Biology Of Aphid Parasites

An analysis of the particular topics in biological control programmes all over the world indicates an increased interest in the utilization of aphid parasites. Besides the so-called traditional biological control of introduced aphids, there appears a situation which could perhaps be called a renaissance of biocontrol, i. e. the utilization of biotic agents against insecticide-resistant populations of aphid pests. The rapid increase in the amount of information as well as the necessity of syntheti cal papers are the well-known features in today's entomology. This requirement is much more topical in the groups where brief summarized information is needed for research workers in applied branches. The author has been well aware of all these difficulties and requirements owing to his own experience both in basic and applied research. Several years ago he decided to summarize our knowledge on the aphid parasites of the world by elaborating synthetical studies on the particular zoogeographical areas. These papers have been intended to represent annotated reviews of the parasite fauna, distribution, biologies and utilization in aphid pest management, with keys to genera and species, hos- parasite catalogue, and a list of references added. Naturally, these studies are only relatively updated, with respect to a certain deadline from which the research may be further continued. At present, the Far East Asian and the Mediterranean areas have been reviewed in this or at least in a similar manner.

An analysis of the particular topics in biological control programmes all over the world indicates an increased interest in the utilization of aphid parasites. Besides the so-called traditional biological control of introduced aphids, there appears a situation which could perhaps be called a renaissance of biocontrol, i. e. the utilization of biotic agents against insecticide-resistant populations of aphid pests. The rapid increase in the amount of information as well as the necessity of syntheti- cal papers are the well-known features in today's entomology. This requirement is much more topical in the groups where brief summarized information is needed for research workers in applied branches. The author has been well aware of all these difficulties and requirements owing to his own experience both in basic and applied research. Several years ago he decided to summarize our knowledge on the aphid parasites of the world by elaborating synthetical studies on the particular zoogeographical areas.These papers have been intended to represent annotated reviews of the parasite fauna, distribution, biologies and utilization in aphid pest management, with keys to genera and species, hos- parasite catalogue, and a list of references added. Naturally, these studies are only relatively updated, with respect to a certain deadline from which the research may be further continued. At present, the Far East Asian and the Mediterranean areas have been reviewed in this or at least in a similar manner.

Most people know of aphids as garden pests, infesting the soft green tissues of plants in vast numbers and killing them by sucking out the sap. Indeed, among the 4000 or so known species of aphids about 250 are pests, and in temperate regions several are economically important agricultural pests that damage crops directly during feeding or act as vectors for plant pathogens. But aphids are also important model organisms in evolutionary biology and ecology because they combine a number of unique features such as complex life cycles involving the development of morphological distinct phenotypes (polyphenism), sexual and asexual reproduction strategies and changes of host plants. Aphids can also be regarded as holobionts because they are colonized by obligate and facultative microbes which enable them to feed exclusively on phloem sap and influence their resistance against pathogens, parasitoids or environmental stress. This book combines fundamental information about aphids with chapters addressing state-of-the-art research in topics such as aphid-related phylogeny, genome biology, epigenetics and chemical ecology.