Book Reviews
TAXONOMISTS'GLOSSARYOF MosQuITO AI'\ATOMYby Ralph
E. Harbach and Kenneth L. Knight. 1980. Plexus Publishing, Inc., Marlton, N. J. xi + 415 pp., 83 pI. $24.95.
T AXONOMISTS'GLOSSARYOF MOSQUITO ANATOMYby Ralph
E. Harbach and Kenneth L. Knight. ]980. Plexus Publishing, Inc., Marlton, N.J. xi 4 + 415 pp. pp. $24.95.
The family Culicidae is undoubtedly the most thoroughly
studied and best known family in the animal kingdom. The
acquisition by mankind of so much knowledge has resulted
from the labor of hundreds of workers who have used
hundreds of descriptive terms. As the literature has exploded,
the need for uniformity has become more acute. This need
has been especially obvious to those concerned with identification and classification. Botha de Meillon recognized this
need and vigorously promoted the preparation of a glossary.
The task involved many individuals,
prominent
among
whom were the late Jean L. Laffoon and the late John N.
Belkin. Most of the financial support for the project came
from the U. S. Army Medical Research and Development
Command, the National Library of Medicine (NIH, HEW),
North Carolina State University, and the Smithsonian
Institution. As the work progressed, parts of the glossary were
published in Mosquito
Systematics.
Thus culicidologists
throughout the world had a chance to criticize and recommend. The present volume will not disappoint
the many
individuals who have looked forward with interest to its
completion.
This attractive book is far more than a glossary for students of mosquitoes.
It is an invaluable book for all entomologists interested in insect anatomy and systematics. It
contains far more than definitions of anatomical structures
since it contains extensive references to the literature (more
than 500 citations). The annotated list of synonyms for and
comments on numerous terms is one of the most useful parts
of the book. The main divisions of the volume include introduction, explanation, adult, egg, larva, pupa, vestiture, literature, and index. There are 83 beautiful and clearly labelled
text figures.
I found only a few spelling errors (for example, "egg burster," page 138) and a few cases where the legend did not
identify the structure
labelled in a figure (for example,
"ADL" in figure 20).
Although the authors list the word "terminalium"
as being
synonomous with genitalia, there is a very distinctive difference between the two. Terminalium
includes the eight uromere whereas the genitalia are primarily made up of modified parts of the ninth sternum. The term "terminalium"
includes structures which are not involved in copulationfor example, the eighth uromere is not necessarily directly
involved in coitus.
The objective of the project was to produce "a glossary
naming, defining, and illustrating each sclerotized structure
of all life stages of the mosquito ... listing all synonyms of
these names." Following the introductory
material there are
5 parts to the book: adult, egg, larva, pupa, and vestiture,
Each recommended
or accepted term is listed in bold face,
capital letters followed by an abbreviation,
references to
figures and literature, a definition, synonyms, and sometimes
additional explanations. Some unacceptable terms are listed
in bold face, lower case letters largely because they are too
vague to be considered synonyms. In selecting recommended
terms "an effort was made to accept the oldest appropriate
name for each structure." Obviously what is "appropriate"
is
a matter of some subjectivity
I was surprised to see the authors promote the term "posttarsus" for the almost universally used term "pretarsus,"
especially since the latter was used long before 1923 and since
the authors do not point out specific reasons for a "widespread dissatisfaction"
with the old term.
Some of the specialized terms seem unnecessary,
for
example, the term "anterior mandibular apodeme" is a more
descriptive word than the word "preartis."
I heartily recommend this book to all entomologists.
indispensable to mosquito specialists.
It is
Jack Colvard Jones
Department of Entomology
University of Maryland
College Park. M D 20742
R. E. Snodgrass was fond of pointing out the difference
between anatomy and morphology. The former is descriptive; the latter is interpretive. Different interpretations
evoke
emotional responses among morphologists
and taxonomists. Some of the interpretations
accepted by Harbach and
Knight will be rejected by some culicidologists
on the
grounds that insufficient attention was given to phylogeny,
other Diptera, Latin root words, proper grammar, or something else. This reviewer urges restraint. Users of the book
should not quibble or emote. They should be thankful for the
availability of a unique compilation which will make taxonomic research on mosquitoes easier.
