The Book of Beetles: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred of Nature's Gems

There are more than 350,000 known species of beetles, making them the largest order of insects in the world. Scientists estimate there may be as many as 4 or five million species, so hundreds of thousands still to be identified. They range from summer's delightful fireflies to the 100 gram Goliath beetle. Some, like the wood beetle, can live as long as 40 years; others, like the scarab, can carry up to 850 times its own weight on its back. There are vibrant societies the world over that collect, identify, sell, and celebrate the beetle. Each page of the project showcases original photographs of the species, with scale included, a distribution map, basic biology, as well as text that speaks to any cultural or economic significance.