Description
Pre-order open · Publication 31 October 2026
The book is now available for pre-order, with publication scheduled for 31 October 2026. Your pre-order helps fund the production of this volume and supports the author’s independent publishing work.
No-risk guarantee: if the book has not been released by 31 December 2026, we refund your pre-order in full — no questions, no fine print.
Already a reader of the author’s previous work? Please contact Vladimír Štrunc directly at info@insect-books.com during the pre-order period for an individual price offer.
Iconic Beetles · Pre-order · Vol. 2 · ebook · EntoLibry
A curated narrative on Southern African ground beetles
By Vladimír Štrunc. Selected Carabidae genera and the most iconic species across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, southern Mozambique, and Eswatini. The giant Anthia of the Karoo, the fossorial Scaritinae beneath stones, the metallic Lebiinae running on Cape fynbos bark — treated as a connected portrait of a regional fauna shaped by aridity, fire, and deep evolutionary time.
Pre-order pricing · Lock in the lowest price today
| Pre-order now | €19 |
| Rising to (mid-campaign) | €24 |
| Final retail (on publication) | €29 |
Pre-order pricing rises in stages as we approach publication. Your purchase locks in the price at the moment of checkout — and all future editions of the volume are included free of charge by email.
What’s inside
Selected genera treated in depth: Anthia (giant defensive carabids), Termophilum, Graphipterus (warning-coloured Karoo specialists), Scarites (fossorial), Brachinus (bombardier beetles), Lebistina, Calleida, and selected representatives of the Harpalinae.
Featured iconic species: Anthia thoracica (the great Karoo anthia), Anthia maxillosa, Anthia cinctipennis, with field photographs, behavioural notes, and habitat detail. Bombardier beetles in Brachinus are profiled for their explosive defensive chemistry.
Biomes covered: the Karoo arid interior, Cape fynbos and renosterveld, the Namibian gravel and dune deserts, savannah of the Lowveld and Kruger landscape, subtropical Mozambican coastal forest.
Scope note: Carabidae sensu stricto only — Cicindelinae (tiger beetles) and Manticora are not covered in this volume; they appear in Vol. 3, Cicindelidae of Africa.
Who this volume is for
→ Field naturalists and photographers planning a Southern African trip
→ Coleoptera enthusiasts familiar with European or North American Carabidae
→ University collections and biology programmes needing an accessible regional reference
→ Safari operators and field guides wanting beetle content for client trips
Format and delivery
High-resolution PDF, DRM-free, delivered by email link upon publication. Compatible with all PDF readers on desktop, tablet, and phone. All future editions of the volume — content updates, newly described taxa, refined imagery — are sent automatically to your email free of charge.
Other volumes in the Iconic Beetles sub-collection
Cicindelidae of North America — Iconic Beetles, Vol. 1 · 74 pages · pre-order €19. Nearctic tiger beetles from eastern hardwoods to southwestern deserts.
Cicindelidae of Africa — Iconic Beetles, Vol. 3 · ~150 pages · pre-order €19. African tiger beetles across six bioregions — Manticora, Lophyra, and more.
Author and publisher
Vladimír Štrunc · Coleoptera taxonomist · founder of EntoLibry, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Czech Republic. He maintains active research databases for several Coleoptera families, including the world Carabidae matrix underlying this volume. Species have been described in his honour.