A REVISION OF THE A t"DES SCUTFU.A RIS GROUP OF TONGA
(DIPTERA: CULICIDAE), by Yiau-Min Huang and James
C. Hitchcock.
1981. Contributions
of the American
Entomological
Institute, Medical Entomology StudiesXII, Vol. 17, No.3. 107 pp.
The Aedes scutellaris complex consisting of about thirty
species represents a mosq uito group of major medical importance. A number of the species are important
vectors of
wuchererian and brugian filariasis and in some areas dengue
viruses. The complex is widely distri buted on the islands of
the South Pacific and in parts of the Oriental region. It is an
extremely difficult taxonomic group. Many ofthe species are
separated only on the basis of very subtle differences and
identifications
based on single specimens
are often
impossible.
Accompanying
the definitions are 365 superb drawings
and scanning electron micrographs, and 23 tables for comparisons of terminologies
of various authors. The list of
references cited covers 23 pages; the index, 64 pages.
Although we have a good understanding
of mosquito classification there is still much work which will have to be done at
the structural level if we are going to elucidate species complexes some of which are causing baffling problems with
respect to disease transmission. This glossary will be a truly
indispensable aid for beginning students as well as experienced specialists.
The present study is a revision of the scutellaris
the Tonga Islands of the South Pacific
group of
The authors, on the basis of the examination
of more than
9,000 specimens including 1,866 individual rearings with
associated larval and pupal skins, have recognized three
species and one subspecies from these islands. These include
William E, Bickley
65/6 40th Ave.
University Park. M D 20782
147
Vol. 27, no. 2
ESA BULLETIN
148
Aedes cooki Belkin, a new species Aedes kesseli. Aedes tongae tongae Edwards and Aedes tongae tabu Ramilingam and
Belkin. Aedes cooki. Ae. kisseli and Ae. t. tabu are important
vectors of filariasis and probable vectors of dengue. Ae. t.
tongae is a suspect vector of filariasis, dengue and D. immitis. The adult male and female, larva and pupa of each species
are described in minute detail. Also included in the discussion of each species is a section of type-data, distribution,
taxonomy, bionomics and medical importance. There are 29
figures which include for each species, the detailed structure
and chaetotaxy of the larvel and pupal stage, the male and
female terminalia, and the thorax, hind legs and abdomen of
the adult female. Nine maps of the study areas are also
included.
Keys to the adults, male terminalia, larvae and pupae are
presented for the ten taxa known to occur in the island
groups of Fij"i, Tonga and Samoa.
The authors have given us a superbly illustrated
and
detailed treatise on a very important group of mosquitoes.
Systematic studies of this quality have become the trademark
of the "Contributions
of the American Entomological
Institute." This is a reflection, not only on the expertise of the
authors, but on the influence of the late John N. Belkin,
whose publications
on the mosquitoes of the South Pacific
and the Middle Americas set the standard and provided the
guidelines for works of this thoroughness
and quality.
Lewis T. Nielsen
Department of Biology
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
CONTROLLED RELEASE TECHNOLOGIES: METHODS. THEORY
AND ApPLICATIONS Volumes I and II, A.F. Kydonieus,
ed. 1980. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla. Vol. 1-261
pages, 82 tables, 104 figures; Vol. II-273
pages, 159
tables, 202 figures.
This work involves an extensive review of controlled
release technologies (CRT) which depend almost exclusively
on the use of polymers and polymer technology.
The two-volume set is divided into 19 chapters in which
Volume I contains Chapters 1-6, and Volume II, Chapter
1-13, beginning with an introductory
and background chapter in Volume I. This is followed by a discussion of all of the
major technological
areas of controlled release as to basic
components
of devices, characteristics
of release processes
with information on applications and areas of use in subsequent chapters.
