Sinposis

WRITTEN FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS IN ENTOMOLOGY, THIS IS THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF SCIOMYZID FLIES. SCIOMYZID FLIES ARE IMPORTANT AS PRIME CANDIDATES FOR THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF SNAILS AND SLUGS THAT HELP TRANSMIT DISEASES SUCH AS SCHISTOSOMIASIS OR ARE IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL PESTS. THEY ALSO SERVE AS A PARADIGM FOR THE STUDY OF THE EVOLUTION OF FEEDING BEHAVIOR IN PREDATORY INSECTS. STARTING WITH ANALYSES OF MALACOPHAGY IN GENERAL AND THEN IN DIPTERA SPECIFICALLY, ALL IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE SCIOMYZIDAE ARE DISCUSSED, INCLUDING BEHAVIOR, ECOLOGY, LIFE CYCLES, MORPHOLOGY, AND IDENTIFICATION. NEW BEHAVIORAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATIONS AND HYPOTHESES ARE PROPOSED ON THE BASIS OF UNPUBLISHED INFORMATION AND A COMPLETE ANALYSIS OF THE EXTENSIVE LITERATURE. ALSO INCLUDED ARE KEYS TO ADULTS, LARVAE AND PUPARIA AND A CHECKLIST OF WORLD SPECIES, WITH INFORMATION ON GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE AND THE LOCATION OF TYPE SPECIMENS. THE ACCOMPANYING DVD INCLUDES CLIFFORD O. BERG'S CLASSIC FILM ON THE BIOLOGY OF SCIOMYZIDAE AND BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF SNAILS. BRINGS TOGETHER INFORMATION FROM OVER 3000 TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS AND UNPUBLISHED REPORTS, PROVIDING AN INVALUABLE REVIEW OF ALL OF THE IMPORTANT RESEARCH IN THE FIELD. INCLUDES IDENTIFICATION KEYS TO ALL ADULTS AND IMMATURE STAGES FROM ALL WORLD REGIONS ENABLING EFFICIENT AND AUTHORITATIVE IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIMENS. A CHECKLIST PRESENTS THE ESSENTIAL DATA ON ALL 450 WORLD SPECIES IN A CONCISE FORMAT. ACCOMPANYING DVD PROVIDES VALUABLE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF SNAILS.