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An Inordinate Fondness For Beetles
Text: A. V. Evans & C. L. Bellamy; Photographs: Lisa Charles Watson

A collaborative effort by the former head of the LACM Insect Zoo and the current Entomology Collection Manager.  First issued in late 1996, a new softcover edition is now available from University of California Press.

"'Beetles rarely elicit from us the feelings of sympathy we easily afford cute and cuddly vertebrates,' the authors lament. So they have advanced an agenda of beetlephilia,' a scientific appreciation of the importance of beetles to the global ecosystem and a personal feeling that, by gosh, beetles sure are fascinating. They build a good case. Beetles--more precisely, insects belonging to the order Coleoptera--make up a hefty 20 percent of all known biological species and display a dazzling array of behavioral and morphological adaptations. The book's playfully artistic photographs give those facts and figures a rare visual grounding."
Scientific American

"This beautiful book . . . recounts not only the natural history of beetles but the human history of them as well. The best thing about this book, however, is the photographs. The specimens are more beautiful than nearly anything made by man, and proof not only of God's fondness for these creatures but also of His exquisite good taste."
Washington Post

"An authoritative reference volume resplendently illustrated with line drawings and color photographs."
Nature

"Here is the non-specialist's chance to be inspired.  Evans' and Bellamy's journey through beetle ecology is everywhere enhanced by Watson's bright pictures of some of nature's most exquisite creatures. Seek ondness, yes; find wonder and awe."
BBC Wildlife magazine, February 2001 issue

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American Beetles, Volume I: Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia
Editors: Ross H. Arnett & Michael C. Thomas. 2000.

The first volume of two, which will serve to replace the classic Beetles of the United States by Ross Arnett.  The editors have chosen the most respected of specialists to contribute the various family chapters and offer the most sweeping text available on the subject of North American beetles. Each section is presented in the same concise format, and the organization of the information is standardized for each family. 

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Beetles of the World: A key and information system for families and subfamilies.
J. F. Lawrence, A. M. Hastings, M. J. Dallwitz, T. A. Paine and E. J. Zurcher. 1999.

Beetle Larvae of the World (Windows Version). Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification and Information Retrieval for Families and Subfamilies
J. F. Lawrence, A. M. Hastings, M. J. Dallwitz, T. A. Paine and E. J. Zurcher. 1999.

These two interactive identification aids are the new benchmark in the evolution of biological keys.  Why worry about dichotomous keys when you can let the computer search through a huge matrix of coded character states and make your choices against the many clear images of structures and check the result with a variety of beetle images, both photographs and renderings.

Bellamy, C. L. 2000. Software Review of: Lawrence, J. F., A. M. Hastings, M. J. Dallwitz, T. A. Paine and E. J. Zucher. 1999. Beetles of the World: A key and information system for families and sufamilies and Beetle Larvae of the World. The Coleopterists Bulletin 54(3):409-410.

Pollock, D. A. 1994. Review: Beetle larvae of the world: Interactive identification and information retrieval for families and subfamilies. The Coleopterists Bulletin 48(4):323-324.
 

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