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On the basis of materials on the world fauna of Piroplasmida the author gives quantitative and qualitative analysis of the spread of these parasites in various taxonomic groups of hosts and zoogeographic regions. Most numerous and diverse fauna of Piroplasmida was found in Artiodactyla, Rodentia and Carnivora. The greatest number of species was described from the Palaearctic and Ethiopian regions. The paper deals with problems associated with the nature of Piroplasmida and the origin of blood parasitism in this group of Protozoa.

Lyophilization regime was worked out for the conservation of the culture of Leishmania tropica major. Lyophilic drying of young (7—9 day-old) cultures after their preliminary cooling to —23°, with the use of 2% or 5% glycerine as a protective substance, at the working vacuum in the desiccator equal to 0.05 mm of mercury column and the duration of drying from 8 to 9 hours provides the preservation of mobility of 10 per cent of cells with some changes in their morphological properties.

The paper contains a description of six new species of trematodes of the genus Prosorchis found by the authors in fishes from various regions of the World Ocean. Analysis of the structure of all known species of the subfamily Prosorchinae has shown that the genus (sensu Skrjabin and Gushanskaya, 1954) or the subgenus (sensu Dollfus, 1947) Prosorchiopsis should be rejected. The subfamily Prosorchinae contains only one genus (Prosorchis) with nine species, viz. P. psenopsis Yamaguti, 1934; P. breviformis Srivastava, 1936; P. legendrei Dollfus, 1947; P. palinurichthi sp. n., P. ostorhinchi sp. n., P. skrjabini sp. n., P. australis sp. n., P. acanthuri sp. n., and P. dollfusi sp. n.

In 1964—1967 800 specimens of Bithynia tentaculata and 51 specimens of B. leachi from the Kurish Gulf were examined. In them there were found 17 species of cercariae, 7 metacercariae and one progenic form. Cercaria largofurcata sp. n. is described.

In the alimentary canal of larvae and fry of Clupea harengus pallasi natio maris-albi Berg, reared under experimental conditions, there were found Scolex pleuronectis Müller and Вrachyphallus crenatus Rudolphi. B. crenatus was observed to have a pathogenic effect on young of the herring, that in a number of cases resulted in death of larvae and fry.

It was established that the increase in temperature of the environment from 37° to 42° С is accompanied by the increasing locomotor activity of ascarids. On the other hand, the decrease in temperature from 37° to 32° С results in the reduction of the activity. Changes in the locomotor activity of whole ascarids or their fragments is associated, apparently, with the effect of temperature, first, on the musculature and, secondly, on the nervous system.

Descriptions and figures of the five new species: Spinitectus clariasi from Clarias fuscus; S. ophicephali from Ophicephalus maculatus; Camallanus alii from Cirrlnina molitorella; Neocamallanus maculati from Ophicephalus maculatus and Spironoura babei from Spinibarbichthys denticulatus are given.

7 males and 17 females of a new species of nematodes, Capillaria delamurei sp. n., were found in the small intestine of two young Caspian seals (Pusa caspica Gmel.). Nematodes of the genus Capillaria were first recorded from pinnipedes. The paper contains a description and figures of the new species.

The present work was carried out in the Taimyr National District. Six-year investigations showed that of all natural factors air temperature and wind speed have the greatest influence on the activity of mosquitoes but low illumination does not exert a regular influence upon it. Relative humidity does not affect the attacking at all. The paper presents characteristics of the daily activity rythm of mosquitoes depending on the environmental conditions.

In examining reindeer from two farms of the Amur district there was established their total infestation with warble-fly grubs. The infestation intensity depends on the sex, age, fatteness and condition of animals. The degree of infection of various age and sex groups of reindeer depends first of all on the unequal mortality rate of grubs in the organism of animals rather than on the number of eggs laid by warble-fly females.

The author develops V.N. Beklemishev's biocoenological conception (1951, 1959) concerning consortions and burrow-nest groupings of organisms and regards them as microbiocoenoses, i. e. low elementary biocoenological units of biogeocoenosis. Microbiocoenoses, as organized systems, have the common structural pattern. Host is a central determining element, as well, it serves as an energetic base on account of which there are formed trophic links of consortion and nidicoles, and microbiocoenosis as a whole. With further subdivision of microbiocoenosis we shall be concerned with specific micropopulations and then with individual organisms —- objects of autecology which deals with various forms of life on the level of organism.

42 species of gamasid mites were recorded from the Ghuiskaya valley of Kirghizia. In semidesert landscapes of the valley there were found species characteristic of desert, semidesert and steppe landscapes (27% of the whole fauna of gamasid mites), forest (24.3%), high-alpine and taiga species (2.7%) and other ones associated with different landscapes of the USSR (24.3%). Peculiarities of the distribution of these mites throughout habitats enabled the author to distingish relatively xerophilous and hygrophilous groups of species. Host-parasite relationships are shown. The greatest diversity of gamasid mites on rodents was recorded in summer when the number of relatively xerophilous species increases with the decreasing numbers of some hygrophilous gamasids.

Two methods of radioactive tracing of ticks were employed. In order to obtain traced unfed larvae engorged females were inoculated subcuticularly with 25 mkCu glucose — 1.6 C¹⁴ in saline. The larval activity was from 4 to 20 and seldom from 30 to 60 imp./min. The second method yielded better results. Larvae and nymphs were traced by their feeding on white mice which were inoculated intraperitoneally with glycine-1-C¹⁴ or glycine-2-C¹⁴ in saline (50 and 100 mr Cu/day). The total dose amounted to 500 mkCu. The activity of living engorged larvae was 0.5 to 1.1 imp./sec. and that of cryshed ones — 4 to 10 imp./sec. The activity of nymphs was much higher. The best results were obtained with glycine-2-C¹⁴.

The work was carried out from 1964 to 1968 in southern Predbaikalje. Of 100 uninhabited hollows examined in winter 13 contained ectoparasites (51 fleas and 83 gamasid mites). Almost all ectoparasites parasitized mammals. This, apparently, can be explained by their great adaptation to the hosts which live in nests relatively longer than birds.

On rodents from the Donezk district of the Ukrainian SSR there were found mites of the genus Psorergates: P. apodemi Fain, Lukoschus et Hallmann, 1966, on Apodemus sylvaticus L. and P. dissimilis Fain, Lukoschus et Hallmann, 1966, on Microtus arvalis Pall.

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Summary is absent.

Summary is absent.