Modern Acarology consists of papers arising from the Vlll International Congress of Acarology, which was held 6-11 August 1990 in České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia. The title of the book is a paraphrase of the general theme "Acarology as a Modern Science" which was set up for the Congress by the International Executive Committee of the International Congress of Acarology and the local organizers to emphasize recent advances achieved in this discipline.
Current acarological publications present numerous examples of adoption and modification of sophisticated methods and techniques which are also being used in other dynamic disciplines of contemporary science. New approaches to studying ticks and mites have intensified progress in acarine biochemistry, physiology, immunology, genetics and ecology. New areas of acarology such as chemical communication and sensory physiology of ticks and mites, acarological allergology and immunology, cell and molecular biology, evolutionary ecology and numerical taxonomy of ticks and mites have developed rapidly and brought important results.
These modern branches of acarology were representatively covered by the Congress contributions, most of which are encompassed in the two volumes of this book. The most fascinating results, authoritative synthesis of opinion, confrontation of current trends of investigations and indications of productive research areas for the future may be found in the invited papers which were contributed by eminent authors for ten specialized symposia (Vol. 1). A selection of submitted papers which were read in twelve sections or displayed as posters complete this important presentation of advancements in contemporary acarology (Vols. 1 and 2).