Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction 1.A Brief History of Beetle Study in California 2.Form, Diversity, and Classification 3.The Lives of Beetles 4.Distribution of California Beetles 5.Beetles of Special Interest 6.Common and Conspicuous Families of California Beetles Ground and Tiger Beetles (Carabidae) Whirligig Beetles (Gyrinidae) Predaceous Diving Beetles (Dytiscidae) Water Scavenger Beetles (Hydrophilidae) Clown Beetles (Histeridae) Burying and Carrion Beetles (Silphidae) Rove Beetles (Staphylinidae) Rain Beetles (Pleocomidae) Scarab, Dung, May, and June Beetles and Chafers (Scarabaeidae) Jewel or Metallic Wood-boring Beetles (Buprestidae) Click Beetles (Elateridae) Phengodid Beetles (Phengodidae) Fireflies and Glowworms (Lampyridae) Soldier Beetles (Cantharidae) Skin Beetles (Dermestidae) Bostrichid Beetles (Bostrichidae) Checkered Beetles (Cleridae) Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) Darkling Beetles (Tenebrionidae) Blister Beetles (Meloidae) Longhorned Wood-boring Beetles (Cerambycidae) Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae) Weevils and Ambrosia, Bark, or Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) 7.Studying Beetles Checklist of North American Beetle Families California's Sensitive Beetles Collections, Societies, and Other Resources Selected References Index

About the Author

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 (California, 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.