Biology of Disease Vectors presents a comprehensive and advanced discussion of disease vectors and what the future may hold for their control. This edition examines the control of disease vectors through topics such as general biological requirements of vectors, epidemiology, physiology and molecular biology, genetics, principles of control and insecticide resistance. Methods of maintaining vectors in the laboratory are also described in detail.

No other single volume includes both basic information on vectors, as well as chapters on cutting-edge topics, authored by the leading experts in the field. The first edition of Biology of Disease Vectors was a landmark text, and this edition promises to have even more impact as a reference for current thought and techniques in vector biology.

Current - each chapter represents the present state of knowledge in the subject area Authoritative - authors include leading researchers in the field Complete - provides both independent investigator and the student with a single reference volume which adopts an explicitly evolutionary viewpoint throuoghout all chapters. Useful - conceptual frameworks for all subject areas include crucial information needed for application to difficult problems of controlling vector-borne diseases

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Reviewer:Wayne Kramer, PhD(Nebraska Health and Human Services System)Description:This second edition of a work originally published in 1996 is a completely reworked and updated textbook in the field of vector biology.Purpose:The goal is to present current information on a broad spectrum of topics in the area of vector biology. This material is organized as fairly sophisticated presentations for students and workers in the field of vector biology. The book fills a need for updated information in the field of medical entomology.Audience:According to the editor, this edition, like the first, is directed primarily toward graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and independent investigators working in the broad areas of vector biology and vector-borne diseases. The subject editors are acknowledged authorities in the field of medical entomology and vector biology.Features:While the first edition was a direct result of the Disease Vectors course at Colorado State University, this edition serves a broad readership and the content covers all areas of interest to the target audience. The subject matter is divided into seven broad areas, with a different subject editor responsible for the material in that area. The broadened content and organization of material are improved from the first edition and contribute to making this book one the most comprehensive in the field. Many areas of the field have advanced since the first edition and this book brings them up to date. In the field of molecular systematics, for example, an explosion in the availability of nucleic acid sequences in insect vectors has allowed for an in-depth analysis of phylogenetic relationships among species. The field of epidemiology has benefited from Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to show the impact of environmental changes on vector populations.Assessment:This second edition will become a standard in the field and complements the other medical entomology books currently available, Medical Entomology: A Textbook on Public Health and Veterinary Problems Caused by Arthropods by Eldridge and Edman (Kluwer, 2000) and Medical and Veterinary Entomology by Mullen and Durden (Academic Press, 2002). The expanded content, reorganization, and updates in this edition make this a welcome replacement for the first edition.