Helmut F. van Emden and Richard Harrington,
eds.CABI, Wallingford, United Kingdom, 2007, 717 pp.,
$290.00, ISBN: 978-0-85199-819-0

Aphids are one of the most damaging pests groups to temperate plant agriculture both as direct pests and as disease vectors, and a great deal of research on the biology and control of this group exists. This collection of 31 self-contained contributed chapters aims to address and modernize the information relevant to the study of aphids as agricultural pests. The editors state that they are not seeking "to match the comprehensive coverage of morphology, physiology, and ecology found in Aphids: Their Biology, Natural Enemies and Control" (Minks and Harrewijn 1987). The volume examines the pest status and management of numerous species and the underlying biology that leads to pest situations. Overlap and redundancy occur among the chapters only when necessary to complete a particular section.

The book begins with a discussion of how the variation within an aphid species contributes to taxonomic challenges associated with aphids. This chapter also details the taxonomic status of 14 economically important aphid species. Population genetics of the group (chapter 2) are addressed in the context of how molecular markers (i.e., allozymes, DNA-based methods) are advancing the study of genetic variation, clonality, life cycle, host relations, and colonization. The factors leading to individual aphids selecting, remaining, and feeding on a particular plant are given an understandably substantial discussion along with feeding behavior and mechanics (chapter 4). The nutritional aspects of phloem-feeding receives its own chapter (chapter 5), which contains nice sections on the contributions of microbial symbionts to aphid nutrition and a long-term rearing technique involving an artificial diet. The driving forces behind aphid movement at different spatial scales are the subjects of chapter 7. This chapter nicely presents the implications of movement to pest status and how this information can be incorporated into management strategies. Chapter 8, reviewing natural enemy biology, focuses on the foraging behaviors of common predators and hymenopteran parasitoids. Also, aphid pathogens deservedly receive much attention in this chapter. The chapter also includes discussion on factors (e.g., intraguild predation and mutualisms with ants and symbionts) that limit natural enemy impact on aphid populations. The current understanding of how chemicals influence aphid interactions with conspecifics, plants and natural enemies (chapter 9) is discussed at length. A subsequent chapter on insecticide resistance (chapter 10) reviews the mechanisms of resistance documented in aphids and the underlying biological and ecological factors leading to it. Chapter 12 on population dynamics emphasizes population modeling but also has a very thought-provoking discussion of how prolonged development time, relative to aphids, of specialist natural enemies constrains their effectiveness in aphid biological control.

The next section of the book contains chapters describing how aphids damage crops and the approaches to ameliorating this damage. Chapters on feeding injury (chapter 13) and transmission of plant viruses (chapter 14) are well written, researched, and referenced, and provide this important information in a very accessible way. Chapters 15-18 review different tactical approaches to aphid management, host plant resistance, chemical, biological, and cultural control. The chapter on chemical control is of particular value because of the vast changes in insecticide availability and application methods that have occurred in the last 15 yr. Moreover, insecticides remain a frequently used control option in most crops. Another valuable discussion in this section (chapter 16) pertains to manipulating cropland in ways to minimize aphid impact. Natural enemy biology is discussed earlier in the book, and the biological control chapter (chapter 18) focuses primarily on direct interventions (e.g., introduction and augmentation) to increase numbers of natural enemies. Chapters on monitoring and forecasting (chapter 19) and decision support systems (chapter 31) offer reviews on how data can be collected and used to inform crop protection tactics.

After these broader discussions is a 10-chapter section of integrated pest management (IPM) case studies (brassicas, berry crops, cotton, leafy salad crops, grain, seed potato, sorghum, cucurbits, deciduous fruit trees, and tropical and subtropical fruit trees). The case studies illustrate that aphid management challenges are dependent on the crop system and whether there are multiple versus single aphid species, virus transmission, or insecticide resistance concerns. This section benefits from the inclusion of executive summaries at the end of each case study, which serve to unify this material. If read in entirety, these chapters give a fairly complete portrait of aphids as crop pests and how they are currently managed.

In addition to the contributed chapters, there is a color plate section with high-quality photographs of the 14 aphid species featured in the introductory chapter and common aphid natural enemies. A comprehensive taxonomic glossary that contains genus, species, taxonomic authority, and common name is found in the back matter. The page numbers of where each organism is mentioned within the book are conspicuously absent from this glossary, but many are listed in the standard index. The volume fulfills its aim by providing a comprehensive body of information on the applied aspects of aphids that would take an enormous amount of time for an individual to uncover. More importantly, this information is presented in a very readable manner. The 175 pages of references alone make this a valuable contribution and will be of tremendous utility to aphid researchers initiating a literature research. Extension personnel and private sector advisors could also gain much from reading particular sections (i.e., IPM case studies). Finally, books of this nature tend to have large price tags, and this one is no exception, but purchase will likely payoff for those involved with this pest group. If they don't purchase it themselves, workers in economic entomology should request that their institutional libraries acquire this volume.

Michael P. Seagraves
North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory,
USDA-ARS, Brookings, South Dakota

Journal of Economic Entomology
Vol. 102, No. 4, August 2009, Page 1723 - 1724