Aphid Parasites (Hymenoptera, Aphidiidae) of the Mediterranean Area

An analysis of the particular topics in biological control programmes all over the world indicates an increased interest in the utilization of aphid parasites. Besides the so-called traditional biological control of introduced aphids, there appears a situation which could perhaps be called a renaissance of biocontrol, i. e. the utilization of biotic agents against insecticide-resistant populations of aphid pests. The rapid increase in the amount of information as well as the necessity of syntheti- cal papers are the well-known features in today's entomology. This requirement is much more topical in the groups where brief summarized information is needed for research workers in applied branches. The author has been well aware of all these difficulties and requirements owing to his own experience both in basic and applied research. Several years ago he decided to summarize our knowledge on the aphid parasites of the world by elaborating synthetical studies on the particular zoogeographical areas.These papers have been intended to represent annotated reviews of the parasite fauna, distribution, biologies and utilization in aphid pest management, with keys to genera and species, hos- parasite catalogue, and a list of references added. Naturally, these studies are only relatively updated, with respect to a certain deadline from which the research may be further continued. At present, the Far East Asian and the Mediterranean areas have been reviewed in this or at least in a similar manner.