A Practical Handbook of British Beetles ISBN 0-900848-91-X is a two-volume work on the British beetle fauna, by Norman H. Joy, first published by H. F. & G. Witherby in January 1932.
A Practical Handbook of British Beetles ISBN 0-900848-91-X is a two-volume work on the British beetle fauna, by Norman H. Joy, first published by H. F. & G. Witherby in January 1932.
Volume one (xxviii + 622 pages) consists of the text (largely a set of identification keys, with brief status notes for each species). Volume two (194 pages) contains 2040 line-drawings of whole beetles and features referred to in the keys (390 of these were taken from Spry and Shuckard's 1840 publication The British Coleoptera Delineated but the remainder were drawn by Joy).
The book covers a fauna of about 3560 different species and has an emphasis on species identification, being "essentially a manual of identification for the use of collectors." [1]
A reduced-size reprint was produced by E. W. Classey in 1976, and again in 1997, while Pisces Conservation released an electronic version in 2009, solving a longstanding problem of availability. [2]
One of the main points of attraction for Joy's book was its reasonable price. According to a 1932 review in Nature, William Weekes Fowler's standard work The Coleoptera of the British Islands (1887–1891, 1913) was "beyond the means of most students and collectors of insects", while A Practical Handbook offered a much more affordable option. [1]
A Practical Handbook of British Beetles instantly became one of the important works on British coleoptera, already being referred to as a classic by the 1956 Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects volume on beetles, which uses it as one of the major works to be cross-referenced. [3]
Despite its age, it has remained the standard work on the identification of British beetles into the 21st century, [2] although the British Entomological and Natural History Society produced a companion volume, New British Beetles - species not in Joy's practical handbook by Peter J. Hodge and Richard A. Jones in 1995. [4] British coleopterists refer to the book colloquially simply as "Joy".
Norman Humbert Joy was a British ornithologist and coleopterist.
The British Entomological and Natural History Society or BENHS is a British entomological society. It is based at Dinton Pastures Country Park in Reading, England.
Amara apricaria is a species of beetle of the genus Amara in the family Carabidae. It is native to Europe.
Amara aulica is a species of beetle of the genus Amara in the Harpalinae subfamily. It is native to Europe.
Amara bifrons is a species of beetle of the genus Amara in the family Carabidae.It is native to Europe.
Malachius bipustulatus, the malachite beetle, is a species of soft-winged flower beetles belonging to the family Melyridae, subfamily Malachiinae.
Pyropterus nigroruber is a species of net-winged beetles belonging to the family Lycidae.
Margarinotus brunneus is a species of beetles belonging to the family Histeridae. They seem to be a vibrant blue colour, but when their shell is under a microscope it appears a pastel red colour. This is due to “Delton’s colour theory of aphropods.”
Pterostichus vernalis is a species of ground beetle native to Europe.
Amara familiaris is a species of ground beetle native to Europe.
Amara ovata is a species of ground beetle native to Europe.
Amara fulva is a species of ground beetle native to Europe.
Agrilinus ater is a species of beetle in family Scarabaeidae, found in the Palearctic. It is a mid-successional species of sheep and cattle dung
Scymnus auritus is a species of beetle in family Coccinellidae. It is found in the Palearctic. It is a tiny black ladybird associated with Quercus robur woodland.
Nephus redtenbacheri is a species of beetle in family Coccinellidae. It is found in the Palearctic (Europe, North Africa, European Russia, Ciscaucasia, Siberia, the Russian Far East, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and Western Asia.
Sphaeroderma testaceum, the artichoke beetle, is a species of flea beetles in the family Chrysomelidae.
Cryptolestes ferrugineus is a species of lined flat bark beetle native to Europe. It currently has a cosmopolitan distribution, and is referred to by the common name the rusty grain beetle. As the common name implies, the beetle is a grain pest.
Adistemia watsoni is a species of minute brown scavenger beetles native to Europe.
Richard 'Bugman' Jones FRES is a British entomologist. He is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and has written many books about insects.
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