The papers in this book are organized as follows: insect-plant communities, host-plant selection, genetics and evolution, host-plant resistance and application of transgenic plants, and multitrophic interactions. Besides seven invited papers and a paper with concluding remarks, this volume also contains the short communications of all 115 oral presentations and posters. Included too, are the summaries of four European Science Foundation workshops held over the past two years, where European scientists discussed the state-of-the-art and the future of major topics in insect-plant interactions in order to develop better integrated research programs. The field of insect-plant interactions nowadays includes almost all of biology, as well as parts of chemistry and physics. It takes a central position in biology because insects are the most abundant animal group, half of them are herbivores and they dominate all terrestrial ecosystems. Knowledge of insect-plant interactions is thus fundamental to an understanding of the evolution of life on Earth. Two major topics of worldwide concern give this field an extra dimension. First, large amounts of food crops are still lost due to insect pests. With the increasing concern for environmental pollution and the subsequent plans to drastically reduce pesticides, integrated pest management and development of resistant crops become a major focus in agriculture. The importance of the study of insect-plant relationships is thus continuously augmented. Clearly, successful pest control demands sufficient fundamental knowledge of pest-host interactions. Second, such work can contribute towards stopping or even counterbalancing the threatening biodiversity crisis thanks to an understanding of how the interaction of insects and plants has influenced and still influences the diversification and speciation (evolution) of both groups. These problems should, of course, be approached at a multitrophic level.

The 9th International Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP-9) was once more, following the tradition established in 1958, a forum for investigators in both basic and applied entomology interested in the important and fascinating field of interactions between plants and insects. We were pleased and honoured to organise this symposium, which took place June 24--30, 1995 in Gwatt on the shores of the Lake of Thun in Switzerland. 168 participants from 26 countries from all over the world actively took part in the symposium by contributing 12 key-note lectures and a total of 141 oral presentations and posters. The favourable response and the lively interaction of the participants in all symposium activities is the clearest indication of the success of SIP-9. The organisers appreciated the enthusiasm and the willingness to collaborate shown by all participants. The following volume contains written contributions (72) of only half of all presentations. This is due to the fact that we decided to produce not only an account of the proceedings but also to publish all contributions as a special volume of the journal Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. This procedure was last adopted in 1978 for SIP-4, organised by Reginald F. Chapman and Elizabeth A. Bernays, and ensures a wide distribution of the papers within the scientific community and easy access through libraries. Inevitably we had to employ the same review procedure as applicable for the manuscripts regularly submitted to Entomologia.

The 11th International Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP11), held on August 4-10, 2001, in Helsingør, Denmark, followed the tradition of previous SIP meetings and covered topics of different levels from chemistry, physiology, and ethology to ecology, genetics, and evolution of insect-plant relationships. The present volume includes a representative selection of fully refereed papers as well as a complete list of all the contributions which were presented at the meeting. Reviews of selected topics as well as original experimental data are included. The book provides valuable information for students and research workers interested in chemical and biological aspects of interactions between individuals and populations of different organisms.

Over the past 40 years, the SIP meetings have played a central role in the development of the field of insect-plant relationships, providing both a show-case for current research as well as a forum for the airing and development of influential new ideas. The 10th symposium, held 4-10 July 1998, in Oxford, followed that tradition. The present volume includes a representative selection of fully refereed papers from the meeting, plus a listing of the titles of all presentations. The volume includes reviews of major areas within the subject, along with detailed experimental studies. Topics covered include central neural and chemosensory bases of host plant recognition, integrative studies of insect behaviour, tritrophic interactions, plant defences, insect life histories, plant growth responses, microbial partners in insect-plant associations, and genetic bases of host plant associations. The book provides a key source for students and research workers in the field of insect-plant relationships.

The papers in this book are organized as follows: insect-plant communities, host-plant selection, genetics and evolution, host-plant resistance and application of transgenic plants, and multitrophic interactions. Besides seven invited papers and a paper with concluding remarks, this volume also contains the short communications of all 115 oral presentations and posters. Included, too, are the summaries of four European Science foundation workshops held over the past two years, where European scientists discussed the state of the art and the future of major topics in insect-plant interactions in order to develop better integrated research programmes.

This specially compiled volume contains contributions from Wolf Prize laureates. In agriculture, there is no higher prize than the Wolf Prize. The book includes a list of publications and the most important papers in plant and animal breeding, genetics, biochemistry and plant protection, biotechnology, as well as chemistry and the physics of soils.