Biology, Diagnosis and Management of Indian Pestiferous Blackflies

This book is about the blackflies which are well known for their biting nuisance and disease transmission and considered second as the most harmful group of insects after the mosquitoes in affecting the human health. Information about blackfly in India is scanty despite of their medical and veterinary importance. This monograph provides summarised and update information on biology, diagnosis, pest status and management of the Indian blackflies. The emphasis has been made on blackflies of northeast India where they are threatening the public and animal health and have negative impact. The introductory chapters deal with the importance of the blackflies in India as human and domestic animals pests and listed man biting species for the first time. Three species namely, S. himalayense, S. indicum and S. nodosum are reported as highly anthropophilic. The subsequent chapters with illustrations deals with biology, collection of blackflies and their preparation, preservation and rearing for species diagnosis by using morphological, cytotaxonomical and molecular characters. The use of DNA taxonomy along with morphology and ecology is emphasised for identification of cryptic or sibling species within the species-complexes especially in species-complexes of medical problem. Identification keys for 73 Indian species are given for the first time. The book ends with a chapter on the lesson learnt, practical tips and future research for study of blackflies in the country. This book is a step-by-step guide for the blackfly study in this region.