This book was conceived to mark the Silver Jubilee of the British
Butterfly Conservation Society. Interest in the conservation of
butterflies has increased so rapidly that it is difficult to relate to
the situation 25 years ago. Butterflies were on the decline in Britain,
Europe and elsewhere but we lacked data on the extent of the decline and
the underlying reasons, leaving us unable to implement effective
conservation measures. An early recognition of the plight of British
butterflies and moths led to the foundation of the society by a small
group of conservationists in 1968. Today the society has over 10000
members, owns a number of reserves and sponsors research, conservation
and monitoring activities at the local and national level. As part of
the Silver Jubilee celebrations an international symposium was held at
Keele University in September 1993 entitled 'Ecology and Conservation of
Butterflies'. This symposium clearly showed how much important work has
been done in recent years and also gave me the impression that the
subject had reached a watershed. This was not because the decline of
butterflies has stopped or even slowed down, far from it, the threat to
our butterflies continues to increase from habitat destruction and
intensification of land use. The watershed is in our understanding of
the relationship between butterflies and their habitat.
