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The study of morphological variability in 3 similar chigger species is carried out. The variability in Neotrombicula talmiensis has been for the first time studied in geographical aspect on the main part of the areal. Our collection in Western Caucasus supplied us with abundant material on N. carpathica and N. pilosa. It is the first finding of the 2 species in Russia and Caucasus. For all 3 species new localities and new hosts are pointed out. Complex characters has been produced for the purpose of exact identification in the talmiensis group, by the linear discriminant analysis: X1 = 93.25 - 0.42 X AW - 0.41 X AM - 0.78 XDm - 0.29 X NDV + 0.38 XPL, X2 = 39.88 - 0.8 X Dm - 0.6 X NDV + 0.7 X ТаIII. Function X1 serve for separation of N. carpathica from N. talmiensis. If X1 >0, the specimen measured belong to N. talmiensis, if X1<0 - to N. carpathica. X2 let to separate N. pilosa from N. carpathica. If X2 > 0, the specimen should be attributed to N. carpathica, if X2 < 0 - to N. pilosa. The best sets of diagnostic characters, selected by discriminant analysis (AW, AM, Dm, NDV and PL for N. talmiensis and N. carpathica; Dm, NDV and ТаIII for N. carpathica and N. pilosa), has been used to obtain the picture of relative distances between samples by monotonic multidimensional scaling. Morphological differences, ecology and joint occurrence of the species are analysed. Some segregation of N. carpathica and N. talmiensis in the localities where the 2 species were found together, dissociated areal of N. carpathica (East Carpathians, Caucasus and Tuva) and stable morphological difference between the 2 forms induced us to raise N. carpathica to the specific rank. In the line N. talmiensis - N. carpathica - N. pilosa the requirements of humidity and temperature conditions appear to increase. Probably, the increase of setae number and length along the line may acquire ecological interpretation. This supposition is confirmed indirectly by the diminutive character of N. talmiensis from Kazakhstan and Crimea. The question, whether the species are only ecological forms, require more investigation. Data bases, containing morphometric, collectional, bibliographical and taxonomic information on chiggers, created by means of DBMS FoxPro, information system ZOOINT and original computer programs were used in this study.

A new feather mite genus Alaudicola gen. n. is established. It includes three species formerly belonged to the genus Montesauria Oudemans, 1905, namely: the type species Alaudicola bilobata (Robin, 1877) comb. n., A. bureschi (Vassilev, 1958) comb. n., A. rosickyi (Cemf, 1963) comb. n. A key to species is proposed. The main diagnostic characters of the new genus aire as follows. Male. Epimeres I U-shaped with or without little posterolateral extensions. Coxal fields I-IV open. Legs I-IV subequal. Opisthosomal lobes well developed, near rectangilar in form, terminal cleft U-shaped. Spranal concave indistinct. Metapodosomal shield absent. Humeral shields small or rudimentary, setae c2 situated in oi off them. Opisthoventral shields transformed as translobar apodems crossing the basis of opisthosomal lobes. Epiandrium absent. Genital arc small, genital apparatus with U-shaped basal sclerite, aedeagus sword-like. Genital discs small, situated posterior to genital arc. Adanal shield absent. Anal discs without indentation. Pseudanal setae ps3 lateral and posterior to anal discs. Setae g and ps3 in long trapezoidal arrangement. Setae h3 thick setiform. Solenidia φ on legs III slightly longer than on IV. Female. Epimeres I U-shaped, with or without small posterolateral extensions. Legs I-IV subequal. Ambulacral discs I-IV subequal. Lobar region with terminal appendages, lobar shield separated from anterior hysteronotal shield and splitted along medial line. Supranal concave absent. Setae h2 as macrochaeta with spindle-like basal half. Humeral shields rudimentary, setae c2 of these shields. Solenidia φ on legs III slightly longer than on IV. Both sexes. Prodorsal shield separated into anterior and posterior parts by wide transversal band, in some specimens these parts connected by thin medial balk. Subhumeral setae c3 needle-like. Setae f2 present. Solenidium o1 shorter than ω1 on legs I. Setae wa distant from setae ra, la on legs I, II. Setae cG, mG of legs I, II setiform. Solenidia o1 present on legs III. Setae sR usually absent on legs III (present in some specimens).

