Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Part 1. Setting the scene: south-eastern Australia's butterflies and their conservation -- Chapter 1 Australia's butterflies: some background -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Diversity -- 1.3 Biogeography -- 1.4 Collecting and recording -- 1.5 Distribution and conservation status -- Chapter 2 Environments for butterflies in south eastern Australia -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Environmental change -- 2.3 Threats and butterfly declines -- 2.4 Urbanisation -- Chapter 3 Butterflies in Australian conservation legislation -- 3.1 Introduction: History, development and reception -- 3.2 The Butterfly Action Plan -- 3.3 Consequences of recognition for conservation need -- Part 2. Cases: subspecies to communities -- Chapter 4 A wetland skipper on sedges: Hesperilla flavescens -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Hesperilla flavescens flavia -- 4.3 Hesperilla flavescens flavescens -- Chapter 5. The Australian hairstreak, Pseudalmenus chlorinda -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Biology and conservation -- 5.3 Discussion -- Chapter 6 Tales of two coppers, Paralucia spp. -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 The Eltham copper, Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida -- 6.2.1 Biology -- 6.2.2 Conservation -- 6.2.2.1 Larval counts -- 6.2.2.2 Adult counts -- 6.2.2.3 Threats -- 6.3 The Bathurst copper, Paralucia spinifera -- 6.3.1 Biology -- 6.3.2 Conservation -- 6.4 Discussion -- Chapter 7. Unity in richness: Azure blues (Ogyris spp.) in patchy environments -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Biology and conservation -- Chapter 8. Butterflies in a disappearing ecosystem: alpine Satyrinae -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Alpine butterflies -- 8.2.1 Oreixenica ptunarrra -- 8.2.2 Oreixenica latialis theddora -- Chapter 9 'Butterfly community No 1' -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Mount Piper -- 9.3 Communities in legislation and practice -- Part 3. Lessons learned, and future endeavour -- Chapter 10 -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 Taxonomic uncertainty -- 10.3 Needs for conservation -- 10.4 Fire as a management tool -- 10.5 Conservation and landscape issues -- 10.6 Climate change -- 10.7 Expanding ranges -- 10.8 Effective butterfly conservation -- 10.9 Towards management -- 10.10 The future -- 10.11 Lessons from and for elsewhere -- 10.12 Broader regional context -- References -- Index. This survey of the development of butterfly conservation in an important, largely endemic and highly threatened regional fauna of Australia demonstrates how lessons from elsewhere have been applied and developed in a relatively poorly known fauna, in which conservation targets range from single subspecies to entire biotopes and communities. Principles and practical programmes are discussed, and much hitherto scattered information is brought together in a synthesis that will be of considerable interest to ecologists, conservation biologists, and butterfly conservation practitioners in other parts of the world.