The Histeridae, Sphaeritidae and Silphidae of Britain and Ireland

About this book

The Histeridae and Silphidae atlas covers 75 beetle species in three families.
- Histeridae: the clown beetles.
- Sphaeritidae: the false clown beetles
- Silphidae: the carrion beetles.

Many of these large charismatic beetles are associated with decaying organic matter, including carcasses, dung and dead wood. Several species are widespread and common in domestic gardens, woodland and farmland. Indeed a few of these beetles regularly turn up in moth traps.

What makes this book so special is that it is not just an atlas. It’s also a brand new identification guide. So as well as maps of recent and historical distributions in Great Britain and Ireland, there are new identification keys to all recorded species. The detailed accompanying species accounts include threat and rarity statuses. Colour photographs feature throughout.


The aim of this atlas is to encourage the identification and recording of these fascinating insects. Run by the authors, the two recording schemes that exist for the groups either began (Histeridae and Sphaeritidae) or were relaunched (Silphidae) in 2016. Between them, they hold over 47,000 records contributed by a vast number of individual naturalists. Additional support has come from the Biological Records Centre in Britain and the National Biodiversity Data Centre in Ireland. Data from museum collections, individual biological record centres and from the online data hubs (iRecord and NBN Atlas) has also been collated.

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