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664 Florida Entomologist 93(4) December 2010 HANGAY, GEORGE, AND ZBOROWSKI, PAUL. 2010. A Guide to the Beetles of Australia. CSIRO Pub- lishing, Victoria, Australia. x + 238 pp. ISBN: 9780643094871, paperback, $44.95AU. Available from CSIRO Publishing at http://www.publish.csiro.au/. US Distributor: Stylus Publishing at http:// www.styluspub.com/. Every American schoolchild knows that many I’m sure the authors had to sacrifice these for unusual animals and plants inhabit the continent space requirements. It would now be helpful to “Down Under”. Since my boyhood, I dreamed of have a new book on Australian beetle literature! collecting beetles in Australia and was lucky Aside from omissions mentioned above, there enough to do so for a month in 1972, in company is little else to criticize in this guide; very few ty- of Dr. Howard E. Hinton. We attended the Inter- pos and only a few mistakes were noted. Lamen- national Congress of Entomology and spent much tably there are no tips or techniques on how the of August driving from Canberra to Queensland. marvelous photos were made. It was noted in the Unfortunately, this was the driest time of the year Preface that most specimens were photographed and beetle collecting was the worst I’ve ever expe- live in their natural habitats and afterwards set rienced. free. Because there were no voucher specimens, It was just as well that I did not have the new many of the photos have only generic identifica- guide to Australian beetles, or I would have been tions. Too few insects can be identified to species even more disappointed. This beautifully illus- from photos. The figures are not numbered, mak- trated guide (mostly with magnificent color pho- ing reference to specific ones more difficult. Space tographs) would create an enthusiast of even a restrictions presumably caused omission of de- non-entomologist. Obviously it was many years in scribers’ names. research and final production, and the results are I especially noted the following spectacular a just reward. In “American Beetles” (Arnett et al. photos: the frontispiece of a jewel beetle, Castia- 2001, 2002) we have a great set of technical books, rina luteipennis Gory; p. 159, the rare (1.5mm) but the colored photographs set the Australian Discolomatidae; p. 145 a showy melyrid, Dicrano- guide apart. Such an undertaking would be well laius Champion; p. 30, 78, the king stag beetle, advised for the American fauna. Phalacrognathus muelleri MacLeay; p. 106, a re- The authors are both well qualified for this markable rhipicerid (Rhipicera Latreille) with ex- daunting task. George Hangay has studied the panded antennal flabellum; and many glorious Australian beetle fauna for 40 years, retiring as examples of the famous jewel beetles (Bupres- Chief Preparator at the Australian Museum, tidae) and Christmas beetles (Scarabaeidae, curating additional collections in New South Rutelinae). Many aquatic beetles are shown un- Wales, and has written several books and articles. der water, including the remarkable dytiscid Paul Zborowski is an entomologist, but foremost a (p. 32) feeding on a water scorpion. A photo (p. photographer, based in the wet tropics of Queen- 144) of the rare Phycosecidae (3.5mm) is credited sland. He has published several insect reference to R. De Keyzer. Scale lines are not used, but mea- works, including the “Field Guide to Insects of surements are provided. Australia”. He operates a specialist image bank The classification is based on a slightly up- at www.close-up-photolibrary.com. dated version of Lawrence and Newton (1995). Their synergy results in masterful collabora- The number of species in Australia is staggering: tion. Anyone who knows the magnitude of the the approximately 20,000 described species in- beetle fauna of a continent, would shy away from clude 6,500 weevils, 2,600 scarabs (sensu lato), such an undertaking. With 91 families and over and 2,250 leaf beetles. They estimate that over 20,000 species described, it seems too much to 10,000 species await description, and many more squeeze into a single “guide”. Obviously many await discovery with extensive field work. Even choices had to be made to limit treatment of each though the Australian government recently ar- family. The specialist will object to the lack of rested some beetle collectors who had improper keys (not the amateur), but the more than 400 documentation, there is great need for encourage- striking photos make up for this. The “gestalt” or ment of collecting. The