Biology of snail-killing sciomyzidae flies
By: edited by Lloyd Vernon Knutson, Jean-Claude Vala
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 506
ISBN-13: 9780521867856
Description: "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 New behavioral and morphological classifications and hypotheses are proposed on the basis of unpublished information and a complete analysis of the extensive literature.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"--
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Foreword by Benjamin A. Foote; Foreword by Rudolf Rozkosny; Preface; Avant propos; About the authors; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Natural enemies of Mollusca; 3. Malacophagy in Diptera; 4. Life cycles; 5. Host/prey ranges and preferences; 6. Host/prey finding; 7. Feeding behavior; 8. Competition; 9. Phenology, reproduction, and development; 10. Macrohabitats and microhabitats, guild structures and associations, threatened species, and bioindicators; 11. Natural enemies; 12. Defense mechanisms; 13. Population dynamics; 14. Morphological, physiological/behavioral, and genetics and related aspects; 15. Systematics and related topics; 16. Zoogeography; 17. Evolutionary considerations; 18. Biological control; 19. History of research on Sciomyzidae; 20. Methods; 21. World checklist of Sciomyzidae and Phaeomyiidae; Index.