1995 (35 Minutes)

Filmed on 16mm Kodachrome, this film shows living butterflies from many parts of the world, and illustrates the different ways in which a  butterfly's appearance can increase its chances of survival.

1996 (51 Minutes)

Also shot on Kodachrome, this film has 50 minutes of the amazing butterflies of Peru. Filmed at the unique Tambopata Reserve on the River Madre de Dios in the west of the Amazon basin, it shows the great diversity of species to be seen in this well-known Reserve.

In the Valley of the Lower Rio Grande

1996 (46 minutes)

The 'Valley' (as it’s known)  has been called a 'Naturalist’s Dream', because of its location at the meeting of  Neotropical South America and Nearctic North America. 

The film is a vivid guide to the Valley’s butterflies, the importance of which is reflected in the establishment in 2010 in nearby Mission, Texas, of the American National Butterfly Center by the North American Butterfly Association. (NABA)

'A delight to watch' 

Sir David Attenborough

1998 (39 minutes)

Showing over 120 species  of the magnificent butterflies to be seen in Malaysia,  from the islands to the north of the Peninsula to the forests of Borneo in the far south.

'a bewitching introduction to some of the loveliest inhabitants of the rainforest'

— Sir David Attenborough

The film also describes the complex biogeographical background to South Malaysia’s butterfly heritage, which was seriously threatened in 1999 by the smog generated by uncontrolled peat-bog fires in Indonesia.  

1999 (35 minutes)

120 species of the little-known rainforest butterflies of West Africa, filmed in Ghana in 1997, with the support of the Ghana Wildlife Department, then actively developing the country’s National Parks.

'A rich video that merits repeated viewing'

 — Sir David Attenborough

Shown on both Ghana TV channels, in 2000.

This slightly revised version was issued in 2015 in memory of the Late Torben Larsen, author of the definitive publication on West African butterflies. 

2001 (45 minutes)

The first of our films to be shot and edited entirely on Digital Video. The film describes how the butterflies might have got to Palawan, from where, and when.

Maps of their present distribution, explain how the the composition of Palawan’s butterfly population have been influenced by movement of the continental Plates, and the last great Ice Age.

Mimicry, migration, endemism and other aspects of butterfly distribution and behaviour are described in simple language.

2004 (42 minutes)

Because of Kenya's terrain and climate, its butterflies are a microcosm of the African Region, having 1000 of the Region’s  4000 butterfly species. The film shows about 100 of them. It also provides an interesting analysis of their varied historical origins and their association with the main landscapes of Africa — forest, coastal forest, and savannah — as well as touching on the intriguing question ‘What butterflies might earliest man have seen, 4 million years ago?’

'What’s Going on here?'

2005 (50 minutes)

Filmed at the Cristalino Lodge on the River Cristalino, (an Amazon tributary) in northern Brazil, in only 2 weeks in August 2005. The film addresses the essential How? and Why? questions about the daily life and appearance of a tropical butterfly.

What do they do all day? How do they spend the night? How do you tell a moth from a butterfly? 

The answers make a fascinating film, originally intended to encourage local young people to become interested in wildlife.

2008 (36 minutes)

Designed to help Sikkim schools introduce young people to the beauty and wonders of their region’s natural heritage. It runs for 35 minutes and presents over 100 species of Sikkim’s butterflies.

Also included is a 'Library' Section of additional clips arranged by Family and Genus.

This is another film of Regional contrasts: between the tropical species of the valleys and the Eurasian species of the Himalayan foothills.

2013 (52 minutes)

Comprised of both film and video footage shot by us over the past 30 years, this film is the first-ever account of the fascinating world of colour generation in and on the scales of the wings of the world’s butterflies.

Rarely described, though essential to their survival, the butterfly’s extraordinary colours, and their generation, have now become a significant area of research and experiment. It is one of the fields of biomimetics or reverse engineering, in which we try to understand such processes and then reproduce and apply them.

Postscript

This film was shown at a meeting of the Natural Sciences Departments of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, May 2017 at the request of the Senior Curator of Lepidoptera, Dr Blanca Huertas.

2006 (11 Minutes)

An exploration of the butterflies and wildlife along the River Drava.