In 1805, William Spence, a Yorkshire businessman new to the study of insects, began corresponding with William Kirby, a Suffolk rector and prominent entomologist known for his history of bees, published three years prior. Spence observed that those wishing to understand the world of insects better had no field guide or introduction to assist them, entomology being a niche subject limited to volumes published by subscription or focused on lepidoptery (butterfly collecting). Seeing the gap in the market, Spence and Kirby began to produce this book, their four-volume An Introduction to Entomology. The first volume was published in 1815, with a second following shortly after. The final two volumes were not published until the printing of this fifth edition in 1828, the delay caused by an illness that forced Kirby to relocate to Devon. The first two volumes offer a general overview to the subject for the non-specialist with the final two providing a more scientific approach.

‘Kirby and Spence’, as the work came to be known, was very successful on its publication and sparked a fashion for entomology among amateur naturalists in the 1820s and 1830s. Publishers capitalised on the craze and soon a slew of new handbooks to the subject were being printed. This increased popularity in the study of insects resulted in the foundation of the Entomological Society of London (now the Royal Entomological Society) in 1833.