The Book of Beetles, Second Edition: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred of Nature?s Gems

An up-to-date, exquisitely illustrated guide to six hundred of the world’s beguiling beetles.

When renowned British geneticist J. B. S. Haldane was asked what could be inferred about God from a study of his works, Haldane replied, “An inordinate fondness for beetles.” With more than 440,000 known species, and scientific estimates that millions more have yet to be identified, their abundance is indisputable, as is their variety. They range from the delightful summer firefly to the one-hundred-gram Goliath beetle. Beetles offer a dazzling array of shapes, sizes, and colors that entice scientists and collectors across the globe.

In a new updated edition, The Book of Beetles celebrates the beauty and diversity of this marvelous group of insects. The book includes six hundred significant beetle species, and each entry features a distribution map, basic biology, feeding habits, and information on cultural and economic significance. The beetles appear both at their actual size and enlarged to show details, such as the sextet of spots that distinguish the six-spotted tiger beetle or the jagged ridges of the mandibles on the giant jawed sawyer beetle. With updates to the common names, distribution, classification, or photographs for nearly five hundred entries, this edition offers the latest science and accessibly written, descriptive text that will appeal to researchers and armchair coleopterists alike.

The humble beetle continues to grow in popularity, taking center stage in biodiversity studies, sustainable agriculture programs, and even the dining rooms of adventurous and eco-conscious chefs. The Book of Beetles is the authoritative reference on these remarkably adaptable and beautiful creatures.

Patrice Bouchard is a scientist at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes in Ottawa. He is coauthor of Beetles of the World: A Natural History.

Arthur V. Evans is a research associate at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. He is the author of The Beetles of Western North America, The Lives of Beetles, and The Little Book of Beetles.