A thorough update of Arnett's The Beetles of the United States, American Beetles, Volumes I and II cover the genera of beetles that occur in Alaska, Canada, and the contiguous United States. Built on the foundation of the original work and almost completely rewritten with contributions from more than 60 coleopterists, these volumes describe each family with separate paragraphs for head, thorax, abdomen, genitalia, eggs, larvae, and pupae. This bestselling first volume covers the suborders Archostemata, Myxophaga, and Adephaga, plus the series Staphyliniformia of the suborder Polyphaga.

Arnett and Thomas offer the most sweeping text available on the subject of North American beetles. Each section is presented in the same concise format, and the organization of the information is by family. The editors have chosen the most respected of specialists to contribute the entries.