The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland (abbreviated to MBGBI or MOGBI) is a multi-volume reference work on the Lepidoptera of the British Isles.
The original publisher of this series was Curwen Books who published volumes 1 and 9. In 1983 Harley Books took over publishing the series. The earlier volumes were reprinted. From 1 April 2008 following the retirement of Annette and Basil Harley, Apollo Books acquired Harley Books. It was decided, that Apollo Books would continue and conclude the series with volume 5 on Tortricidae, volume 6 on Pyralidae and Pterophoridae, and volume 8 on Geometridae. At the same time they took over the remaining stock of the previous seven volumes of the series. From 1 January 2013, Apollo Books announced that all Harley Books titles and the majority of the Apollo Books titles, have been taken over by the Dutch publisher Brill Publishers. The change was necessary to ensure that the book series can continue to be published in the years ahead
Eleven volumes were originally planned in total. So far, volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10 have been published. Volumes 4, 5 and 7 were each split into two parts due to their size. Volume 5, the most recent, was published in September 2014.
Each volume has text, distribution maps, and illustrations of the moths it covers. When the series is complete, this will be the first time that all species of Lepidoptera recorded in Britain have been illustrated in a single reference work.
Volume 7 part 2 contains a 241-page Life History chart covering all British species.
The series volume by volume
Volume 1 (Micropterigidae to Heliozelidae)
Editor: John Heath
Associate Editors: A. Maitland Emmet, D. S. Fletcher, E. C. Pelham-Clinton and W. G. Tremewan Artists: Brian Hargreaves and Maureen Lane Hardback: (Blackwell Scientific Publications and Curwen Books) (Harley Books) Paperback: Published in: 1976 by Blackwell Scientific Publications and Curwen Books, and reprinted in 1983 by Harley Books Introductory chapters: 1) Morphology, 2) Parasites 3) Diseases 4) Pest Species 5) Habitats 6) Conservation 7) Techniques Covers Micropterigidae, Eriocraniidae, Hepialidae, Nepticulidae, Opostegidae, Tischeriidae, Incurvariidae and Heliozelidae
Volume 2 (Cossidae to Heliodinidae)
Editor: John Heath and A. Maitland Emmet
Associate Editors: D. S. Fletcher, E. C. Pelham-Clinton and B. Skinner and W. G. Tremewan Artists: Brian Hargreaves, Timothy Freed and Brenda Jarman Hardback: Paperback: Published in: 1985 by Harley Books Introductory chapter: British Aposematic Lepidoptera by Miriam Rothschild Covers the fifteen families within the super-families Cossoidea, Zygaenoidea, Tineoidea and the first part of the Yponomeutoidea.
Volume 3 (Yponomeutidae to Elachistidae)
Editor: A. Maitland Emmet
Associate Editors: D. S. Fletcher, B. H. Harley, J. R. Langmaid, G. S. Robinson, B. Skinner, P. A. Sokoloff and W. G. Tremewan Artists: Richard Lewington and Timothy Freed Hardback: Paperback: Published in: 1996 by Harley Books Introductory chapter: Invasions of Lepidoptera into the British Isles by D. J. L. Agassiz Covers Yponomeutidae, Epermeniidae, Schreckensteiniidae, Coleophoridae and Elachistidae.
Volume 4 Part 1 (Oecophoridae to Scythrididae, excluding Gelechiidae)
Editor: A. Maitland Emmet and John R. Langmaid
Associate Editors: K. P. Bland, D. S. Fletcher, B. H. Harley, G. S. Robinson, B. Skinner and W. G. Tremewan Artists: Richard Lewington and Michael J. Roberts Hardback: Paperback: Published in: 2002 by Harley Books Publisher's Foreword: A Tribute to Maitland Emmet Introductory chapter: The Ecology and Evolution of Lepidopteran Defences against Bats by J. Rydell and M. R. Young Covers Batrachedridae, Oecophoridae, Ethmiidae, Autostichidae, Blastobasidae, Agonoxenidae, Momphidae, Cosmopterigidae and Scythrididae
Volume 4 Part 2 (Gelechiidae)
Editor: A. Maitland Emmet and John R. Langmaid
Associate Editors: K. P. Bland, D. S. Fletcher, B. H. Harley, G. S. Robinson, B. Skinner and W. G. Tremewan Artists: Richard Lewington and Michael J. Roberts Hardback: Paperback: Published in: 2002 by Harley Books No introductory chapter Covers Gelechiidae
Volume 5 Part 1 (Tortricidae Tortricinae & Chlidanotinae) Editor: Keith P. Bland Authors: E.F. Hancock(†) and K.P. Bland Genitalia drawings: J. Razowski Hardback: e-book: Published: in 2014 by Brill No introductory chapter Covers Tortricidae: subfamilies Tortricinae & Chlidanotinae