Written for academic researchers and graduate students in entomology, this is the first comprehensive analysis of Sciomyzid flies. Sciomyzid flies are important as prime candidates for the biological control of snails and slugs that help transmit diseases such as schistosomiasis or are important agricultural pests. They also serve as a paradigm for the study of the evolution of feeding behavior in predatory insects. Starting with analyses of malacophagy in general and then in Diptera specifically, all important aspects of the Sciomyzidae are discussed, including behavior, ecology, life cycles, morphology, and identification. New behavioral and morphological classifications and hypotheses are proposed on the basis of unpublished information and a complete analysis of the extensive literature. Also included are keys to adults, larvae and puparia and a checklist of world species, with information on geographical range and the location of type specimens. The accompanying DVD includes Clifford O. Berg's classic film on the biology of Sciomyzidae and biological control of snails.

The print edition is available as a set of two volumes (9789004085398).

This book provides the first coherent examination of the vast literature on the diversity of organisms that constitute the natural enemies of terrestrial molluscs. In a series of review chapters, it provides an authoritative synthesis of current research on predators, parasites and pathogens and how they might be used to control mollusc pests.