Product Description
Greatly anticipated and sorely needed, this book updates the successful guide to North American mosquitoes published by the American Mosquito Control Association in 1981. It includes 12 new species that have since been added to the North American mosquito fauna, revised distribution maps of all species, and revised and completely illustrated identification keys for the adult females and fourth instar larvae of all 174 species and subspecies known to occur in North America, north of Mexico. In chapters on adult and larval morphology, the coauthors--both world-renowned in their field of taxonomy--discuss the anatomical structures mentioned in the keys and pictured on full-page plates. They provide separate generic keys for adult females and larvae and keys to the species of each genus. In addition, they show the geographical distribution of each taxon in a series of maps and include a synopsis of the occurrence of species in the states and provinces of the United States and Canada. This book's usefulness to mosquito control programs cannot be overestimated. For example, it deals with 9 exotic species that have been introduced and today successfully thrive in North America. Several are increasing their range and this book will help identify these species when they first invade an area. Because of the occurrence of mosquito-borne diseases and the widespread distribution of mosquitoes as pests to humans, professionals must know how to identify them. With its wealth of up-to-date information, this book is the only one of its kind available for specialists working on mosquito-borne diseases and in mosquito control units and for both introductory and advanced students who study entomology.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #877753 in Books
- Published on: 2004-12-31
- Original language:
English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 400 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
"A must-have for anyone involved with mosquitoes. This is the only key that incorporates the recent changes in nomenclature and new species listings with their respective distribution." - Dennis Moore, director, Pasco County Mosquito Control District"
"What the late Roger Tory Peterson was to birds, the imperial Richard F. Darsie, Jr. Ph.D., is to mosquitoes." -- St. Petersburg Times, June 17, 2005
About the Author
Richard F. Darsie Jr. is a research entomologist at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory at the University of Florida. Ronald A. Ward was a medical entomologist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C., before his retirement. Both authors have published extensively in such journals as Mosquito Systematics and the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association.
Customer Reviews
Review of Darsie's The mosquitoes of North America
Good book to own if interested in identifying North American mosquitoes. Characters in some keys difficult to distinguish at times but still overall easy to use. The only thing that is lacking in this book is individual descriptions of species. Having these would make identification easier. Despite these few short comings, I still highly recommend this book for people working with mosquitoes.