af ities 
FOREST INSECTS 
F. C. Craighead, in Charge 
A reconnaissance of areas along the western front of the Sequoia 
and Sierra National Forests was made during the week of March 30 to 
April 4 by J. M. Miller and Dr. K. A. Salman, of the Palo Alto, Calif., 
bark-beetle laboratory. They were accompanied on this trip by T. D. 
Woodbury, of the Forest Service, and Willis Wagener, of the Office of 
Forest Pathology, Bureau of Plant Industry. Forest officers had reported 
a heavy loss of yellow pine during the past winter within this area, 
which includes a narrow strip, approximately 100 miles in length, just 
above the brush belt. It was found that the western pine beetle was 
rapidly increasing throughout this area. There had been a deficiency of 
precipitation in this region for the two preceding seasons, followed by 
very dry conditions during the winter of 1950-31. This may have been a 
contributing factor in the recent bark-—beetle epidemic. 
A discussion of the bark-—beetle control problem was the subject 
of two seminars held by graduate students of the California Forestry 
School on March 24 and 31. The first discussion was led by J. M. Miller 
and the second by H. L. Person, of the California Forest Experiment 
Station, Berkeley, Calif. 
A review of the literature and preliminary experiments dealing 
with the nutritional requirements of the western pine beetle has recently 
been worked up by R. N. Jeffrey. This review will be used as a basis 
for further experiments to be carried out during the field season vor 
OL. 
C. E. Hood and J. V. Schaffner, jr., of the gipsy—moth laboratory, 
were in North Andover, Mass., on April 21 making observations on leaf-— 
miner injury to spruce. On April 23 Mr. Schaffner visited the towns of 
Harpswell, Southport, Boothbay, and Bristol on the Maine coast for the 
same purpose. The observations so far made indicate that Epinotia nanana 
Tr. is the predominant species. Mr. Hood is continuing the control 
experiments with sprays, which were begun last year, and A. B. Proper 
will carry on life-history studies with the species concerned. 
C. F. W. Muesebeck, of the gipsy-moth laboratory, completed in 
April a manuscript entitled "Revision of the Nearctic Ichneumon-Flies 
Belonging to the Genus Macrocentrus." 
Dr. M. T. Smulyan, of the gipsy—moth laboratory, was in Nashua, N. 
H., on April 29, discussing with Dr. A. T. Speare work which Dr. Smulyan 
is carrying on with a fungus, Entomophthora sp., received from Japan as 
aA parasite of the gipsy moth. Dr. Speare was connected with the Bureau 
for several years, investigating fungus diseases of insects. He is now 
in business in Nashua. 
