Parasitoids - species which lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other species, the larvae feeding on and usually killing the host - are important, both because of their use in controlling economic pest species, and also because of their recent use in testing many aspects of evolutionary theory. This book synthesizes work from both schools of parasitoid biology. Chapters cover general parasitoid natural history and taxonomy, reproductive strategy, host searching and selection, and community ecology.
<table><TR><TD> <TD>Acknowledgments <TD>Introduction <TR><TD>1.1 <TD>Parasitoid Definitions <TR><TD>1.2 <TD>Parasitoid Natural History <TR><TD>1.3 <TD>Unusual Life Histories <TR><TD>1.4 <TD>Parasitoid Taxonomy <TR><TD>1.5 <TD>Evolutionary Transitions <TR><TD>2 <TD>Host Location <TR><TD>2.1 <TD>Conceptual Models of Host Location <TR><TD>2.2 <TD>Mechanisms of Host Location <TR><TD>2.3 <TD>Learning <TR><TD>2.4 <TD>Comparative Studies of Host Location <TR><TD>2.5 <TD>Patch Use <TR><TD>3 <TD>Oviposition Behavior <TR><TD>3.1 <TD>Host Acceptance <TR><TD>3.2 <TD>Clutch Size <TR><TD>3.3 <TD>Superparasitism <TR><TD>4 <TD>Sex Ratio <TR><TD>4.1 <TD>Sex Determination in Parasitoid Wasps <TR><TD>4.2 <TD>Fisher's Principle <TR><TD>4.3 <TD>Local Mate Competition and Sex Ratio in Structured Populations <TR><TD>4.4 <TD>Sex Ratio and Host quality <TR><TD>4.5 <TD>Other Factors <TR><TD>5 <TD>Selfish Genetic Elements <TR><TD>5.1 <TD>Non-Mendelian Genetic Elements in Nasonia <TR><TD>5.2 <TD>Microorganisms and Thelytoky <TR><TD>5.3 <TD>Primary Male Production in Heteronomous Hyperparasitoids <TR><TD>5.4 <TD>Gregarious Oviposition in Muscidifurax <TR><TD>6 <TD>The Immature Parasitoid <TR><TD>6.1 <TD>Host Quality and the Juvenile Parasitoid <TR><TD>6.2 <TD>Host Defenses <TR><TD>6.3 <TD>Countermeasures <TR><TD>6.4 <TD>Host Manipulation by Endoparasitoids <TR><TD>6.5 <TD>Interactions between Immature Parasitoids <TR><TD>7 <TD>The Adult Parasitoid <TR><TD>7.1 <TD>Size and Fitness <TR><TD>7.2 <TD>Mating <TR><TD>7.3 <TD>Resource Defense and Maternal Care <TR><TD>7.4 <TD>Host Defense against the Adult Parasitoid <TR><TD>7.5 <TD>Dispersal <TR><TD>7.6 <TD>Defense from Predators <TR><TD>7.7 <TD>Host Synchronization <TR><TD>8 <TD>Life Histories and Community Patterns <TR><TD>8.1 <TD>Life History Evolution <TR><TD>8.2 <TD>Host Range and Parasitoid Species Load <TR><TD>8.3 <TD>Parasitoid Diversity <TR><TD> <TD>References <TR><TD> <TD>Author Index <TR><TD> <TD>Subject Index <TR><TD> <TD>Taxonomic Index
Godfray gives us an interesting and complete review of the taxonomy, evolution, and natural history of parasitoids ... [however] the true value of this book lies in its synthesis of theoretical and empirical aspects of parasitoid biology. Behavioral Ecology