Main Atlases are commercially published books, presenting the current state of knowledge for well recorded groups as the culmination of a recording scheme. Recent Main Atlases include text information about the species, as well as other supporting material such as analyses of trends.

BRC also publishes Provisional Atlases, which give recorders an indication of progress and illustrate early results. A facility to present early results is also available on the NBN Gateway. Provisional Atlases have become increasingly detailed - indeed less provisional - for example the Hoverfly Atlas, which provides charts of flight-period as well as text, and the Atlas of Aquatic Bugs, which has biological information and identification aids for some of the animals.

BRC's Provisional Atlases can be purchased from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Atlas of the Fleas (Siphonaptera) of Britain and Ireland

Fleas (Siphonaptera) are wingless insects that are usually found in the nests, or on the bodies, of a wide range of mammals and birds. Some 60 species of flea occur in Britain although approximately 2,600 species and subspecies have been described worldwide.

This atlas presents the results of the flea recording scheme to the end of 2006. Bob George, a former RAF pilot and schoolteacher, began collecting information about British (and Irish) fleas in about 1950, encouraged by the Hon. Miriam Rothschild and others. His work was recognised as a national recording scheme in 1964 by the Biological Records Centre (BRC), and the first edition of a “Flea Atlas” was published by BRC in 1974. Since then Bob has identified hundreds of thousands more fleas. This new Atlas includes distribution maps, species accounts, details about flea hosts, and a range of other information.

Field Studies Council. ISBN 978-0-95576-723-4

Atlas of the Seed and Leaf Beetles of Britain and Ireland

Bruchids (seed beetles) and Chrysomelids (leaf beetles) are an important and fascinating group. There are 15 species of Bruchids and 216 species of Chrysomelids in Britain and Ireland. This atlas maps their distribution. For each species there is an account of habitat, world distribution, host plants and life cycle, together with information on parasitoids, parasites and predators.

By way of introduction, the author gives a comprehensive overview of their classification and biology. There are chapters on collecting adults, on studying larvae and pupae, on adult behaviour, and on feeding ecology. Two chapters outline the beetles’ economic importance as pests (e.g. lily beetle, heather beetle, rosemary beetle) and in biological control. Additional chapters discuss their scientific importance in assessing environmental change and their value as subjects for conservation.

Mike Cox completed his doctoral study of the taxonomy and biology of Chrysomelids at the University of Newcastle in 1976. Since that time he has published numerous papers on their biology and identification, based at the Natural History Museum in London. He is Britain’s chief expert on the group, and here brings his great learning to illuminate the distributional data collected by volunteer recorders.

Pisces Publications. ISBN 978-1-874357-35-3
Additional resources for researchers available.