Subfamily Chilocorinae

912 pages

Slightly dated with regard to status of imported species (1985 - Harmonia axyridis establishment listed as questionable - oh, were it true!), but still a great comprehensive work covering all of lower 48, with detailed line drawings, keys to all species, and distribution maps.

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-states that it is the first field guide on Ladybugs of any region of North America...
-covers 75 species found in Alberta, many of which are also widespread across the continent
-Colour plates at beginning of book illustrated by author are very useful, often showing variation within a species
-While it could have been edited rather more tightly, I still find this book to be very useful and It has helped me ID quite a few species in a region more than a thousand miles away...And while the author gets a little deeply into the debate of whether or not "invasive", exotic" or otherwise imported species are useful, beneficial, harmful, etc, this book still has loads of useful information, including lots of easily readable stuff on natural history, collecting techniques and so on...I would give it an enthusiastic "two thumbs up"!

While Gordon's 1985 work, "The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico" (ref (1)) does contain keys, illustrations, and distribution maps for all species, for "detailed description and discussion" for Scymnini the reader is referred to this earlier work.

As of 2006, copies were still available from the publisher.

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An inspiring result of dedicated work, this book brilliantly proves that even a small, long-settled and thoroughly developed area like the state of Rhode Island can support a beetle fauna that is rich beyond expectation and features many rare, poorly understood species. Yielding over 700(!) new state records, the study also allowed to add about 200 spp. to the fauna of New England, the most thoroughly studied area in the entire country (arguably, in the western hemisphere); see Sikes, D.S. 2003. The beetle fauna of the state of Rhode Island, USA (Coleoptera): 657 new state records. Zootaxa 340: 1-38 (Full text; can be considered a summary of the referenced book) and additions in: Sikes, D.S., and R.P. Webster. 2005. Bioinventory of Rhode Island Coleoptera: 45 new records. Coleopterists Bulletin 59(3): 311-327. The study also provides a lot to learn about sampling/collecting techniques –- and commitment to science. It puts Rhode Island on the entomological map big time.