Beetles: The Natural History and Diversity of Coleoptera

I was eagerly waiting for this book to arrive and had high expectations for it. But I still was not prepared for this incredible book! If you are not already in love with beetles, brace yourself; after getting this book, you will find a whole new appreciation for these creatures. The text is packed with fascinating natural history, accompanied by stunning photographs. If you can tear yourself away from the photos to read the text, you will find it clear, informative, and a genuine pleasure to read. Almost everything you can imagine is included in this book: basic life history, all sorts of specialized life histories (many of which you may have never imagined), and the mind-boggling diversity of beetles. The sheer diversity of beetles would intimidate many an author, but Stephen Marshall has succeeded in tackling this daunting task in a way that even a novice can understand. The beetles are divided into large groupings, which allows a reader to hold onto the "big picture". At the same time, there are hundreds of photos in each of these larger sections, giving finer detail to the vast diversity of beetles. At the end of the book is a helpful key, illustrated with photos showing examples of the structures used for keying out beetles. In the past, I have found keys to be challenging if not downright discouraging. But this key gives me hope.One of the things I love about this book is that it includes beetles from all over the world and from every specialized niche imaginable. I can pick up the book and an hour slips away as I peruse the beautiful, the strange, and the exotic, as well as familiar old friends. Then I sigh, reluctantly put it down, and get back to the grimy reality of human existence. In the back of my mind, I know I will pick it up again for another journey into the world of these incredible little creatures, and I cannot help but smile.

Stephen Marshall has the BEST most reliable insect books. They are easy to use for identification and just plain old interesting books. I own them all. Full of beautiful pictures.

By any standard this is a big book. It is two inches thick, weighs seven-and-a-half pounds, and boasts 784 slick heavyweight pages, most lavishly illustrated in color. The author, a professor of entomology, combines a thorough taxonomic review of the Order with a fascinating plethora of field observations and natural histories. The volume is geared toward professional and amateur coleopterists but would make a nice coffee-table volume for any entomophile.

Marshall has done it again! An AWESOME comprehensive beetle book. I love the illustrated key which points to the part on a beetle diagram , so I don’t have to remember beetle anatomy words so much! AWESOME natural history and AWESOME photo ID guide of loads of species. The books such as those by Marshall, are invaluable to anyone interested in insects. If only, I had books like these available when I was taking entomology courses in college back in the 70s!

There have been several very good beetle (coleopteran) books published recently. All have there place but Marshall's book is the cream of the crop. It is the most extensive treatise I have seen. He discusses natural history, habitats, and evolutionary origins with well chosen examples. The identification portion is populated with numerous examples from each of the families with excellent photographs. The man knows his beetles.

Wonderful book about the diversity of the largest group of organisms on the planet. Richly illustrated, especially with live photographs. The author already has another book with another large group of insects, the flies (Diptera). And something more: very favorable price!

What an excellent book on beetles - helpful to our family entomologists.

Beautifully printed. Concisely written. Sensational photographs. Authoritative. Valuable. My daughter loves the book and is currently doing a series of reports & watercolor paintings based on its contents. A+.

60 Euro sind für ein englischsprachiges Naturbuch recht viel Geld, selbst bei 780 Hochglanzseiten und 4500 Farbfotos. Es lohnt sich aber. Die Flut von Bildern und teilweise sehr erstaunlichen Informationen aus allen Teilen der Welt ist enorm. Es ist ein Genuss darin herum zu blättern.Ein eher kleiner Teil der Fotos ist perfekt, der größte Teil von mittlerer Qualität und einen wiederum eher kleinen Teil würde ich als Knipsaufnahmen bezeichnen. Die von mir aus ästhetischen Gründen wenig geschätzten Präparatfotos sind selten und zeigen zumeist extreme Seltenheiten von denen es vermutlich überhaupt keine Lebendaufnahmen gibt.Das Buch setzt recht gute Kenntnisse über Käfer, Insekten, Zoologie und Ökologie voraus, ist aber wiederum kein wirklich wissenschaftliches Werk. Es ist eher ein Bilder- und Anekdotenbuch sehr hoher Qualität und vermutlich auf dem neuesten wissenschaftlichen Stand. Vielleicht werde ich auch das ebenso umfangreiche und teure "Insects - Their Natural History and Diversity" (2017) dieses Autors kaufen. Ein Fehler wäre das sicher nicht.Ein deutscher Verlag, wie zum Beispiel Ulmer, hätte so ein Projekt vornherein abgelehnt - und wenn doch, wäre der Preis vermutlich über 200 Euro.

This book is a brilliant book to have on your bookshelf if you are interested in biodiversity or just beetles. The author discusses the many facets of natural history and provides hundreds of images of beetles being beetles. There is also a ket at the back that helps narrow down what beetle group might be bouncing at your lights, feeding on the plants, and just hanging out. Highly recommend!

I loved this book, I use it quite regularly. The bulk of the book contains a family by family approach which is practical and beautifully illustrated. Neotropical, Nearctic, Indomalayan species are extensively covered. The authors included many of the smaller families which I appreciated. Each chapter goes gives a detailed description and ecology of subfamilies and selected genera. There is a key at the back, which I haven't needed to use, but it looks useful because it shows diagnostic traits of most families. The first part of the book, has an introduction to the order and goes over life histories has some amazing macrophotography.

Bien que cet ouvrage reste grand public, il propose une belle somme d'informations sur le comportement et les diverses caractéristiques des coléoptères, durant toute leur vie. Les photos sont somptueuses et très nombreuses. L'auteur est un passionné et cela se sent à la façon dont il parle des insectes. Je crois ne pas me tromper en affirmant que ce livre est une véritable bible et qu'elle n'a pas d'équivalent à ce jour. Bravo !

Non mi aspettavo un libro così voluminoso (quasi opulento) innumerevoli immagini di ottima qualità corredano il tutto. Da leggere e vedere e rivedere