The neotypes for Haemaphysalis kopetdaghica Hoogstraal, 1965 and Rhipicephalus rossicus Yakimov et Kohl-Yakimova, 1911 are designated. They are deposited in collection of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St.-Petersburg. The right authorship for the first species is cited.

The check-list of fleas of the North-West of Russia includes 56 species. Among them, 40 species have been actually recorded in the region in question, while the occurrence of rest 16 species is suggested according to their distribution in adjacent areas. The fleas of the North-West Russia belong to 7 families. All flea species of the region in question including recorded and suggested species are distributed among these families as follows: Pulicidae - 5 species, Vermipsillidae - 3, Ceratophyllidae - 23, Leptopsyilidae - 5, Ctenophthalmidae - 11, Hystrihopsillidae - 1, Ischnopsillidae - 8.

Taxonomy values of morphological features used for differential diagnostics of different taxa is considered for cercariae of the genus Diplostomum. It was shown that, as a rule, taxa criteria of superspecies ranks had a qualitative nature and were easily detected in live cercaria studies. In contrast, cercariae species diagnostics (CSD) is based exclusively on less significant, from a taxonomy point of view, quantitative features presenting absolute and relative body dimensions and that of cercariae organs as well as peculiarities of their cuticular armament. All this compels a taxonomist to use for CSD a whole range of diagnostic features of groups mentioned and increase their taxonomy values owing to standartization of cercariae collection, fixation and subsequent processing techniques, as well as broader application of variation-statystic methods of analysis that is possible only in cercariae studies through a use of permanent slides. A complex of methodical devices, which observance will ensure reliable CSD of the genus mentioned, is proposed. It encompasses cercariae collection and fixation as well as mounting of permanent balsame slides with preceding cercariae treatment with acetic-acid carmine (morphometric analysis), acid fuxine Sekki (cuticular armament staining) and silver nitrate (sensory apparatus detection). The reagents mentioned may form a real base for a creation of cercariae museum collections being not inferior in scientific value to existing trematode maritae and metacercariae stocks.

Fauna of Ligophorus from the Black Sea mullets was concidered. The genus Ligophorus is represented in the Black Sea by 6 species: L. vanbenedenii, L. szidati, L. macrocolpos, L. chabaudi, L. acuminatus, L. euzeti sp. n. Three of them are reported for the first time from this region. Four species were found on typical for Mediterranean Sea host species, but two of them has slightly other size of hard structures in the Black sea. Species of Ligophorus are usually species-specific to their hosts, however L. vanbenedenii and L. chabaudi were found on two specis of mullets and L. macrocolpos was found on non-typical host.

The biogenic elicitor, arachidonic acid (AA), in concentrations 0.1-10 MkM induces the resistence of tomato to the nematode M. incognita. The plants grown up from seeds processed by AA get lesser damage from nematodes during all period of vegetation. The mechanism of the eliciter action is based on a changes in the terpenoid biogenesis.

The borreliemia was discovered in 22 (44.9%) of 49 common shrews (Sorex araneus, Soricidae), which were captured in the end of July-August 1995 in the Novgorod region. The borreliae were located near the capillars of the true skin and in the viens of the subcutaneous layer.

The paper gives the data on a trematode influence onto the phospholipid (PL) contents in the liver of cows. It is shown, that the decrease of PL basic fraction concentrations, i. e. phosphatidilcholin (PC) by 20% and phosphotidilethanolamin (PE) by 26%, during the period of infection is accompanied by the increase of respective lysoforms, namely, lysoPC by 240%, and lysoPE by 160%, and as well as minor forms, PL- diphosphotidilgleserol by 70%, sphingomielin by 47% and phosphatidilserin by 41%. It is suggested, that the infection of cow liver by trematodes determines such contents and principles of membrane structures, which decrease their functional activity and probably increase its permeability for ions, some metabolites and low molecular carbohydrates.

The redescription of the cestoda Hepatocestus hepaticus (Ваег, 1932) was made on the original material from the Western Siberia shrews in connection with the first registration this species at shrews within the East Palaearctic. The analysis of the morphology of the H. hepaticus from the Western-Siberian populations of shrews hadn't reveal essential morphological distinctions as compared with their Westernpalaearctic populations except that we didn't found the uterine capsules in the specimens studied by us. Crocidura sibirica Dukelsky was been registered as the definite host of this cestoda at first.

Summary is absent.