The Biology of Blood-Sucking in Insects

Second edition looks at the favourable biological modifications of these insects and also considers the economical, social and medical aspects.

M. J. Lehane (Author)

9780521543958, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 9 June 2005

336 pages, 91 b/w illus.
22.6 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.565 kg

'… a useful and up-to-date book that will be of interest to medical and veterinary medical entomologists and parasitologists …' Journal of Insect Conservation

Blood-sucking insects transmit many of the most debilitating diseases to man including malaria, sleeping sickness, filariasis, dengue, typhus and plague. Additionally these insects cause major economic losses in agriculture by direct damage to livestock. This new edition of The Biology of Blood-Sucking in Insects has been fully updated since it was first published in 1991. It provides a unique, topic-led commentary on the biological aspects that are common to blood-sucking insects. This account focuses on the biological adaptations that clearly suit the blood-sucking habit and further discusses host–insect interactions and the transmission of parasites by blood-sucking insects. It also outlines the medical, social and economic impact of blood-sucking insects. The final chapter is designed as a useful quick-reference section. Written in a clear, concise fashion and well illustrated throughout, the text will be of direct interest to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of medical and veterinary entomology and parasitology.

1. The importance of blood-sucking insects
2. The evolution of the blood-sucking habit
3. Feeding preferences of blood-sucking insects
4. Location of the host
5. Ingestion of the blood meal
6. Managing the blood meal
7. Host-insect interactions
8. Transmission of parasites by blood-sucking insects
9. The blood-sucking insect groups.

Subject Areas: Insects [entomology PSVT7], Zoology & animal sciences [PSV], Veterinary medicine: infectious diseases & therapeutics [MZM], Tropical medicine [MMRT], Medical parasitology [MMFP]