During the histological examination of a collection of wild and hatchery salmonids, a peculiar foreign body was occasionally observed in various organs, particularly in the viscera. These objects, usually accompanied by a focal inflammation, were observed in 10 of 75 samples of wild trout and salmon collected in Oregon and Washington and were believed to represent an unknown type of parasitism. Their identity remained obscure until a massive concentration was observed in the tissues of wild coho salmon, (Oncorhynchus kisutch), from Minter Creek on the Olympic peninsula of Washington and in hatchery coho salmon from the Minter Creek Biological Station. The distribution of the structures suggested the intestinal tract as a point of origin. Subsequent stomach examinations revealed small, partially digested insect fragments with many long, spine-covered hairs. The insects were identified as second or third instars of the lepidopteran larvae, Halisidota argentata Packard. The spine-covered hairs penetrated the stomach wall and produced the observed lesions by working in an apparent porcupine quill-fashion throughout the body of the fish.

The pathology of the Minter Creek salmon was sufficiently extensive to merit a description of the condition for the benefit of other workers who may encounter this rather unusual phenomenon and confuse it with an actual parasitic infection.