Rearing Animal and Plant Pathogen Vectors PDF

Preface

This volume is an update of the previously published volume entitled Maintenance of Human, Animal, and Plant Pathogen Vectors. The aim of this volume has been to collate, in one manual, existing information on laboratory handling of vectors that transmit pathogens of human, animal, and plant diseases. The editors felt the need to bring together the standard breeding and manipulation methods as well. No similar handbook has been available until now.

Specialists from America, Asia and Europe were invited to prepare descriptions of methods used for the cultivating, breeding and handling of mosquitoes, ticks, black fl ies, triatimine bugs, aphids, whitefl ies, leafhoppers, piesmids, thrips, nematodes, fungal vectors, sterile techniques and cell culture of vectors. The authors of chapters have prepared a thoughtful treatment of experimental data and pertinent literature, including as yet unpublished data, personal experiences, and conclusions. The chapters deal with widely separated areas of interest and contain descriptions of standard, as well as highly specialized methods used by medical and veterinary entomology and plant pathology experts. The artifi cial borders between the diverse fi elds of interest have been bridged to acquaint researchers with the work and methods of investigators in distant, and yet related domains. The familiarity with the different techniques and materials used for a particular group of vectors often can be shared and applied to other vector groups. Pitfalls and diffi culties encountered during laboratory maintenance of vectors, safety measures to prevent contamination and escape of insects, ticks, nematodes and fungal vectors have been stressed. The chapters are well documented by tables, illustrations, and up-to-date references.

Personal experiences and conclusions provide a large body of information that will serve actively working researchers and students at universities, research institutes, experiment stations and commercial laboratories. The maintenance of vectors will be of special interest to both established workers and to those who intend such work for the fi rst time. Medical and veterinary researchers, microbiologists, entomologists, virologists, parasitologists, plant pathologists, geneticists, biocontrol specialists, as well as graduate students in related fi elds of biomedical, veterinary and agricultural research will fi nd this work of interest. The editors hope that this manual will benefi t all who are interested in the use of vectors of diverse disease agents.