THE HISTORICAL AND CURRENT STATE OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY SYSTEMATICS IN SOUTH AFRICA

SUMMARY

Systematic studies on South African insects of medical importance have been mainly the preserve of the departments of Medical Entomology at the South African Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR) and the National Institute for Virology (NIV) in Johannesburg. Very few such studies have emanated from universities or museums. From 1927–1960, these systematic studies resulted in the production of the definitive standard works on the Anophelinae, Simuliidae and Siphonaptera of Africa that are still in use today. After 1960, further books were produced on mites, myiasis and biting flies, lice and sandflies. Revisions of some of these works have been undertaken by SAIMR and NIV staff in recent times, in particular on the Siphonaptera and Culicinae of southern Africa and the Anophelinae of the Afrotropical Region. Because of the presence of species complexes, current systematic studies of the Anophelinae are obliged to use genetical data. Despite their importance for the health of the people of southern Africa, systematic studies on insects of medical importance have decreased over the years, mainly due to diminished resources and a lack of support for this field of endeavour.