In a recent number of this Bulletin, Lloyd and Johnson (1) attempted to describe and illustrate all the known types of flagellate infections encountered in Glossina. Since this account was written a flagellate, which it is believed has not previously been described, has been encountered in three individuals of G. morsitans at Sherifuri, Northern Nigeria. In the first two cases the worker at the microscope was new to the infections of tsetse and did not notice anything peculiar about the parasite in the proboscides that were being examined. The appearance of the parasites in the stained film caused one slide to be retained with a note, but it was at that time regarded as an aberrant T. vivax infection. In the second instance T. vivax was present, and the unusual forms accompanying it were remarked upon, but unfortunately the slide was not retained. In the third instance it was noticed in the fresh preparation that none of the parasites were fixed to the labrum, as are the vast majority of those in T. vivax infections, nor were they clumped as in this species and in T. congolense. Each individual was free-swimming and many were escaping from the labial cavity, the power of translatory movement being great. The hypo-pharynx was not invaded. The remainder of the fly was then examined and the mid gut was found to be heavily infected, while the salivary glands were negative.

Laboratory experiments carried out in Jamaica in 1963 showed that the number of eggs matured by blood-fed females of Leptoconops becquaerti (Kieff.) was only slightly increased when they were allowed access to a source of dilute honey during the subsequent period of egg maturation. A majority of the females imbibed some honey, and over half took large amounts; survival was better in groups given honey than in those not. The amount of fluid in the crop of field-collected females indicated that more than half had fed on nectar. In the laboratory, field-collected females took on average more than their own weight of blood.

♂. Pale greyish stramineous. Antennae clothed with short hairs, and with indefinite brownish rings. Face smooth. Fastigium of vertex cylindrical, sulcate above, with the apex rounded, and slightly inflated, viewed in profile almost truncate. Pronotum callosely rugulose; its discovery feebly saddle-shaped, with the median carina scarcely perceptible near the hind margin, which is roundly truncate; the two transverse sulci deep, the anterior one feebly bisinuate, the posterior one broadly arched; anterior margin rounded; lateral lobes sloping, somewhat longer than broad, with the anterior angle obtuse, the posterior one very obtuse and rounded, and the hind margin strongly sinuate, with a deep humeral sinus. Elytra nearly twice as long as the abdomen, with the veinlets whitish green. Prosternum armed with two not long, pointed, somewhat divergent spines. Mesosternal lobes small, rounded; metasternal lobes forming together an equilateral triangle with the angles broadly rounded. Front and middle femora armed with 0–3 small black spinules on the inner lower margin (hind legs missing in the type). Cerci (fig. 1, C) round, feebly incurved, with the apex attenuate, distinctly incurved, pointed. Subgenital plate (fig. 1, A, B) very long and narrow, slightly recurved; the lower surface almost flat, with an incomplete median ridge and two more distinct sublateral ridges running throughout the plate to the bases of the styli; the latter short, cylindrical; hind margin of the plate acutely and deeply excised between the styli.

♂ (Type). Antennae somewhat longer than the head and pronotum together. Frontal ridge flat, punctured, gradually narrowed to the apex, its margins obtuse. Fastigium of the vertex slightly concave, oval, with rounded apex and almost smoothed lateral carinulae. Occiput with a scarcely distinguishable median carinula.

A recent study on ladybird, Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabricius) demonstrates that males perform post-copulatory mate guarding in the form of prolonged mating durations. We investigated whether food resource fluctuation affects pre- and post-copulatory behaviour of M. sexmaculatus. It has not been studied before in ladybirds. For this, adults were subjected to prey resource fluctuations sequentially at three levels: post-emergence (Poe; 10 days), pre-mating (Prm; 24 h) and post-mating (Pom; 5 days; only female). The food resource conditions at each level could be any one of scarce, optimal or abundant. Pre-copulatory and post-copulatory behaviour, and reproductive output were assessed. Post-emergence and pre-mating nutrient conditions significantly influenced the pre-copulatory behaviour. Males reared on scarce post-emergence conditions were found to require significantly higher number of mating attempts to establish mating unlike males in the other two food conditions. Under scarce post-emergence and pre-mating conditions, time to commencement of mating and latent period were high but opposite result was obtained for mate-guarding duration. Fecundity and per cent egg viability were more influenced by post-mating conditions, with scarce conditions stopping oviposition regardless of pre-mating and post-emergence conditions. Present results indicate that pre- and post-copulatory behaviour of ladybird is plastic in nature in response to food resource fluctuations.

