BIOLOGY OF THE PLANT BUGS (HEMIPTERA: MIRIDAE): PESTS, PREDATORS, OPPORTUNISTS. By Alfred G. Wheeler Jr, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London. 2001. Pp. xv + 507. £63.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8014-3827-6. Miridae, plant bugs, form the largest family of Heteroptera, with approximately 10 000 described species throughout the world. Taxonomically, these known taxa have been catalogued in three recent major works (Henry & Wheeler, 1988; Schuh, 1995; Kerzhner & Josifov, 1999), subsequent to the classic Carvalho catalogue (Carvalho, 1957, 1958a,b, 1959, 1960). Including many economically important species, the mirid bugs have attracted considerable attention from applied entomologists, and numerous reports have been published on their ecology, life cycle, host preference, feeding mechanism, behaviour, control and use as biocontrol agents in integrated pest management (IPM). But these papers are usually limited to certain groups or species, and are published in scattered, often obscure publications, making synthesis of them very difficult. Nevertheless, Alfred Wheeler has successfully brought together a splendid overview and synthesis of the literature pertaining to Miridae on a level sufficiently comparable to that of Kullenberg (1944). Although Kullenberg's observations were limited to the European species, this had undoubtedly been the most splendid bible on mirid biology until Wheeler published this book. Wheeler, a prolific writer, has focused his career on studying the biology of Heteroptera. He is an enthusiastic naturalist and has spent much of his time collecting and observing bugs. Biology of the Plant Bugs is an accumulation of his efforts. It actually represents a concentrated history of all the past studies on the plant bugs and is a fundamentally essential volume for all mirid workers. This 520-page book provides an overview of mirid biology, based on feeding habits. It is composed of five parts, three appendices, glossary, references (with 20% of the book being filled by triple columns) and two indexes. Part I (Background) contains four chapters that principally introduce the general aspects of the plant bugs. Part II (Perspectives), with four chapters, covers such things as higher classification, taxonomic characters for proper identification, immature forms, overviews of ecology, physiology and behaviour, and transmission of diseases by Miridae, all supported by many easily intelligible black and white figures. Parts III and IV, titled ‘Phytophagy’ and ‘Zoophagy’, respectively, are the backbone of the book and, of course, contain much valuable information for most applied entomologists. The attached plates, with 166 superb colour photographs, are conspicuous. These parts and their chapters provide an enormous amount of information on plant bugs. As many species of Miridae are well known as serious pests of various crops, people are liable to believe the ‘plant’ bugs as ‘plant-feeders’. These parts would make them realize that many species prey on other arthropods (or sometimes bite humans), scavenge small animal cadavers, and are associated with fungi as well, and that the most diverse heteropterans occupy various trophic levels in a natural ecosystem. Part V concludes the book, with the first two chapters carefully inferring ancestral feeding habit and higher taxon relationships from the previous parts. The conclusion, as declared by the author, is tentative, because more than half of the world fauna of Miridae remains obscure. Therefore, the third, final chapter emphasizes the need for further research on Miridae. The number of the plant bug species is estimated to be at least 20 000. Needless to say, this largest heteropteran family is still in great need of study. It will take considerable time to clarify the fauna and their biology. Researchers who intend to study Miridae should have this book within reach, for the book undoubtedly pioneers so-called ‘miridology’. Three appendices and the glossary parts will greatly help the next challengers and subsequent reviewers of miridology.