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Discusses issues and developments during 1977 in photocopying--laws and effects; micropublishing--major publishers and personnel changes; micrographic equipment and processes; microfilm application with descriptions of several types; and publications, research, and professional activities. A bibliography is included. (MBR)

Robert Traub, ONE of the most accomplished and respected medical entomologists of this or any generation, died on 21 December 1996 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, after an extended illness. Although he is best known for his encyclopedic knowledge of fleas, his name stands for much more. He leaves a legacy of pioneering research accomplishments in several disciplines, especially flea systematics, chigger taxonomy, and the epidemiology of both scrub typhus and murine typhus. Because Dr. Traub was instrumental in founding the Journal of Medical Entomology in 1964 in which several of his substantial manuscripts were published, it is appropriate to present his obituary here and to dedicate this issue of the journal to him.

Between the months of October 1971 and March 1972 the University of Utah Marriott Library conducted an experiment to test the turn-around time of card orders sent to the Library of Congress. This article is a brief report of that experiment. (1 reference) (Author)

The authors present an introductory overview of the principal groups of ectoparasites (flukes, leeches, crustaceans, insects, arachnids, lampreys and vampire bats) associated with domestic animals. Currently-accepted higher-level classifications are outlined for these parasites. Almost all significant ectoparasites of domestic animals are invertebrates, the majority being arthropods (crustaceans, insects and arachnids). Some of these ectoparasites are of particular importance as vectors of pathogens. Many ectoparasite species are host-specific, and vector species typically transmit characteristic pathogens.

Approximately 250 isolates of a newly recognized virus, related to western equine encephalitis virus (family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus), were obtained from cimicid bugs, Oeciacus vicarius; Cliff Swallows, Hirundo pyrrhonata; and House Sparrows, Passer domesticus in a study area in west-central Oklahoma at Buggy Creek and Caddo Canyons. Antigenicity of the virus strains varied slightly from isolate to isolate. This paper summarizes the ecology of the area by describing in general the flora and fauna there.

Eight species of small mammals were evaluated as potential hosts for American dog ticks, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), in an upland, tallgrass prairie study site in central Oklahoma. Only hispid cotton rats, Sigmodon hispidus, and deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, were found to be important hosts for immature D. variabilis. Although D. varibilis larvae and nymphs frequently infested both cotton rats and deer mice, cotton rats were the most important host species for both immature stages in the study area. Cotton rats constituted 63.2% of the total 530 small mammals captured and were hosts to 85.2% of all larvae and 88.7% of all nymphs. Deer mice accounted for 19.8% of all small mammals captured and were hosts for 14.5% of the larvae and 10.8% of the nymphs recovered. The remaining small mammal species were hosts for less than 1% of the immature ticks collected. Larval infestations peaked during summer, whereas summer and spring peaks were noted for the nymphal infestations. The relative importance of cotton rats and deer mice as hosts for immature ticks could be largely, but not completely, explained by cotton rats being more than three times as abundant as deer mice. Attachment site data indicated that differences in grooming behavior also might be partially responsible for the larger infestations observed on cotton rats. Other possible ecological and behavioral explanations of the heavy infestations observed on cotton rats are discussed.

The larva and nymph of Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) baergi Cooley & Kohls are described for the first time. This tick has been collected only in the United States on cliff swallows, Hirundo pyrrhonota, in their nests, or in adjacent habitats. To date, it has been reported from Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas. Brief notes on the synchronization of the life cycle of I. baergi with that of its host are included.

Hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus Say and Ord) were susceptible to infection with Rickettsia rickettsii Wolbach under laboratory conditions and were capable of serving as sources for infecting ticks with rickettsiae. Cotton rats developed rickettsemias that could be detected for as long as 6 h following intraperitoneal inoculation of 10(5) plaque-forming units (PFUs) of R. rickettsii (Morgan strain). An estimate of the median infectious dose (ID50) was made by inoculating six groups (eight animals per group) with serial dilutions of 10(1) to 10(6) PFUs. In this experiment, cotton rats became infected after exposure to relatively few organisms (ID50 = 37 PFUs). None of the 48 cotton rats succumbed to infection, and only 6 of the 48 rats failed to seroconvert. Dermacentor variabilis (Say) larvae were fed on rickettsemic cotton rats to determine whether this species could serve as a source for infecting ticks with R. rickettsii. A small percentage (0.9-3.0%) of larval ticks that fed on three of the four cotton rats had R. rickettsii in their tissues when examined as nymphs. A fourth cotton rat died 7 d after inoculation with R. rickettsii and infected a much higher percentage of ticks (64.0%) than the other three animals.

Summary 1. Quantitative methods of study were used in an attempt to observe the changes which took place within infected mites (Bdellonyssus bacoti) after prolonged periods of starvation and after feeding on various types of hosts. 2. The tropical rat mite was shown capable of retaining an infection of Bact. tularense from the protonymph stage throughout the subsequent stages of a single generation. In certain instances this mite transmitted the infection to the next generation. 3. The infection was also retained after several feedings on recovered mice without reduction of the number of infectious organisms. 4. Even after prolonged periods of fasting, no significant decrease in the number of organisms per mite was noted. 5. The tropical rat mite was unable to produce an infection in normal mice by biting. Infection resulted when the mites were crushed orally by the mice. 6. The LD50 titration indicated no loss of virulence in the Sm strain of Bacterium tularense upon mite passage, nor was any increase in virulence noted.

The annual business meeting of the American Grassland Council was held in Washington, D. C. on December 20, 1962. The present officers were re-e1ected to serve through 1963. Six new members were elected to the Board of Directors. Legal steps were completed during the year for incorporation of the Council.

An event of world-wide entomological interest was the 11th International Congress of Entomology held in Vienna, Austria, August 17–25, 1960. This Congress brought together some 1600 entomologists from 56 countries, thus comprising the largest gathering of entomologists held to date. The Entomological Society of America through its official and unofficial delegates was represented by approximately 200 members. The present report reviews the historical background of the Congresses, the setting of the XIth Congress and the subject matter included in the program.