Volume 8 of the Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera provides a list of all taxa of the bulk of the family Curculionidae and of Cryptolaryngidae reported from the biogeographical realm covered. For the genus and species-groups taxa all available names are given, and for the valid species and subspecies the distribution per country is shown, including more details for endemic taxa. Type species are listed for all genus-group names. The work is based on verification of the primary sources, and the respective references are given. Particular chapters deal with the actual impediments of taxonomy, nomenclatural and taxonomic problems, and corrections to previously published volumes of the Catalogue.

This volume covers the remainder of the primitive weevils (Division Orthoceri), namely the families Brentidae, Eurhynchidae and Apionidae. It catalogues 43 genera and 173 species and features almost 2000 individual drawings and black-and-white photographs. These illustrations are augmented by 270 full-colour habitus photographs in Volumes V and VI. The volume also includes an important chapter on the Immature Stages of Australian Curculionoidea by Brenda May, New Zealand, which describes the larval and pupal stages of 158 species of Australian weevils and features overviews of larval characters and their nomenclature as well as of rearing and preservation techniques applicable to weevil larvae. More than half the drawings in the volume accompany this chapter.

A thorough update of Arnett's The Beetles of the United States, American Beetles, Volumes I and II cover the genera of beetles that occur in Alaska, Canada, and the contiguous United States. Built on the foundation of the original work and almost completely rewritten with contributions from more than 60 coleopterists, these volumes describe each family with separate paragraphs for head, thorax, abdomen, genitalia, eggs, larvae, and pupae. This bestselling first volume covers the suborders Archostemata, Myxophaga, and Adephaga, plus the series Staphyliniformia of the suborder Polyphaga. Arnett and Thomas 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 bt family. The editors have chosen the most respected of specialists to contribute the entries.

Australian Weevils: Volume IV covers the 11 smaller tribes of the weevil subfamily Entiminae (broad-nosed weevils), which comprises more than 100 genera and 700 described species in Australia. Around half of this fauna is covered in Volume IV, featuring keys to all the tribes, genera and described species as well as updated concepts and diagnoses of the tribes and summarising accounts of the taxonomy, nomenclature, distribution and known hostplants of all the genera and species. All the introduced species of Entiminae in Australia, most of which are regarded as agricultural or horticultural pests, are included, as are descriptions of 12 new genera and eight new species and identifications of about another 240 undescribed species. The book also includes an overview of the salient characters of the Entiminae, illustrated on 18 colour plates of diagnostic features needed for identifying these weevils, alongside a further 180 colour plates illustrating the habitus and genitalia of all the genera and of several other species and their diagnostic characters. The volume further includes an obituary and full publication list of the late Elwood C. Zimmerman as well as an updated list of recent literature on the Australian Entiminae and other weevils. The book is an essential reference work for researchers and students working with entimine weevils both in Australia and abroad. It is part of the Australian Weevils series.

A comprehensive work covering the about 100,000 species of Coleoptera known to occur in the Palaearctic Region. The complete work is planned for 8 volumes that will be published in intervals of about 18 months. The information provided for each species will be the following: • Primary taxonomic information of all available names in the genus and species levels published by the end of 1999. • The taxonomic information below subfamily will be organized alphabetically. • The type species of genera and subgenera, incl. synonyms, are given. • The area covered also includes the Arabian Peninsula, Himalayas and China. • The distributional data of species and subspecies is given per country. • Detailed distributional information for strict endemics is given. • Introduced species are indicated. The catalogue is a collective work of about one hundred coleopterists from Europe, Japan, America and Australia.