Concern over administration
of high doses of drugs and
their subsequent
risk has indicated the need for delivery
systems to regulate dosage. Investigation
in this area of
research in the drug industry for the past 20 years has
resulted in this new multidisciplinary
science of CRT. This
may be more properly termed "the science of regulated dosage release." Applications,
advantages,
and fundamental
concepts of CR T have been the subject of many symposia,
several books dealing with formulation, and numerous scientific publications; however, all known controlled release processes and delivery systems have not been assembled into one
reference source. To accomplish this task, 25 different editorial participants
considered expert in their field collaborated
to produce a professional reference book.
In reviewing the 504 pages of technical text, there is a great
deal of theory and kinetic equations. Where possible, I have
grouped chapters together for comments based on areas of
personal experience.
Because of the complexity
of these
chapters, this reviewer felt obligated to try to outline and
explain contents in more detail than the introduction
or
preface gives on this subject. A definite drawback ofthis text
to the student is that it does not contain more detailed
arrangement in indexing and outlining the contents.
Adding to this confusion is the sequence of chapters in
both volumes in that they follow no outlined format nor
share consecutive numbering. It would have been better to
begin Volume II with Chapter 7 rather than having two
Chapter I 'soThis brings to issue another important consideration in the Table of Contents. Each volume begins with the
same preface and Table of Contents, which is a listing of
chapters. Then, one must go to each individual chapter to
find the specific contents. This listing of information would
have been better placed in the beginning Table of Contents of
each volume. However, each volume concludes with a good
cross-index
listing which greatly benefits finding subject
material.
VOl.UME I
Introductory
Chapter Review
In Chapter I, Volume I, Dr. Kydonieus outlines the format of controlled release systems and in Table 9 presents an
excellent summation
of commercial
application
of controlled release devices. In outlining the contents of the book,
however, some inconsistency appears. For example, in Table
4, page 7, the listing uses letter categories and the following
text explanation is listed numerically. Although chapter references to specific sections are given, this introductory
outline for an extensive reference text is not adequate. Helpful
here, too, would have been a complete and labeled introductory statement instead of starting the book off with a table.
Also a very important addition to this type of text would
have been a glossary containing
definitions of the many
terms used.
Chapters 2-6 (Monolithic
Devices)
The reviews in Chapters 2-6, Volume I, differentiate types
of physical systems used to formulate polymeric matrixes
combined
with active ingredients.
These ingredients are
physically blended together by molding or extrusion proccsses to produce a uniform polymerized plastic product;
hence, the term monolith. The type of polymeric matrix used
can be varied as to the desired characteristics of the monolithic device relating to degradation and release rates. Section
I of Chapter II deals essentially with theoretical principles
and kinetics of solute release as it relates to the pharmaceutical field. Section II continues this by discussing release
mechanisms
of synthetic polymers classifying systems as
elastomers "rubbers" and plastomers "plastics." Important
information is given in Chapter 3 by N. Cardarelli on elastomeric CRT used in new products such as antifouling rubbers,
antifouling paints and molluscicides.
The subject of the fourth review in Chapter 4 on Membrane Systems by W.P. O'Neill, is nicely organized into
specific sections and well illustrated. It is concerned with the
development of controlled release reservoir systems for devices used in pharmaceutical
applications.
Examples given
involve
use of silicone
rubber,
polydimethylsiloxane
(PDMS),
and ethylene vinylacetate (EV A) membranes in
devices such as heart valves, steroid controlled release drugs,
ocular, and other transdermal
therapeutic
implantation
systems.
The most significant chapter to agricultural applications
concerns multilayered,
laminated
structures discussed in
Chapter 5. Experimental
and controlled release laminated
reservoir systems used primarily with insecticides are outlined in detail along with new experimental research in crop
protection using slow release formulations. The major objective of all controlled release insecticide product development