Looking over one's mail is commonly a routine matter but a procedure that must be attended to if routine is to continue. Now and then, however, the unexpected happens and something that “is different” turns up. And so it was when the January number of the Canadian Entomologist, the Commemorative Number, was delivered.

In view of the economic importance of blackflies as bloodsucking insects affecting animals and man, and the growing recognition of their actual and potential role as vectors of disease, it has been considered of interest to record the following notes concerning certain of their natural enemies, some of which may prove to be of value in developing biological control measures. These observations were made at various times over a period of several years, in connection with a study of blackflies carried out chiefly in the Ottawa district, the results of which have been published elsewhere.

Ticks of various species are among the most important of the pests of animals, not only because of their direct effects as parasites, but also as a result of maladies they carry. Moreover, they are predisposing agents for attacks by important secondary invaders, such as foot-rot and screw-worm flies.

For a number of years the writer has awaited an opportunity to collect in the southeastern corner of Alberta with the expectation of finding there certain Acridids not previously recorded from Canada. That opportunity came on July 16, 1938, when the writer, accompanied by his brother, went into the Higdon Ranch, via Warner, Foremost, Orion and Manyberries and again on September 14, went into the same ranch via Havre, Wild Horse and Comrey.

The medal, which may be awarded each year by The Professional Institute of the Civil Service of Canada for the most outstanding contribution by professional or technical workers or groups of workers belonging to the Dominion or Provincial Civil Services in Canada, in science, economics, administration, and associated fields of endeavour, was presented on November 28th to H. L. Seamans and those associated with him at the Dominion Entomological Laboratory at Lethbridge, Alberta, in recognition of the work upon the control of the pale western cutworm, Agrotis orthogonia Morr.

If one compares the tarsal comb of a Psammochares with the front tarsus of a typical Anoplius he will see that in the Psammochares there is a spine from the middle of the second tarsal joint about as long as that from the tip of the first or tip of second joint, while in the typical Anoplius there are spines along the first joint and at the tip of the first and second joints that are fairly long; there is none from the middle of the second joint at all comparable to them.

Gynandromorphs have been reported from many orders of insects and especially from those orders in which large numbers of individuals have been collected or reared. It is therefore not surprising that, with the accumulation of large scries, ephemerid gynandromorphs should be found occasionally and it seems advisable to put descriptions of such individuals on record. Needham, Traver, Hsu, etc.

Male. Palpi extremely short and stubby. Antennae slightly compressed laterally but not particularly thickened. Primaries light smoky gay, sprinkled with deeper smoky. Basal space light gray, bordered outwardly by a strong black oblique line which is angled rather sharply below costa and then somewhat concave outwardly to vein I, ending in a small black spot on inner margin.

The topic which I am to discuss was not of my own choosing but was assigned to me by your program committee. This is my alibi and I just wanted you to know whom to blame. I am assuming the program committee referred to training for service as pest control operators, commonly called exterminators, although the title assigned might include other fields.

The use of gelatin as a medium in which to mount and permanently preserve biological specimens is by no means new; it was advocated by Lee at least fifty years ago. It is only within the last ten years, however, that its usefulness as a practical method for preserving entomological material has been realized. Its application to insect work was first suggested by Prof. L. J. Muchmore of the Southwest Museum, Los Angeles. California, to H. C. Lewis, who reported on the subsequent development of the technique in 1929.

Yellow. Legs concolorous with body or else apices of all tarsi light brown. Wing veins yellow. Dimensions: Body 3—3.5 mms. Wing 3—3.25 mms.

Front and face in profile the same as slossonae n. sp. with similar variation. Third antennal segment about twice as long as wide (1/2.0–1/2.3), infuscation subequal on both sides, covering apical fifth to third above and third to two thirds below. Arista with hairs arranged as in setipalpis n. sp. Infuscation of vertex roughly diamond-shaped, more or less pointed in front, longer than wide, not more than twice as long as triangle.

Ludius divaricatus (Corymbites) was described in 1853 by LeConte. The sexes were described as different species, the female being named Corymbites crassus. Blanchard in 1889 pointed out that crassus was the female of this species. The writer has examined cast skins of larvae from which both males and females developed and found no characteristic difference between them. The genus Ludius contains a large number of species, but only a few larvae have been described or illustrated.

While making a study of the larvae of certain species of Noctuidae, the writer was impressed by differences observed in the structure of the hypopharynx. A survey of the literature reveals that, though some workers have paid a certain amount of attention to this organ in larval Lepidoptera, the literature on the subject is not extensive.

Similar in wing shape and in the possession of a double areole on primaries to Euacidalia Pack. Palpi short; male antennae finely ciliate. In the male hind-legs the tibiae are very broad and long (twice the length of the tibiae in Euacidalia), rather flattened with strong hair pencil, without spurs and projecting apically over the first joint of the tarsi. Tarsi extremely short and attached to the ventral surface of the tibiae.

Male. Length (anterior margin of labrum to posterior margin of elytra) 4.0 mm.; width 1.8 mm. Body feebly convex. Head dark reddish-brown, labrum and ocelli paler; first four segments of antennae pale reddish-brown, five to eleven tinged with piceous; scutellum and disc of pronotum reddish-brown, sides of latter paler; elytra black, except the following areas which are reddish-yellow: basal third and along suture, and an irregular oblique fascia extending inward and posteriorly from the margin at middle almost to the suture at apical fourth, narrowly connected laterally with the basal area; apices of elytra vaguely paler.

The small group of the genus Ips placed at the end of Dr. Swaine's key seems to have a character not found elsewhere in the genus. The epistomal region, in the males, is elevated and often has a dense brush of hairs which make the elevation look greater than it really is. However, this brush is often rubbed until it has entirely disappeared. This has apparently given rise to the idea that two entirely different females are associated with the males in the same gallery.

For many years I have felt reasonably certain that the North American species of Hydaticus identified as stagnalis Fab. was not that species, and I have become entirely convinced on this point since I have had the opportunity of a critical examination of a series of the true stagnalis kindly sent to me by the late Dr. Alois Zimmerman of Munich.

Most of the information in regard to termites has come as a result of efforts to combat their destructive activities. In these studies an amazing story of social organization and biological adaptation that has fascinated students in sociology, political science, and engineering, as well as entomologists, has been unfolded.