Manual of Afrotropical Diptera. Volume 1

Ashley H Kirk-Spriggs (ed.) – Bradley J. Sinclair (ed.) – Stephen A. Marshall (photographs)

Manual of Afrotropical Diptera. Volume 1. Introductory chapters and keys to Diptera families

Pretoria, SANBI Publishing, 2018. 425 pp. Richly illustrated with over 1600 illustrations, including 40 colour maps, 800 colour and 60 bl&w images and 690 line drawings of flies. Hardcover. Good condition. Tight binding and clean interiors.

This four volume series, a collaboration of over 90 international experts on Diptera, is the first-ever synopsis of the 108 families of flies known from the Afrotropical Region and includes discussions on biology and immature stages, economic importance, classification, identification to the genus level, as well as a synopsis of each genus. This work provides the basics for understanding the diversity of a major order of insects in a large tropical and sub-tropical region and is the first such synopsis of its kind for any major insect order occurring in the Afrotropics.

Volume 1 includes 11 general introductory chapters dealing with the history of Afrotropical dipterology, collection and preservation, morphology and terminology, natural history, agricultural and veterinary, medical, forensic and phytosanitary significance, biogeography, conservation and the phylogeny of flies. The volume also includes identification keys to all Afrotropical fly families for both adult and larval stages.