Black flies (simuliids) are among the most severe pests affecting humans and animals worldwide. Responsible for the transmission of onchocerciasis among humans and bovine onchocerciasis and avian malaria among wildlife and agricultural animals, black flies' competency as disease vectors is rivaled only by that of mosquitos and ticks. Because of their economic and medical importance, black flies have been the subject of intense research, tremendous progress having been achieved in many areas, including taxonomy, ecology, cytogenetics, biochemistry, and control.

This book, evolving from an international conference of the world's foremost authorities, integrates for the first time the wide range of multidisciplinary research findings on black flies. The thirty-two chapters present a comprehensive discussion of systematics, biochemistry, sensory physiology, behavior and ecology of immatures and adults, population monitoring and management, current methods of control, and disease epidemiology. The annotated checklist identifies and provides geographical distribution of all formally described black flies in the world and includes almost 2,000 specific/subspecific and 121 generic/subgeneric names.

The book provides a cohesive understanding of black flies and will be invaluable to entomologists, epidemiologists, biologists, veterinarians, parasitologists, and medical researchers concerned with developing an economically conservative, environmentally sound management system against black flies and simuliid-borne diseases worldwide.