A survey of ectoparasites from 219 meadowlarks conducted during 2 consecutive fall-winter periods in a coastal prairie found immature Amblyomma maculatum Koch to be the most abundant parasite. Peak larval infestations occurred in December with 80-100% of collected birds infested and with a monthly mean of up to 34 larvae per bird. Peak nymphal infestations occurred in February or March with 95-100% of birds infested and with a monthly mean of up to 11 nymphs per bird. Seasonal dynamics of these stages offered possible insight into the persistence of A. maculatum in an area long infested with the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren. Four other species of ticks also were collected but in substantially lower numbers; Amblyomma cajennense (F.), Amblyomma inornatum (Banks), Haemaphysalis chordeilus (Packard), and Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (Packard). This appears to be the 1st host record of A. cajennense from meadowlarks. A collection of 17 northern bobwhite quail indicated that most of these birds were infested with A. maculatum but at a lower level than meadowlarks. The collections of 2 species of Mallophaga from meadowlarks and 4 species from the northern bobwhite quail are discussed.

Seasonal abundance of ectoparasites was estimated from monthly collections of Eastern (Sturnella magna (L.)) and Western (Sturnella neglecta Audubon) meadowlarks in Starr County, Tex. Ecological relationships of ticks, Amblyomma maculatum Koch, Amblyomma inornatum (Banks), and Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (Packard) (Acari: Ixodidae); lice, Menacanthus sturnellae Price (Mallophaga: Menoponidae) and Bruelia picturata (Osburn) (Mallophaga: Philopteridae); and louse fly, Microlynchia pusilla (Speiser) (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) are discussed. New host records are noted for A. inornatum, M. sturnellae, and a single specimen of Columbicola macrourae (Wilson) (Mallophaga: Philopteridae) from an Eastern meadowlark. Recovery of three genera of astigmatid mites, one genus of prostigmatid mites, and three genera of mesostigmatid mites is mentioned. KEY WORDS Arachnida, Sturnella, ectoparasites, abundance ADULT GULF COAST TICKS, Amblyomma maculatum Koch, are an annual pest of cattle in areas of

A greenhouse study was conducted to measure the spatial distribution and behavior of third instar larvae on amitraz (ATZ)-treated and untreated plants. TBW eggs were obtained from ICI Americas' cypermethrin-resistant (R) and -susceptible cultures. Neonate larvae were placed on pinto bean diet in plastic cups and held in an incubator at 27 ± 2°C with a 12:12 (L:D) photoperiod until they reached third instar. Squaring cotton was sprayed with aqueous dilutions of ATZ using a CO2 pressurized (40 psi) backpack sprayer calibrated to deliver 4.4 gal/acre through 2, size 3X hollow-cone nozzles per row. The third instars were placed on the third mainstem internode below the shoot terminal of each plant 1 h following application of ATZ. Treatments were placed randomly in the greenhouse. Larval location and activity were observed on each plant at 15 min intervals for 6 h or until the larva left the plant. Locations recorded were shoot terminals, squares, leaf blades and stem/petioles. Vertical migration of the larva was measured by recording the number of the mainstem internode from which the plant structure arose where the larva was located. Feeding/scraping, resting, locomotion and spin-down were the larval behaviors recorded. The 6 treatments were replicated 20 times. The percent occurrence of each larva at each location, and larval behavior at each location for the 6-h observation period was a replicate.