed by his widow. It is illustrated with photographs of mounted specimens. This 148-page
volume was also published by Longman Malaysia.
The standard work which will serve well even the most fastiduous lepidopterist or serious
student of this subject is
The Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula by A.S. Corbet and
H.M. Pendlebury. First published in 1934, this classic work, now in its fourth