Mosquitoes and their Control

Abstract

So how does this new edition of Mosquitoes and their Control differ from the first, which was published 7 years ago and also reviewed in the Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology (98, 429)? There is a new coauthor (Minoo Madon) and there are now colour photographs, more line-drawings and tables, and a considerable reorganization and expansion of Part IV, on control. The most significant change — the inclusion of brief taxonomic keys for the identification of non-European mosquitoes — was apparently made in response to criticism that, as a title for the first edition, Mosquitoes and their Control was misleading because the book only covered European mosquitoes. I understand that, after considerable discussion, the authors opted to create new chapters and present taxonomic keys to the adult females of selected species from Africa, Asia, Australia and Central, South and North America. Given the vast number of mosquito species in these areas, it is not surprising that only those that are important vectors and/or cause serious biting problems are included. I do, however, find this subjective approach rather unsatisfactory. I wonder whether the additional brief accounts of non-European mosquitoes are relevant in a book whose raison d’être is (or, at least, was) to provide more information on European mosquitoes. The largest section (41%) of the book is still devoted to the identification, morphology, biology, medical importance and distribution of European mosquitoes, and I think it would have been better if the title had simply been changed to European Mosquitoes and their Control. There is a list of known mosquito species in Europe (pages xix–xxi) but even more useful is the list of new generic names and the years in which they were adopted (pages 6 and 7). Many familiar names disappear. Ochlerotatus japonicus, for example, is now Hulecoeteomyia japonica, and Oc. geniculatus becomes Dahliana geniculata. Not everyone likes, or even accepts, the elevation of some former subgenera. The authors use of ‘Aedes/Ochlerotatus’ for Aedes and Ochlerotatus species that were previously in the genus Aedes, and ‘Aedes albopictus [Stegomyia albopicta]’ — with the older and more widely recognised species name followed, in brackets, by the new name — I found useful. Unfortunately, some anomalies remain. ‘Ochlerotatus (Mucidus) alternans’, for example, is still used as a heading on page 357, with no explanation that this taxon has become Mucidus (Mucidus) alternans. I think this shows the difficulties that can arise, especially for non-taxonomists, when so many subgenera are upgraded to generic status. Chapter 5 of Part I gives a good account of the morphology of the adults, pupae and larvae of mosquitoes, while chapters 6–10 of Part II present very-clearly-illustrated taxonomic keys for the identification of adult females and males, pupae and fourth-instar larvae of European mosquitoes. Part IV, which deals with mosquito control, has been considerably updated. It covers nearly all aspects of control, including biological control using vertebrate and invertebrate predators, fungi and parasites. About 12 pages are devoted to Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis. Another section deals with environmental management and, understandably, there is a large section (55 pages) devoted to chemical control and the management of insecticide resistance. Other control methods that are discussed include the use of insect growth regulators and juvenile hormone analogues, genetic control Annals of Tropical Medicine & Parasitology, Vol. 104, No. 8, 687–688 (2010)