Ladybirds (the beetle family Coccinellidae) are a popular group of insects. There are several books about this family, both for entomologists and for naturalists without specific entomological education. There are also various web pages with overviews of ladybird fauna in several European countries with photographs. But until this book there was no field guide or pictorial atlas covering all species in all European countries.
Ladybirds of Europe is intended for a wider public interested in nature in Europe, including some areas and islands that politically belong to Europe but represent geographically distant territories with many different species, including local endemics. Readers will find updated information about the distribution of individual species in European countries – 196 species in continental Europe and 39 more on islands. The descriptions of species are very short and simplified.