This book is the second of four volumes in the Handbook of Zoology series which treat the systematics and biology of Coleoptera. With approximately 350,000 described species, Coleoptera are by far the most species-rich order of insects and the largest group of animals of comparable geological age.

The beetle volumes will meet the demand of modern biologists seeking to answer questions about Coleoptera phylogeny, evolution, and ecology. This second Coleoptera volume covers the remaining polyphagan taxa (apart from Phytophaga) and recently described groups not included in the first volume (covering the suborders Archostemata, Myxophaga and Adephaga, and the basal series of Polyphaga), with information on world distribution, biology, morphology of all life stages (including anatomy), phylogeny and comments on taxonomy.