Field Guide to Beetles of California (California Natural History Guides) (Volume 88)

With perhaps 8,000 different species, beetles are easily the largest group of animals in California and can be found virtually everywhere in the state. They grapple over flower heads, lurk in pantries, paddle through pristine mountain streams, amble over dunes, and buzz about porch lights on warm evenings. But until now, there was no single resource for identifying the most commonly encountered beetles in California’s mountains, valleys, and deserts. This valuable field guide, a companion volume to Introduction to California Beetles published in 2004, identifies more than 500 of the state’s more conspicuous and colorful species, with the majority presented in stunning color photographs. Written and designed for amateur naturalists, students, and field biologists, it is chock-full of what every beetle watcher wants to know, including suggestions for finding beetles, starting a beetle collection, and keeping beetles in captivity. The informative, accessibly written species accounts include information on beetle identification, natural history, and distribution.

* Features 300 color photographs, 110 drawings, and 2 maps

* Covers 569 species in 56 families

* Lists California’s sensitive, threatened, and endangered species

* Provides resources and web sites for further study of California beetles

Arthur V. Evans is Research Associate in the Department of Entomology at the National Museum of Natural History, at the Smithsonian Institution, and in the Department of Recent Invertebrates at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. He is coauthor, with Charles L. Bellamy, of An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles (UC Press, 2000). James N. Hogue is Manager of Biological Collections in the Department of Biology at California State University, Northridge, and Research Associate at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Together, Arthur and James wrote Introduction to California Beetles (UC Press, 2004).