Insects are the most interesting and diverse group of organisms on earth, many of which are useful as pollinators of crops and wild plants while others are useful as natural enemies keeping pestiferous insects in check. It is important to conserve these insects for our survival and for this the diversity of insect species inhabiting the different ecosystems of our country must be known. The cornerstone to studies of any kind of organismal diversity is their taxonomic identity. Even after over two and half centuries of studies, so little is known of the insect wealth of our country. It has contributions from taxonomists who have been studying Indian insects for long, this book offers up to date information on many important groups of Indian insects seeking to fill the lacuna of a long felt need for a comprehensive work on the taxonomy of Indian insects. Salient features: Provides an up-to-date taxonomy of major insect groups of India Presents identification keys with illustrations of several important groups of Indian insects Gives a new insight into why insects are so abundant Addresses fundamental questions in mechanoreception and cross kingdom interactions using insects as model systems Indian Insects: Diversity and Science is a festschrift to Professor C. A. Viraktamath, an insect taxonomist par excellence. It has been designed to cater to the needs of academicians, researchers and students who wish to identify insects collected from local environments and will be an invaluable aid for those working in the areas of systematics, ecology, behaviour, diversity and the conservation of insects.

This is the first comprehensive synopsis of the biodiversity of Diptera, with chapters on all regional faunas, Diptera as ecological indicators, statistical techniques for estimating species diversity based on the known fauna, molecular tools and trends in digital publication.

Vector-borne diseases (e.g., malaria, filariasis, dengue, chikungunya, Japanese encepha-litis, yellow fever, leishmaniasis etc.) are today one of the major causes of human suffering, both in terms of increasing morbidity/ mortality and stunting intellectual/ economic growth. No country, whether in tropics or temperate and developed or underdeveloped, is spared from their devastating impacts. The global disease burden is nearly unfathomable and there is a necessity to ponder over this issue for developing successful mitigation and response strategies. This book, Vector-Borne Diseases: Epidemiology & Control, explores in a unique way several biological and ecological phenomena of vector-borne diseases in context with their impact on human health and economy, in addition to update our knowledge on emerging regional and global vector-borne disease scenarios, public and animal health preparedness to enhance prevention, control, and therapeutic measures by employing scientific and techn- ological advances through integrating available as well as innovative strategies to address current and future threats. This proceedings book of the 8th Int. Symp. of Vectors and Vector-borne Diseases is comprising 35 highly specialized articles on varied subjects presented in a lucid language and will hopefully serve a good purpose to all the researchers, university/ medical college UG/PG students, general public health enthusiasts/stakeholders and government officials who yearn to be updated on the subject of vector-borne diseases and are in some way or other contributing their bit towards elimination or control of these diseases.