This week's In The News focuses on the evolutionary link between beetle (Coleoptera) and flowering plant (Angiosperm) diversity. In an article published in the July 24, 1998 issue of Science, Harvard University evolutionary entomologist Brian Farrell shed new light on insect-plant evolution when he revealed "a tight link between plant and beetle diversity." Farrell found that the incredible diversity of beetles--a whopping 330,000 species are estimated today--is linked to the rise of the angiosperms some 100,000,000 years ago. According to Farrell, although some beetles maintained their preference for older plant classes such as cycads and conifers, "well over 100,000 new species of beetles arose because of that move to angiosperms." The significance of these findings, says Farrell, "show how moving into a new environment, where there's no competition, can free you for an explosive, adaptive radiation." The nine resources provided offer insights and information on beetle and plant diversity, and several evolutionary resources as well.