Keys for the identification of British Staphylinidae

This is the largest family of beetles in the UK and includes over 1000 species.  It is divided into a number of subfamilies some of which are easily recognisable.  The subfamily key below can be used to start your identification.  Use the genus keys to take identification further.  The six subfamilies with a single representative in the British fauna are keyed in the subfamily key.  Recent work has confirmed that members of Silphidae should be classified in Staphylinidae.