In the thirty years since the second edition of A Manual of Acarology was published, acarologists have discovered a multitude of new mite taxa, made major modifications in acarine classification, and profoundly altered their understanding of this vast group, inspiring new and innovative approaches to resolving many basic and applied acarological problems. Now, this completely revised and updated reference, the most comprehensive and recent in the discipline, is available to researchers, teachers, students, and plant and animal scientists wishing to explore the complex and often astonishing world of mites.

The third edition remains primarily taxonomic in approach, but it also provides detailed information on subjects that include phylogeny, biology, morphology, systematics, ecology, and behavior. The editors discuss collection and rearing techniques in detail, along with specimen preparation and methods of preservation. Taxonomic diagnoses for the 124 presently recognized superfamilies of Acari are included in their appropriate systematic chapters, and feeding habits, host range, and distribution of member families and representative species are discussed under each superfamilial heading. The authors complement their text with keys to families (with the Ixodida keyed to genus), a bibliography comprising more than 4,000 entries, and a detailed index. More than 1,330 labeled line drawings and scanning electron micrographs illustrate the text.

Unlike previous editions, the third is the product of a team effort by ten authors whose contributions have been amalgamated into a seamless text. In addition to the editors, the contributors are V. M. Behan-Pelletier, D. R. Cook, M. S. Harvey, J. E. Keirans, E. E. Lindquist, R. A. Norton, B. M. OConnor, and I. M. Smith, all leading experts in their areas of acarology.