Taking the oldest insect recording scheme into the 21st Century

The water beetle recording scheme for Britain and Ireland is over 100 years old. For at least half of that time, it has been under the control of Professor Frank Balfour-Browne, who was motivated by a wish to understand the origin of the fauna. The current state of the scheme is discussed in relation to developments from the 1970s onwards, with recognition of the continuing values of an active scheme offered to professional scientists and amateur enthusiasts, as well as a hard copy atlas in the age of electronic data. The next phase of recording will be difficult, requiring a genetic analysis of water beetles that is beyond the reach of most recorders to resolve what Balfour-Browne set out to explore in 1904.(c) 2015 The Linnean Society of London.