The philosophy remains the same, to try and present clear and concise accounts of the most relevant information on the identification, life cycles and infections transmitted by arthropods of medical importance. The text has been completely revised and updated to include most recent vector and disease control strategies and new discoveries relating to the epidemiology of disease transmission. In 2000 some mosquito species formerly in the genus Aedes were transferred to the new genus Ochlerotatus, so that for example Aedes togoi is now called Ochlerotatus togoi. Although this change will inevitably lead to some confusion, I nevertheless have used it here because the name Ochlerotatus will now be found in most of the more recent scientific literature. Not to use this new generic name would create greater confusion! Some figures have been redrawn and new ones added, as have new tables and an appendix.

I have tried to help students during revisionary reading by placing in bold italics words relating to items, whether morphological (e.g. antennae, capitulum) or biological (e.g. transovarial, reservoir hosts), that are important in vector recognition or for understanding the role of vectors in disease transmission.

In addition to the Further reading at the end of each chapter, there is a Select bibliography of some key publications, mostly books on medical entomology, after the Glossary.

As before, readers, whether they be physicians, community health workers, health officials, nurses, or those specializing in medical entomology or parasitology, should be selective when reading the various chapters in this book, and focus on facts and issues that are most relevant to their needs or studies.