Quote - have yet to fully test it out.. but this is where i'm hypothesizing that the issue is coming from. i gpu render on my computer.  laptop and son's computer don't have open cl  compatible vid cards... therefore the network render will default to cpu rendering only on those 2 boxes.  wife's computer can gpu render and this doesn't happen when i solo render or network render with just the wife's computer.  I'm going to do a cpu-only render and see what the results are.  

Bi-dir GPU rendering did have an issue with null materials. They became visible. When you apply a transmap, you get a mix material between the hair and a null. That's probably what you are seeing as it displayed exactly like you have there.

Bi-dir rendering with GPU acceleration is still experimental. You may also find that CPU and hybrid give differing results on the same scene at the moment.