Acarology

acarology

[‚a·kə′rä·lə·je]

(invertebrate zoology)

A branch of zoology dealing with the mites and ticks.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Acarology

 

the branch of zoology that studies mites.

Acarology is a subdivision of arachnology—the study of arachnids, which include mites. Mites are characterized by their abundance (more than 10,000 species), wide distribution, and great importance in nature and the life of man. Acarology is subdivided into general branches that study mites from a broad zoological point of view—comparative anatomy, embryology, physiology, ecology, zoogeography, phylogeny, and classification—and into specialized and applied branches—medical, veterinary, and agricultural acarology. The latter branches border on medicine, veterinary medicine, and agriculture. They provide the scientific basis for protection against harmful mites and utilization of helpful ones; these branches of acarology have made great progress.

REFERENCE

Baker, E. W., and Wharton, G. W. Vvedenie v akarologiiu Moscow, 1955. (Translated from English.)

A. B. LANGE

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.