Alfred G. Wheeler, Jr.
Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY
2001, 507 pp., Hardcover Price, $95.00
ISBN: 0-8014-3827-6

Al Wheeler has long had a passionate interest in the Miridae, plant bugs, and has published extensively on their biology over almost 30 years. The epitome of his lifetime of dedication can now be found in Biology of Plant Bugs. The Miridae are the largest family of true bugs, with just more than 10,000 valid described species; 10% of all valid names have been introduced in the past 10 years. Undoubtedly many more species remain to be discovered and described, especially because only 170 of all valid species-group names are applied to taxa from Australia. It is opportune, then, that we are provided with the first comprehensive survey of the burgeoning biological literature on the group.

The Miridae have long attracted the attention of a dedicated group of heteropterists. The vast Palearctic fauna formed the basis of the modern classification of the group as first developed by F. X. Fieber beginning in 1858. That system was later extended and elaborated on a world basis by O. M. Reuter, beginning in the early 1870s. From the start, Reuter’s work contained information on the biological attributes of the largely phytophagous and host-specific group. It is this biological information that Al Wheeler has attempted to summarize and synthesize. His work is dedicated to the late Bertil Kullenberg (and I. M. Kerzhner) whose work on mirid biology and reproduction forms the basis for almost all other modern studies of the subject.

An indication of the remarkable nature of Wheeler’s work can be found in the list of references, which contains 4,173 entries (by actual count) on 112 pages. Whereas taxonomists are well known for ferreting out every last paper containing the introduction of new names, the task of finding papers in the nontaxonomic literature is more difficult and seldom achieved at the same level of thoroughness. Nonetheless, Wheeler has accomplished the virtual equivalent of that task. The references alone will make this work of lasting and special value to all persons interested in insect biology.

Wheeler has organized the mass of information in those references masterfully, providing for the first time a world perspective on plant bug biology. The text of the book is divided into five major sections: Background, Perspectives, Phytophagy, Zoophagy, and Conclusions. Each section has from two to five subdivisions. Three appendixes contain useful supplementary documentation for the text, including author and subfamily placement for all valid names; common names and the corresponding scientific names for many of the species; and common names, corresponding scientific names, authors, and family placements of plants. An extensive glossary assists readers with specialized terminology. Finally, Wheeler provides indexes to scientific names of animals and to subjects.

The introductory sections, Background and Perspectives, give an overview of the Miridae that can be used by workers at all levels of expertise. I believe this is the most comprehensive treatment of mirid biology ever published and provides an excellent review of subjects such as acoustic communication, chemical communication, reproduction, oviposition, and diapause. Although Wheeler gives an overview of higher classification of the Miridae, there are no keys to the higher taxa. Thus, all efforts at identification will require recourse to other sources, to which Wheeler provides references.

Part III, Phytophagy, brings together information on plant feeding in the Miridae. The chapters are organized around the plant parts upon which the Miridae are known to feed, including leaves and stems, inflorescences, nectar and pollen, and fruits. The papers cited and species treated are primarily those in which some experimental work has taken place, and as a consequence primarily those that are known to be pests of crops or ornamental plants.

Part IV, Zoophagy, deals with the feeding on animal matter by the Miridae, including obligate and facultative zoophagy and scavenging. The discussion is subdivided according to the life stage of the prey and the various groups that serve as prey. Of necessity, most of the information pertains to the limited number of taxa for which feeding habits are known in some detail, again many of them being of greater or lesser economic importance.

In chapters 16 and 17, Wheeler deals with ancestral feeding habits and feeding trends within the higher taxa of the Miridae. Even with the most extensive review ever undertaken, as many questions are left unanswered as are those answered with regard to these two issues. Feeding habits in the Miridae are not easily characterized, and only through additional observation will the details of pattern be revealed. Examples of unanswered questions include such seemingly simple issues as whether or not members of the Cylapinae, which are almost invariably associated with fungi, actually feed on fungi or whether they are predatory.

In chapter 18, Wheeler offers numerous suggestions for research avenues in mirid biology. I think some of the most intriguing include additional investigations of the behavior and feeding habits of myrmecomorphic species, and the further study of zoophagous species. The latter case is all the more intriguing because apparently predaceous species in the very large genera Deraeocoris and Phytocoris to a great degree live exclusively on one or a few closely related plant species, but almost nothing is known about their actual food sources.

Many readers will find great value in the wealth of illustrations that Al Wheeler has assembled, black and white and color. These will aid in recognizing taxa, understanding specialized morphology, and identifying feeding damage caused by the Miridae.

Al Wheeler is to be congratulated for the fruits of his labors. Biology of Plant Bugs will be a valuable reference for years to come. It should serve as a model for similar works that others may contemplate.

Randall T. Schuh
George Willett Curator and Chair
Division of Invertebrate Zoology
American Museum of Natural History
New York, NY 10024
schuh@amnh.org
American Entomologist
Vol. 49, No.2, Summer 2003