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Introduction

Beetles (order: Coleoptera) are arguably the most

diverse and species-rich group of organisms on

the planet. Almost 400,000 species have been

formally described so far, more than double any

equivalent group. Thousands more are discovered

each year, and beetles comprise around 25 percent

of known animal life on earth. Estimates suggest

that even these incredible numbers just scratch the

surface of what is actually out there in the tropical

forests of the world, and there is a great urgency

to document, understand, and archive this

extraordinary diversity while the habitats that

support it still exist and remain accessible for study.

There is a quotation that coleopterists like,

from the evolutionary biologist J.B.S. Haldane

(1892–1964), who was apparently asked by a

group of clerics if his studies of the natural world

had taught him anything about the mind of God.

He is said to have replied that if there is a Creator,

He must have had “an inordinate fondness for

beetles.” The use of the word “inordinate” here is

interesting, as it is not entirely positive; it suggests

that this supposed divine fondness, or at least the

number of beetles in the world, is disproportionate

or even inappropriate—but Haldane was not

an entomologist and did not fully understand.

In fact, the extraordinary diversity of beetles has

produced an unintended consequence, an iterative

and truly enormous benefit not just for Haldane

and his generation of geneticists, but also for

the entire human race. Beetle diversity helped

humanity to solve the biggest question of all,

the question of our place in nature, why we are

here. This may sound like a wild claim, but both

INTRODUCTION