The parasitic Hymenoptera are a highly successful and important group of insects comprising probably over a million species. Despite the vast amount of research that has been carried out on the group over the last 100 years or so, there are still many unexplained aspects of their biology. In recent years interest in the parasitic Hymenoptera has grown as a result of the increasing demand for biological methods for pest control and their possible use as natural enemies. Parasitic wasps are also tremendously important in research on pollution dynamics and on host-parasite interactions. In this unique volume Donald Quicke provides an up-to-date review of the biology of parasitic wasps which focuses primarily on genetics, developmental biology, physiology, anatomy and molecular biology, though many aspects of behaviour and ecology are also covered. Attention is drawn to the importance of both life history strategy an phylogeny to many features of parasitic wasp biology, and exciting new areas of research are highlighted. Parasitic Wasps provides an extensive guide to the relevant literature. The book will prove invaluable to researchers working on this group and to those with broader interests in entomology, physiology, behaviour, ecology and pest control.

This volume embraces the history of insect palaeontology, methods for studying fossils, the taphonomic processes leading to their formation, the diagnostic features of all insect orders, both extant and extinct, the major fossils of each order, and the implications that can be drawn from the palaeoentomological record about past ecology and climates.

This is the first time that a single book has attempted to cover the whole of the fossil history of insects so comprehensively. The volume embraces the history of insect palaeontology, methods for studying fossils, the taphonomic processes leading to their formation, the diagnostic features of all insect orders, both extant and extinct, the major fossils of each order, and the implications that can be drawn from the palaeoentomological record about past ecology and climates. Many new insights are presented.
It is the product principally of the largest palaeoentomological group in the world, in Moscow, and makes full use of the remarkable collection that these workers have developed. It includes a very large number of illustrations showing both real fossils and reconstructions of extinct taxa. The systematic part is treated in a phylogenetic framework, with information on fossil groups being used to help interpret relationships. An appendix provides information on virtually all sites where fossil insects have been found. This book is essential to all students of palaeoentomology and contains a wealth of information that will be of interest to students of insect evolutionary relationships and of palaeontology in general.