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The original stimulus which started KENNETH SPENCER on a study of the Agro myzid flies was an invitation, which he accepted, to translate from the German the monograph on Leaf Miners by Professor E. M. HERING. From this developed nearly 20 years of collaboration until Professor HERING's death in 1967. Dr. SPENCER has himself described over 600 new species in the family, many of which he collected and reared from known host plants during his extensive travels to all the five main continents. Largely as a result of his work, the number of species known in Britain has increased from 90 in 1945 to 313 today. He is thus uniquely qualified to write this book about the hundred and fifty or so species which are regularly associated with cultivated plants. Much of the taxonomic detail provided here will be of value primarily to specialists; but with the help of a microscope and the botanical host list (Chapter 2) and the numerous illustrations (mostly prepared by ANN SPENCER) those in agri cultural institutes and elsewhere should now be able to identify the majority of species found attacking crops in any part of the world.
List of contents
I. Introductory. Early pest species - natural control by parasites - insecticides - insecticidal resistance - types of damage - distribution - systematics - key to genera.- II. Distribution, evolution and host specificity. Pest and host lists.- III. Leguminous crops 1: Internal feeders.- IV. Leguminous crops 2: Leaf-miners.- V. Miscellaneous crops 1: Internal feeders.- VI. Miscellaneous crops 2: Leaf-miners.- VII. A new genus embracing leaf-miners on tea, coffee and other crops based in the Old World tropics and northern Australia.- VIII. Polyphagous Liriomyza and Phytomyza species.- IX. Leaf-miners on cereals and other graminaceous crops.- X. Stem-borers, gall-causers and leaf-miners on trees.- XI. Internal feeders and leaf-miners on ornamentals.- XII. Control measures.- XIII. Beneficial species.- Appendix A Report on visit to Venezuela in April/May 1972.- Appendix B New taxa, new synonyms and new combinations.- References.- List of Plates.- Index: part 1, general.- Index: part 2, parasites.
