>; 







Chicken eggs at various stages of incubation are exposed to aerial application of malathion. Embroyologists at the 

 University of California critically evaluated the effects of the insecticide on egg development and hatchability. (Photo 

 by James O. Keith) 



Effect* of heptachlor on wildlife. — In studies 

 on three similar areas of 14,000 to 20,000 acres 

 in Georgia and Alabama, from February 1958 to 

 March 1962, Patuxent Center determined the ef- 

 fects of heptachlor on bobwhite quail and other 

 animals. On two areas in Decatur County, Ga., 

 the Plant Pest Control Division of the U.S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture applied heptachlor by 

 airplane, to eradicate the imported lire ant. An 

 untreated area in Escambia County., Ala., was a 

 control. 



Whistling cocks and coveys were counted along 

 transects on the study areas. On the Georgia 

 sample, whistling bobwhite cocks averaged 28 per 

 1,000 acres the year before treatment and coveys 

 averaged 20 : on the untreated Alabama area, cocks 

 and coveys averaged 2."» per 1,000 acres through 

 the study period. 



Three years after treatment, cocks and coveys 

 were at a lower level on parts of the sample treated 

 with 2 pounds of heptachlor per acre than had 

 been recorded before treatment. Whistling cocks 

 and coveys also declined on adjoining land which 

 remained untreated (data significant for cocks, 

 and approached significance for coveys). This 

 decline was attributed to movement of quail from 

 untreated land to repopulate treated land. 



Pesticide residues in black duck eggs. — Black 

 duck populations of the Atlantic Coastal Region, 

 studied at the Patuxent centers, reached a peak 

 during the 1954—55 fall-winter period, according 

 to the cumulative winter survey data. Popula- 

 tions then declined to a low in January 1958 and 

 have increased only slightly since, despite restric- 

 tive hunting regulations and fewer duck hunters. 



47 