Food-baited dishes were used to monitor the impact of ground-sprayed DDT (4% WP @ approx. 200 g/ha) and deltamethrin (0.05% SC @ 2.6 g/ha) for tsetse fly (Glossina spp.) control, on epigeal ants in mopane woodland in north-western Zimbabwe. Twenty species of ants were recorded at dishes baited with various types of food. Pheidole spp. and Monomorium opacum Forel (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) were predominant, both in the number of baits attended and in the number of workers present at individual baits. Season apparently had a greater effect on the composition and activity of the ground foraging ant assemblage than did either pesticide. There was a decline in the rate at which baits were found and in species richness of the ant assemblage as the dry season progressed and several species also showed changes in their ability to locate baits. There was no major pesticide induced disruption of the species richness or food finding ability of the diurnal ground foraging ant assemblage sampled. However, foraging success by Platythyrea cribrinodis (Gerstaecker) (Formicidae: Ponerinae) was reduced immediately after spraying with deltamethrin. Subtle effects of either insecticide on rarer species cannot be discounted from the results of this study.

A simple, but reliable, technique is described for the study of the acceptability to locust hoppers of poison baits under field conditions.

This was applied to the study of a number of vegetable materials which might be used for the manufacture of wet baits to destroy hoppers of the Desert Locust.

The materials tested could be divided into five classes of acceptability, and consideration of these indicated that heavy lignification detracted from acceptability while the presence of starch added to it.

It was shown that molasses adds to the acceptability of only the least acceptable materials unless very large amounts are used.

Simple tests showed that acceptability was not correlated with water-absorbing properties, that the rate of drying of bait was dependent on the amount of water initially absorbed, and that molasses influences the rate of drying only when large amounts are added.

The persistence, as assessed by biological and chemical methods, of field deposits on apples from two spray programmes, each of DDT, carbaryl or azinphos-methyl, was compared throughout eight weeks following the first application in an orchard in south-eastern England. Newly emerged larvae of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), were used to assess, in the laboratory, the biological activity of the deposits. The spray programmes studied were (1) two applications of conventional concentrations (i.e., 0·1 per cent, for DDT and for carbaryl, 0·04 per cent, for azinphos-methyl) three weeks apart and (2) three applications of half these concentrations at two-weekly intervals. DDT wettable powder, carbaryl and azinphos-methyl were compared in 1961, DDT emulsion, DDT wettable powder and carbaryl in 1963. Results of biological and chemical assessment of the deposits are presented graphically. Over-all, the performance of the three-application programmes was as satisfactory as that of the two-application programmes, although a smaller amount of chemical was used. The serious reduction in deposit caused by heavy rain shortly after the first application of DDT wettable powder and of carbaryl in 1961 is noted. In the absence of heavy rain, carbaryl was biologically the most persistent, but the best performances of the other chemicals were almost as good as that of carbaryl.

LD50 values of fresh deposits obtained by field spraying were shown to be similar to those obtained by laboratory dipping.

Comparison of the toxicity of fresh and weathered field deposits of similar magnitude indicated that the biologically available proportion of a DDT deposit from either formulation decreases as a result of weathering. This phenomenon was not found to occur with carbaryl and either not at all or to a much lesser extent with azinphos-methyl.

The deposits obtained in the comparison of the spray programmes were separated into their fresh and aged components, so that differences in the contribution to the final deposit provided by each application could be seen. With the very persistent DDT emulsion, only about half of the six-week deposits was composed of chemical from the final application, but, with the much less persistent carbaryl and azinphos methyl, the six-week deposits were almost entirely derived from the final application. By substitution in an equation to obtain the rates of decay of the deposits from the three-application programmes of all chemicals, it is shown that deposits from the second and third applications were, in all cases, more persistent than those from the first. Possible reasons for this difference are discussed.

The significance, in terms of field control, of the results for the larvicidal activity of the deposits from the different spray programmes is indicated. It is concluded that data on the LD90 of insecticidal deposits on apples, together with measurement of their persistence in the field, can be used to assess the probable field performance of codling-moth insecticides and to determine the most efficient means of employing them, although the deposit level that ensures 90 per cent, larval mortality in the field is higher than the LD90 determined in the laboratory.

Abgrallaspis pictor is described as new from specimens collected on Cymbidium sp.in a nursery in England. It damages the plants by causing leaf-spotting. The orchid plants were collected in North India in 1968.

Contarinia coffeae sp.n. is described from specimens reared from Coffea arabica in Uganda, and brief notes are given on symptoms, biology, crop loss and distribution. The larvae develop inside young coffee berries. Blister-like external swellings appear on infested berries and they later rot. The pest is known only from arabica coffee in parts of Western Uganda but may be spreading and could appear in other East and Central African countries.

Head black with pale scales; palpi black; proboscis black. Thorax and scutellum purplish brown. Abdomen black, with curved apical bands on the second, third, fourth and fifth segments and with lateral apical spots on the fifth, sixth and seventh segments. Legs black, unbanded.

Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.) belong to the Fabaceae family and are one of the most grown crops in the world and an important source of protein for humans. Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous pest that causes significant crop damage. The objective of this study was to examine antibiosis to S. frugiperda in chickpea genotypes. The following genotypes were studied: Jamu 96 and Blanco Sinaloa 92 (Mexico); Nacional 29 (Cuba); BG 1392 (Spain), and BRS Kalifa, BRS Cristalino, BRS Toro, Nacional 27, 004UP, 003UP, BRS Cícero, and BRS Aleppo (Brazil). The chickpea genotypes influenced the biological parameters of S. frugiperda, of which larval period, larval weight, and pupal period were most affected. Nacional 29 caused high mortality in the larval and pupal stages of S. frugiperda. The larvae on BRS Aleppo had the longest larval stage, lowest weight, and longest pupal stage. The genotypes Nacional 29, Nacional 27, and BRS Cícero showed antibiosis resistance to S. frugiperda. These genotypes could be used as a source of resistance to S. frugiperda in conjunction with other methods of pest control in integrated pest management programs for chickpea crops. These resistant genotypes could also be used as donor sources in breeding programs for insect resistance.

The insecticidal Potencies of DDT, dieldrin, isobenzan, malathion, diazinon and arprocarb were assessed both by topical application of oil solutions to test insects any by exposing the latter to residues on glass, using young male and non-pregnant female adults of Glossina morsitans submorsitans Newst., G. austebi Newst., and Chrysomya putoria (Wied.).

By topical application, dieldrin and isobenzan were 10–23 times as potent as DDT, but their residues were on ly 2.2–6.3 times as effective; arprocarb was likewise more effective by topical application than as a residue, being, respectively, 9 and 3.5 times as effective as DDT. In contrast, diazinon, and, especially, malathion tended to be more efficient, relative to DDT, as residues than might be expected from application tests.

It is presumed that the difference between the ralative potency of an insecticide as a reesidue and as applied topically reflects the physical factors affecting contamination and penetration of the insect, but these matters have nor been stuided with tsetse flies.

The puparia of some Cyclorrhaphous Diptera resemble and are found among those of tsetse flies (Glossina spp.). Those of Plesiocyptera sp., Argyrophylax aureiventris (Villen.) (Tachinidae) and? Physocephala (Conopidae), are described and illustrated, as are the larval cephalopharyngeal skeletons recovered from the puparia.

A new method of determining the duration of the aquatic stages of Anophelines in nature is described. Repeated daily dippings of a stretch of stream were made, and the numbers of pupae and of larvae of each instar were recorded. The duration of the aquatic stages was then determined by analysis of the sequences of peaks in these numbers.

The duration of larval life of A. minimus, when living in a stream at an average daily range of water temperature between 26·5°C. and 30·6°C, was seven days.

The full life cycle of A. minimus, under monsoon conditions in Assam, probably occupied 14 days—egg 2 days, larva 7 days, pupa 2 days, adult to first egg-laying 3 days.

The two isomers demeton-O and demeton-S which occur as a mixture called demeton in the commercial insecticide Systox act on Aphis fabae Scop. as contact and systemic insecticides and as fumigants.

When applied as a contact insecticide or systemically via the roots from solution or from soil, demeton-S was about ten times as toxic to Aphis fabae on broad beans as demeton-O. Using demeton-S containing 32P it was shown that, when applied to the roots, radioactive material passed to all parts of the plants and that the concentration in the aerial parts was higher than in the roots. Leaf samples were more active than stem samples. By radioassay and by the cut tap-root technique it appeared that the lethal dose of demeton-S was equivalent to about 1·0 mg./kg. of fresh plant tissue. The lethal dose of demeton-O by the cut tap-root technique was 3·0 mg./kg. From solutions, the plants first absorbed demeton-S preferentially, then water preferentially. Demeton-S was more rapidly absorbed from sand than from soil.

Both isomers were translocated from older to younger leaves of broad beans usually in sufficient quantities to kill Aphids but the results were more consistent with demeton-S. The quantity translocated downwards was small. A low light intensity before and after treatment reduced the quantity of demeton-S translocated. There was also a reduction in the quantity translocated when the plants were only shaded before treatment. One day of shading was sufficient to cause the maximum reduction.

Solutions of the two isomers gave off toxic vapours and plants treated via the roots gave off toxic vapours from the foliage.

An improved technique is described for the preparation of permanent mounts of small Arthropoda and Nematoda, using a phenol-balsam mounting medium; a method is also described for clearing live, or freshly killed, specimens in strong chloral hydrate solution. The essential feature of the mounting method is the transfer of the specimen to a slide, in a drop of phenol, to which dry, powdered balsam is added and allowed to dissolve in situ. The mount is then dried and later covered in the usual fashion.

Pyrgomorphella arachidis, sp. n.

♂ (Type). Of medium size, slender, finely rugulose.

Antenna of 17 segments, shorter than head and pronotum together, thick, slightly flattened and scarcely broadened at the base. Fastigium of vertex long, parabolic, ratio of its length to the width between eyes, 1·8. On the lateral sides of head behind the eyes there is a series of callosities forming a longitudinal stripe, which continues on to the lateral lobe of pronotum.

Investigations undertaken by the writer involved the determining and sexing of a large number of fleas daily, and it became clear that this would be a laborious process unless an apparatus could be designed which would facilitate separation and examination of the insects by making the process as automatic as possible. The technique finally used, though designed primarily for handling fleas, could be adapted for use with other insects of comparable size where examination under magnification is necessary.