R. B. Halliday, D. E. Walter, H. C. Proctor, R. A. Norton,
and M. J. Colloff CSIRO Publishing
2001, 672 pp.; A$180, US$98
ISBN 0643066586 (hardback)
This proceedings was published to the very highest standards and is a book that is difficult to imagine being omitted from any acarologist’s collection. This is not a disjointed collection of papers, but a book with current information presented in sections that include: Acarine systematics and phylogeny, Acarine biogeography and biodiversity, Evolutionary ecology of acarine reproduction, Acarine morphology and ultrastructure, Ecology and biology of soil mites, Interactions between mites and plants, Biology and control of mites in horticulture, Acarine biological control agents, Medical and veterinary acarology, Ecology and physiology of ticks. The editors have done an excellent job in maintaining consistency among the 90 peer-reviewed papers, and the book comes with a CD that contains every paper and image in the book. I found the CD very useful and was able to easily e-mail one of the papers to a colleague. There is an index to authors and one for families and genera of mites, which seemed misnamed because it also included those for ticks. Because it is a proceeding book, it does not cover everything and may not be for the newcomer to the field who wants general information on mites and ticks. However, the wealth and diversity of information, together with the up-to-date references could provide the stimulus for research projects anywhere in the world. Indeed, the book begins with a past, present and future section that discusses the gaps in our knowledge and where attention might be most usefully focussed. In this time of high-priced specialist books, $98 (US) actually seems reasonable for such a high-quality hardbound book, and I certainly recommend it to all acarologists out there, regardless of their specific interests.
Stephen Higgs
Center for Tropical Diseases and Department of Pathology
University of Texas Medical Branch
301 University Blvd.
Galveston, TX 77555-0609
American Entomologist
Vol. 48, No.4, Winter 2002