Taxonomy provides the basic building blocks of our understanding of the diversity of life on this planet. It stems from innate human curiosity; confronted with an unknown species or object we ask "what is it?" Taxonomists recognize species and other systematic unities (the taxa), define them and place them within the framework of known organisms, providing the means for their subsequent identification. The Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera (edited by I. & D. Löbl) gives a taxonomic overview of the most diverse group of all living things in the world's largest biogeographical area. It fixes nomenclature needed for unambiguous transfer of information, gives information about the occurrence of species and subspecies, and contains references that provide key information of over 40,000 systematic units. The work is a scaffold for biotic surveys, ecological studies, and nature conservation. It responds also to the urgent need of assessment of the still left forms of life, actually threatened by the on-going destruction of habitats. Contributors are: Robert B. Angus, Martin Fikáček, Elio Gentili, Manfred A. Jäch, Fenglong Jia, Tomáš Lackner, Ivan Löbl, Sławomir Mazur, Yusuke Minoshima, Alfred F. Newton, Michel Perreau, Alexander Prokin, Marek Przewoźny, Jan Rŭžička, Sergey K. Ryndevich, Michael Schülke, André Skale, Aleš Smetana, Mikael Sörensson. The publication of the work was supported by the Muséum de la Ville de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland.

Volume 6/2 of the Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera focuses on the second part of the beetle superfamily Chrysomeloidea reported from the Palaearctic biogeographic region. For the genus and species-groups taxa all relevant names are given and all nomenclatural data are cross-checked and the distribution of species and subspecies is given per country or smaller region. A group of 14 experts have worked to collect data based on a critical review of published sources including a significant amount of new information. This volume is also a tool for specialists as well as amateurs, which warrants unambiguous communication.

This Special Issue on the Systematics and Phylogeny of Weevils presents 31 new research papers on one of the most diverse and successful groups of animals on Earth, the beetle superfamily Curculionoidea. It was in part inspired to commemorate the extraordinary life and scientific achievements of Guillermo (“Willy”) Kuschel (1918–2017), who shaped this field of science over the last century like no other weevil systematist. The papers in this memorial issue span weevil faunas from all over the globe, including South and Central America, Africa, Europe and the Near East, South-East Asia, New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. They include major advances on the phylogeny and classification of the “broad-nosed” weevils (Entiminae), on the weevils associated with American cycads and on the unique extinct weevil fauna preserved in the 100-million-year-old Burmese amber, when weevils started to diversify alongside the oldest angiosperm plants. They comprise a tribute to Willy Kuschel, the proceedings of a weevil symposium held in his honor in 2016 in Orlando, Florida, 24 systematic studies (including seven phylogenetic analyses) and five other contributions on the diversity, biology, distribution, evolution and fossil history of weevils. In the papers collated in this volume, 30 new genera and 92 new species of weevils are described and a new family of extinct weevils is recognized.

Brentid beetles are in Northern Europe practically equivalent to the speciose genus Apion, a group of small, rostrate, phytophagous beetles of weevil-like appearance, but easily separated from genuine curculionid weevils by the short scape to the antennae. This book, written by one of the foremost experts on European Apion, identifies and describes the 134 species of brentids known from the British Isles and Continental Europe north of 52 (0)N. For each species is given up-to-date information on the taxonomy, nomenclature, distribution, life habits, food plants and parasites. Occurrence by provinces is documented for the 94 species found in Fennoscandia and Denmark. The introductory part provides general information on the group's taxonomic history, morphology of all life stages, life history and economic importance, and some practical hints on how to collect, preserve and identify specimens. The book is richly illustrated with original line drawings by the author and eight plates showing no less than 58 representative species skillfully depicted in colour by the coleopterist, Dr Michael Hansen. Additional features include lists of food plants and parasites, an extensive list of literature and an index.

Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society brings togetherleading scientific experts to assess the impact insects have onhumankind and the earth’s fragile ecosystems. It examines whyinsect biodiversity matters and how the rapid evolution of insectspecies is affecting us all. Insects and related arthropods make up more than 50 percent ofthe known animal diversity globally, yet a lack of knowledge aboutinsects is hindering the advance of science and society. This bookexplores the wide variety in type and number of insect species andtheir evolutionary relationships. Case studies offer assessments onhow insect biodiversity can help meet the needs of a rapidlyexpanding human population, and also examine the consequences thatan increased loss of insect species will have on the world. The book concludes that a better understanding of the biologyand ecology of insects is the only way to sustainably manageecosystems in an ever changing global environment.