authors recognize this by appearance is a much faster and easier way to stating, “Every coleopterist, amateur or profes- recognize most families. sional, contributes something to science. Even the The book is arranged in 9 chapters: Preface, seemingly most unimportant observations can Acknowledgements, Introduction, What Makes a add to the knowledge of our biodiversity and the beetle?, Anatomy, Reproduction and Develop- world we live in”. ment, Food and Survival, Higher Taxonomy, and Most coleopterists will recognize few familiar Family Descriptions. There is a 6-page glossary beetles species. Nearly everything “Down Under” and separate indices to common and scientific is different, unusual, and exciting. Not only are names. There is an “Endnotes” section which con- colors spectacular, but other morphological char- tains some specific references noted in the text, acters are often strange as well. There are unique but there is no Bibliography or Literature section. biologies and behaviors also, and some of them Book Reviews 665 are here noted. There is a jewel beetle (p. 112), As- tonnes was almost totally destroyed by the traeus fraterculus van de Poll (Buprestidae), quickly multiplying weevils within a year”. which snaps open its elytra to catapult away. A book review cannot detail the tremendous There is a member of the family Brachypsectridae biodiversity of Australian beetles, but there are that remains undescribed, because it is known some interesting differences from the North from only larvae. Rove beetles of the genus American fauna. Some families are well repre- Paederus Fabricius, commonly called “whiplash sented (Hydraenidae, 55 species in 8 genera; Pse- beetles” are well known for causing dermatitis laphinae, 579 species in 163 genera; Curculion- and blistering. However, the authors state that idae, 6,500 species), while others are poorly repre- the toxin, known as pederin, may also have some sented (Silphidae, 3 species in 2 genera; Dascil- therapeutic effects and can be harnessed to heal lidae, 2 species in 1 genus). chronic lesions in humans and cure cancerous A book that will be useful to both amateurs growths. and professionals, be they entomologists, coleop- When I was in Australia, great fanfare was terists, ecologists, conservationists, or general made of the unusual introduction from South Af- lovers of the great natural beauty and biodiver- rica of Onthophagus gazella (Fabricius) and its sity of beetles in the land “Down Under”. successful biological control of dung. I even ob- tained a CSIRO promotional film entitled “Dung REFERENCES CITED Down Under”. Curiously, this species is not men- tioned or illustrated in the book, although it has ARNETT, JR., R. H., AND THOMAS, M. C. 2001. American been introduced into many other countries and is beetles. Vol. 1: Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adepha- now possibly the most widespread dung beetle in ga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia. CRC Press, Boca the World! Since that introduction, 45 species of Raton. 443 pp. dung beetles have been introduced into Australia ARNETT, JR., R. H., THOMAS, M. C., SKELLEY, P. E., AND from Asia, Europe, and Africa; over half are now FRANK, J. H. 2002. American beetles. Vol. 2: Polyph- established. Two of these (Euoniticellus interme- aga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press, Boca Raton. 861 pp. dius Reiche and Onitis alexis Klug) are illustrated. LAWRENCE, J. L., AND NEWTON, JR., A. F. 1995. Families Other biological control projects involving bee- and subfamilies of Coleoptera (with selected genera, tles also have been successful in Australia. Nine notes, references and data on family group names), species of Histeridae (mainly from Java and Af- pp. 779-1006 In J. Pakaluk, and S. A. Slipinski [eds.], rica) have been introduced for various fly and Biology, Phylogeny and Classification of Coleoptera. weevil larvae (p. 66). One of the greatest success Papers Celebrating the 80th Birthday of Roy A. stories involves a tiny (2mm) weevil, Cyrtobagous Crowson. Muzeum i Instytut Zoologii PAN; Warsaw, salviniae Calder and Sands, which mines the Poland. 1092 pp. leaves of a Brazilian aquatic plant, Salvinia mo- Robert E. Woodruff lesta D. S. Mitchell, which was choking open wa- Florida State Collection of Arthropods ter surfaces. It also attacks Salvinia in Florida. P.O. Box 147100 The authors report (p. 218) that, “. 800 hectares Gainesville, Florida 32614-7100 USA of Salvinia mat, weighing tens of thousands of E-mail: [email protected].