In the course of ecological work on black flies, some first-instar larvae that proved to be those of a species of Prosimulium were collected from trailing grass leaves in three streams in the Gatineau hills, seven miles north of Ottawa, in October, 1958. These larvae lack the head-fans (premandibular organs) characteristic of the later instars and of the larvae of most other black flies, and in this and other respects resemble those of Gymnopais Stone and Twinnia Stone and Jamnback. There is no reference in the literature to such a form and it seems clear that the first instar of Prosimulium was hitherto unknown.

During recent years intensive studies have been carried out on the black-fly fauna of Utah and of Wyoming by the senior author and junior author respectively. As a result of these investigations a number of new black-fly specieswere collected, four of which are described below.

The following descriptions and measurements were made from alcohol-preserved specimens, hut where available, pinned, dried specimens were also used in preparation of the descriptions. Most of the drawings were made from slide mounts with the aid of a Ray-O-Scope microprojection apparatus; the others were made from cleared spechens retained in glycerin and were drawn with the aid of a squared-grid ocular in a stereoscopic microscope.

It has been demonstrated that changes in the composition of a plant influence the insects that feed upon the plant (Lipke and Fraenkel, 1956). The quantitative composition of plants can be changed by the use of fertilizers (Mulder, 1950; Rennie, 1956), and populations of insects feeding on the plants may increase or decrease (Daniels, 1957; Adkisson, 1958; Joyce, 1958). These changes in numbers of insects have been attributed to such factors as changes in nitrogen, protein, and carbohydrate content (Evans, 1938; Fritzsche et al., 1957) or various mineral constituents (Creighton, 1938).

Type.-Neofacydes sinensis n.sp.

Flagellum.—Female flagellum moderately long, lanceolate, widened beyond the middle and strongly attenuated at the apex; basal segments of the male flagellum cylindric, at the apes however obliquely cut and overlapping, becoming gradually more distinct nodose bevond the seventh segment.

Head.—Occiput hardly emarginate, sloping down steeply behind the ocelli and eyes; cheek profile strongly narrowed with straight outline; median field of the face well defined; clypeus normal with straight apical border; frons concave; mandibles normal with small teeth.

Thorax.—Mesoscutum moderately convex, a little longer than wide; scutellum pyramidal; propodeum as in Trogus Panzer, the area posteromedia wide, parallel-sided, the upper border arched; areae posteroexternae with strong lateral carinae.

Legs.—Relatively long and slender.

Abdomen.—Female abdomen oxypygous, similar in appearance to a Coelichneumon abdomen; surface of tergites 1-5 strongly aciculated, tergites 1-5 strongly separated, sometimes with sharp lateral edges, but not bulging laterally; postpetiolus with aciculate median field; gastrocoeli deep, transverse.

In an assessment of spider predation on insects, an arbitrarily delimited woodland community was examined to determine the species of spiders present and their abundance and distribution therein. Periodic samples were taken from September, 1954, to September, 1956.

Extensive investigations on the biology and control of biting flies were conducted in northern Canada from 1947 to 1953 (Brown, et al., 1951; Haufe, 1952; Hocking et al., 1950; Twinn et al., 1948, 1950; Twinn 1950). The difficulty of assessing populations of mosquitoes both in chemical control and in ecological investigations limited the interpretation of some of the work that was undertaken. One of the primary objectives of ecological and behaviour studies was to determine the weather conditions that are favourable for attraction of mosquitoes to man. Reliable estimates of the unattracted population must, for this purpose, be obtained independently of the observer. Large catches are also important in estimating abundance when the time for individual catches is reduced to one hour or less. For these reasons a satisfactory mechanically-operated device for sampling mosquitoes in flight became essential.

In rearings of lodgepole pine needle miners (mostly Recurvaria milleri Busck and R. starki Freeman) in California and Alberta an undescribed species of Ichneumonidae and two of Braconidae have commonly been recovered.

Although the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), has received much attention as a result of its economic importance, little is known about its internal morphology and development. In this paper some features of the embryonic development will be described and compared with those of other Lepidoptera.

The occurrence of midges on jack pine, Pinus banksiana Lamb., in Manitoba has been reported by Lejeune (4), Barker and Wong (1), and Prentice and Hildahl (5, 6). The Forest Insect Survey also reported a species of Retinodiplosis on jack pine in Ontario, and Barnes (2) suggested that this may have been R. resinicola (Osten Sacken). This name was also provisionally assigned to a species found near Stead, Manitoba, in 1956 (7). Vockeroth (8) now shows that Retinodiplosis Kieffer is a synonym of Cecidomyia Meigen, which is represented by at least two species on jack pine in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. These are C. reeksi and C. banksianae. The former is the more common and undoubtedly was the species most frequently represented in the early reports of pine midges in Manitoba.