SOMETHING’S ROTTEN IN THE HALL OF JUSTICE… ...although I don’t really follow politics, myself. You could say I ‘work with my hands.’ I’m a head-breaker for the Mob; I come for you if you owe the Bushman money. Or whatever other reason he gives. But today’s job just can’t go right. Supposed to be beating up a loser with a bad habit, but I picked the wrong guy and now I’m babysitting some lab nerd babbling about Judges and bioagents, and it turns out I’m following politics after all…

The most complete reference work on mosquitoes ever produced, Mosquitoes of the World is an unmatched resource for entomologists, public health professionals, epidemiologists, and reference libraries.

**The instant New York Times bestseller.** *An international bestseller.* Finalist for the Lane Anderson Award Finalist for the RBC Taylor Award “Hugely impressive, a major work.”—NPR A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution? The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito. Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious pest, roughly the size and weight of a grape seed, has been at the frontlines of history as the grim reaper, the harvester of human populations, and the ultimate agent of historical change. As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power. The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village. Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable. Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito’s reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order.

Bug zappers were invented for one purpose: to kill mosquitoes, the bane of many summer evenings, camping trips, and exotic vacations. These blood-sucking insects do more than leave us with itchy bites, though. The diseases they carry and inject, such as yellow fever, dengue fever, and the West Nile virus, make them responsible for more human deaths than any other animal. The most deadly of these, malaria, has been mostly eradicated from the northern hemisphere, but it continues to pose a mortal threat in developing countries. It kills nearly 700,000 of the 350 million that succumb to the infection each year, and the majority of the deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on scientific fact, historical evidence, and literary evocation, Mosquito provides a colorful portrait of this tiny insect and the notorious diseases it carries. Richard Jones explores the mosquito’s sinister reputation, tracing its transformation from trivial gnat into a serious disease-carrying menace. While Jones recounts the history of mosquitoes’ relationship with humans, he also offers a persuasive warning against the contemporary complacency surrounding malaria and other diseases in Western society. Mosquito is a compelling look at tropical medicine, diseases, and their connection to one of our smallest adversaries.

The Third Edition of this popular reference work describes the methods and rationale for sampling mosquitoes. Originally written by Professor M. W. Service, the book has been updated by John B Silver. More than 1,000 new references have been added and out-of-date material has been removed. The book emphasizes the ecology and behavior of those species that play a role as vectors of human and animal diseases and infections. Designed to serve as a practical reference for field entomologists and mosquito control specialists, it describes sampling methods and trapping technologies and tools for the collection of mosquitoes from egg to adult.

Numerous methods have been devised to catch mosquitoes and many approaches employed to study their ecology and behaviour but until the first edition of this book in 1976 there was no comprehensive guide to mosquito ecology. New work on the topic has meant that this completely revised and updated second edition was required.