Introduction

For a long time, there has been a lack of a dedicated forum for Chinese acarologists to publish their works. Papers by Chinese acarologists have been published in various zoological and entomological journals in China, and sometimes in obscure journals of the universities or institutes where he or she works. Most papers have been published in Chinese, often with a short English abstract. The language barrier and the lack of Chinese journals and books in libraries outside China make it inevitable that many works published in China are difficult to access and are unknown to many acarologists outside China. The primary aim of this new journal, Systematic and Applied Acarology (SAA), is to make the works by Chinese acarologists more accessible to fellow acarologists throughout the world.

Systematic and Applied Acarology is a refereed journal of the SYSTEMATIC AND APPLIED ACAROLOGY SOCIETY (SAAS), which aims at promoting the development of acarology in China and fostering communication and cooperation among acarologists in China and other parts of the world. SAAS was established on 1 October 1995. It was sponsored by Dr. Zhi-Qiang Zhang (UK) and co-organized by Dr. Xiaoyue Hong (China) and Dr. Ting-Kui Qin (New Zealand). Since its inception, SAAS has been supported by over 150 members from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Israel, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA, Canada, Brazil, Finland, Sweden, Italy and UK. Although many members are Chinese, SAAS strongly encourages acarologists of all nationalities to join. To foster communication and cooperation among acarologists from China and elsewhere, the efforts of both are needed.

The primary function of SAAS at the present is the publication of its research journal SAA and member service newsletter Acarology Bulletin. SAA appears annually in spring/summer and publishes research papers by member and non-member acarologists from throughout the world. SAA especially welcomes papers coauthored by Chinese acarologists and non-Chinese colleagues and encourages this kind of collaboration. Acarology Bulletin is published four times a year (January, April, July and October) and distributed free of charge to members of SAAS. Acarology Bulletin publishes news about the society and information about systematic and applied acarology. It aims to provide members with updated information on the Acari and facilitate the communication among members.

It is my great pleasure to present to you this first volume of SAA with 27 papers on the biochemistry, toxicology, genetics, biology, behaviour, biological control, systematics and evolution of a variety of acarine taxa. I hope you will find these papers interesting and useful. As the Editor-in-Chief, I have tried my best to set a high standard for this new journal. I apologize for any inadvertent errors. I accept full responsibility for any editorial errors in this journal, although the content and opinions expressed in each paper are the author's.

It is difficult sometimes for westerners to appreciate how difficult it is for Chinese authors to write in English. Many Chinese authors of papers in this volume tried very hard to bridge the language gap, with excellent help from referees and editors. I have tried my best to ensure that all papers are in simple, readable and good English. I have not imposed restrictions on the style, as I believe that style is personal. I respect the writing style of each author, if their writing is readable, albeit not in a style that seems natural to a native English speaker. For practical reasons, there was not enough time for extensive revisions and re-writings because this volume was scheduled for publication in July 1996. I hope that the presentation and style of papers will improve in future volumes. Any criticisms from readers are welcome.

Dedication

This volume is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Jie-Liu Xin ( 1909–1994), one of the founding fathers of Chinese acarology. During the opening ceremony of the 5th National Congress of Acarology of China held in Shanghai in 1991, Prof. Xin gave three proposals and urged his colleagues to work together to achieve them: (1) the founding of a society for Chinese acarologists, (2) the publication of a journal, and (3) the publication of a revised and updated version of Acarine Names and Terminology (first edition 1985). He lived to see an updated and enlarged version of Acarine Names and Terminology published in 1994. With the founding of SAAS and the publication of SAA, Prof. Xin can now rest in peace in heaven.