Southern Africa has a particularly rich and varied insect fauna of 26 orders, 579 families and about 80,000 species currently recorded. The wealth of information on the systematics and biology of southern African insect groups has not been comprehensively treated before and is here condensed by 48 contributors, each of whom is an authority on a particular group.
A work of this nature requires a balance between scientific accuracy and utility so that the information will be easily accessible and comprehensible to professional and amateur entomologists alike. In this work, the scientist will find enough general information to lead him or her to more detailed works while the amateur entomologist will find sufficient explanation in the text, illustrations and glossary.
Dr Clarke Scholtz is Professor of Entomology in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria. His research interests have mainly focused on the systematics, biology and conservation of dung beetles and their relatives.
Dr Eric Holm has published over 70 scientific papers on ecology, biogeography, evolution, and taxonomy as well as several major revisions and monographs. He became a professor at the University of Pretoria in 1981. Although now retired from the university, he remains a specialist on the Cetoniinae and Buprestidae of Africa. He has authored seven scientific books.