Please don´t ask me to spell out the full title of this landmark of really existing socialism...
This is the first part (1,233 pages long) of a
two-volume scientific reference work, covering the true flies and fleas of
Eastern Europe. Or, as the area was known back in the days, the European part
of the USSR. Together, both volumes describe 8,300 species of Diptera and 160
species of Siphonaptera. This volume deals exclusively with the former, more
specifically the subgroups known as Nematocera and Brachycera (Orthorrapha).
Mosquitoes and horseflies are some of the “highlights”. Of course, this
somewhat bizarre work (originally published in Russian) isn't suited for the
general reader, consisting mostly of descriptions and illustrations of wings,
legs or genitalia of various insects, since that's the only way to tell them
apart from each other! Probably a must have for the entomology section of a
scientific research library, but the general reader might do best to give it a
pass…
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