Estimating the Number of Eggs per Egg Mass of the Forest Tent Caterpillar, Malacosoma Disstria (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

Calculation of the number of eggs per egg mass of the forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria Hiibner, is required in survey and population studies. Eggs are usually laid in cylindrical masses around twigs of trees. Hodson (1941) determined the number of eggs in egg masses of the forest tent caterpillar by counting the number of eggs around the circumference and multiplying by the number of rows. This technique is apparently reliable for comparative counts, but because the eggs are frequently laid in oblique rather than straight rows on the twig, counts of both length and circumference are subject to error. In addition, adjacent rows are often offset to form a honeycomb pattern which leads to inaccuracies in length and circumference counts. Because of these shortcomings, we developed a quicker and more accurate method not subject to the effects of oblique or honeycomb egg patterns

Introduction of Parasites of the Larch Sawfly in Minnesota

Olesicampe benefactor Hinz and the Bavarian strain of Mesoleius tenthredinis Morley, European ichneunionid parasites of the larch sawfly, Pristiphora erichsonii (Hartig), were introduced into northern Minnesota from Manitoba in 1971 and 1972. Both species are now established. There was also natural spread of 0. benefactor into Minnesota from Manitoba releases in 1961 at a point ca. 200 miles northwest of the Minnesota plots

Development of Empirical Models to Rate Spruce-Fir Stands in Michigan\u27s Upper Peninsula for Hazard From the Spruce Budworm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae): A Case History

The procedure used to develop empirical models which estimate potential spruce budworm impact to spruce-fir stands in Michigan\u27s Upper Peninsula is reviewed. Criteria used to select independent variables, to select the best of alternative multiple linear regression models. and to validate final models are discussed. Preliminary, intermediate, and final results demonstrate a cyclic pattern to the development procedure. Validation is emphasized as an important step in the procedure. Implications of using the hazard-rating system as a pest management tool in the stand management process are discussed

Abolishing user fees for children and pregnant women trebled uptake of malaria-related interventions in Kangaba, Mali.

Malaria is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 in Mali. Health centres provide primary care, including malaria treatment, under a system of cost recovery. In 2005, Médecins sans Frontieres (MSF) started supporting health centres in Kangaba with the provision of rapid malaria diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapy. Initially MSF subsidized malaria tests and drugs to reduce the overall cost for patients. In a second phase, MSF abolished fees for all children under 5 irrespective of their illness and for pregnant women with fever. This second phase was associated with a trebling of both primary health care utilization and malaria treatment coverage for these groups. MSF's experience in Mali suggests that removing user fees for vulnerable groups significantly improves utilization and coverage of essential health services, including for malaria interventions. This effect is far more marked than simply subsidizing or providing malaria drugs and diagnostic tests free of charge. Following the free care strategy, utilization of services increased significantly and under-5 mortality was reduced. Fee removal also allowed for more efficient use of existing resources, reducing average cost per patient treated. These results are particularly relevant for the context of Mali and other countries with ambitious malaria treatment coverage objectives, in accordance with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. This article questions the effectiveness of the current national policy, and the effectiveness of reducing the cost of drugs only (i.e. partial subsidies) or providing malaria tests and drugs free for under-5s, without abolishing other related fees. National and international budgets, in particular those that target health systems strengthening, could be used to complement existing subsidies and be directed towards effective abolition of user fees. This would contribute to increasing the impact of interventions on population health and, in turn, the effectiveness of aid

Impact of the Spruce Budworm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) on the Ottawa and Hiawatha National Forests, 1978-1980

The Michigan Impact Plot System was established during 1978 and 1979 to obtain a data base for quantifying the impact of the spruce budworm in the Ottawa and Hiawatha National Forests. The formulae used to estimate the mean, total, and associated standard errors of the various parameters at the national forest and forest district levels are presented. We present the 1978, 1979, and 1980 impact data for the following parameters; percent mortality, total dead volume. dead volume per ha, live volume per ha, defoliation ranking, frequency and extent of top-kill, and incidence of spruce budworm feeding on saplings and regenera- tion. Statistics from an annual inventory of 108 composite ground sampling units (CGSU) in 1978, and 136 CGSU\u27s in 1979 and 1980 provide a more precise estimate ofthe impact of the spruce budworm in Michigan\u27s Upper Peninsula than ha~ been available to date

Studying complex interventions : reflections from the FEMHealth project on evaluating fee exemption policies in West Africa and Morocco

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

How to get research into practice : first get practice into research

sch_iih2007 Jpub2738pub

Notes on Some Shells, Ferns, Etc. - Collected in Deacatur County, Iowa and Lyon County, Kansas, in the Summer of 1886

Grand River, Long Creek and the Little Rivers yielded almost no water mollusks. Four examples of Unio schoolcraftii Lea, one U. loevissimus Lea, and one Helix clausa Say. Of the Ferns the following were observed: Osmunda claytoniana, Botrychium virginicum, Adiantum pedatum, Cystopteris fragilis, Asplenium felix-foemina and Onoclea sensibilis

The Ferns of Muscatine County, Iowa

The following ferns have been noted or collected by me in Muscatine County. They are included in thirteen genera and twenty species

The Gas Wells near Letts, Iowa

In the early part of December, 1890, Mr. T. L. Estle, living in section 3, township 75, north, range 4, west 5th p. m., sunk a well on his farm for water. In drift at a depth of about one hundred feet he struck gas, which burned readily but in two or three days the gas ceased to flow. Between forty and eighty rods west of this place, about the same time Mr. R. M. Lee bored for water. At about one hundred feet he failed to get water and stopped boring. In the evening he commenced to pull out his casing, and succeeded in raising it perhaps eight or ten feet. During the night a great roaring was heard and on approaching the well with a lantern the gas took fire and a great flame shot several feet in the air with a frightful noise. In a few days the flame was extinguished and the gas piped into Mr. Lee\u27s house a few rods away, where for over a year it has furnished him light and fuel. This well now furnishes Messrs. R. M. Lee, T. J. Estle, J. E. Lee and Robt. Lee with all their fuel and light. Robt. Lee is a little over one mile from the well