This field handbook has been prepared to provide information on western forest insects. The discussions are limited to the insects and the problems which they raise in the management and protection of the forests of the Western States, although the general principles of control are applicable to other forest regions as well. It is hoped that the information assembled will add timber owners and foresters in recognizing the work of important western forest insects, in applying suitable control measures, or in adjusting forest practices so as to reduce losses from this source to the lowest possible point.

This publication is a companion volume to Miscellaneous Publication 273, Insect Enemies of Western Forests, but Keen. Its purpose is to treat in a practical manner the more important forest insects in that part of the United States lying east of the Great Plains or treeless areas, roughly the 100th meridian. There is necessarily some overlapping of the eastern and western regions, particularly in the more arid parts of Texas and the Southwest and along the watercourses traversing the Great Plains where the eastern hardwoods extend westward.

It is a great honor and indeed a privilege for me to write the Foreword to this book, the first of its kind from the Forest Products Research Institute The study of forest insects is now becoming a matter of great concern to many people all over the world because insects damage the already depleted forests and forest resources. In Ghana very little interest was shown in the insects of forest trees and products. But as forest practices have become more intensive so also have the pests on the crops increased and the damage caused increased to alarming proportions. Foresters are now becoming in creasingly aware of the immense havoc that some of these insects can cause. To aid the fight against the pests they have to be fully identified and studied so that effective control measures can be implemented. It is in an effort to bridge this gap in our knowledge that one welcomes this book by Professor Michael R. Wagner, Dr. S.K.N. Atuahene and Dr.