Pareuthychaeta Hennig was previously known only from two described species in Eocene Baltic amber (Lutetian, ca. 42 Ma), Pareuthychaeta electrica Hennig and Pareuthychaeta minuta (Meunier), some details of which are revised based on new specimens. A third Baltic species is described, Pareuthychaeta mcalpinei Grimaldi, sp. nov. Another species, Pareuthychaeta eoindica Grimaldi, sp. nov., is described in earliest Eocene (Ypresian-aged, ca. 50–52 Ma) amber from Gujarat, western India. Comments are provided on the relationships of Pareuthychaeta to Recent genera of Diastatidae sensu lato (including Campichoetinae), and implications of this extinct genus are discussed regarding biogeography and the early Paleogene Schizophora radiations.

A list of 169 aphid species occurring in the Province of Quebec is given. Two new species: Stegophylla quercina n. sp. from Quercus, and Heterocallis daviaulti n. g., n. sp. from Carex are described.

Factors, i.e., time, climate, and isolation, that have or may possibly have influenced the distribution and speciation of Scarabaeidae in North America are discussed. Specific examples of present distributional patterns in the genera Phyllophaga, Serica, Diplotaxis, Onthophagus, Geotrupes and Trox are mapped and described. A general comparison of the distributional patterns is made, and inferences are drawn concerning centers of dispersal and (or) areas of survival of the insect inhabitants of deserts and temperate forests during the various climatic changes of the Pleistocene.

Eleven species of metallic-green Coleophora are recognized in the Nearctic Region, including three that are new: C. ladonia Landry and Wright from Florida, C. ramitella Landry and Wright from the northeastern United States, and C. timarella Landry and Wright from Arizona. Three species are introduced from Europe: C. deauratella Lienig and Zeller, C. mayrella (Hübner), and C. trifolii (Curtis); these are pests of clover seeds. Adults are keyed, described, and illustrated, and the species distributions mapped. Host plants are known for eight of the species, for which larval cases are also illustrated and their life history presented. Nearctic species of metallic-green Coleophora represent a miscellany of unrelated groups, here treated together for convenience. Tentative definitions of informal species groups are provided and phylogenetic relationships of the species are discussed.

During the past decade the attractiveness of various hydrolyzed proteins to several species of tephritid flies has been established and these materials have been used in poison bait sprays, in fly traps, and in studies on dispersal habits. Several workers have reported more satisfactory control when enzymatic yeast hydrolysates or acid hydrolysates of corn protein were added to malathion sprays: Steiner(1952, 1955a, and 1955b) for the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata Wied.), the oriental fruit fly (Dacus dorsalis Hendel), and the melon fly (Dacus cucurbitae Coq.); Shaw (1955) for the Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens Loew); Orphanidis et al. (1958) for Dacus adults on olives; and Marucci (1958) for the blueberry maggot (Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh). Orphanidis et al. have also reported that the addition of casein hydrolysate or the acid hydrolysates of corn protein to the recommended lure of ammonium sulphate increased the captures of Dacus as much as twelve times. Although most of the work with these attractants has concerned control, Barnes (1959) has used them to advantage in biological studies. He labelled natural populations of the walnut husk fly, Rhagoletis completa Cress., with a radioactive tracer by attracting the flies to feeding stations of Staley's insecticide bait No. 7 (acid hydrolysate of corn protein) plus the isotope P32 By subsequent trapping he determined the field movements of the adults in and out of walnut orchards.

Colonies of Formica obscuripes Forel and Dolichoderus taschenbergi (Mayr), two of the most common and widespread species of predacious ants in jack pine stands of the Sandilands Provincial Forest of southeastern Manitoba, were transplanted to new locations in three young jack pine plantations. When nests of the two species were alternated and spaced at intervals of 20 m, little migration occurred; a spacing of 5 m resulted in excessive movement subsequent to the transplant.

The usefulness of radioactive isotopes as tracers in studies of insect biology has been demonstrated on a number of occasions during the past few years. Tracer techniques have made possible the collection of accurate data on the dispersal and flight range of insects (2), and other specific behaviour traits which would otherwise be difficult or impossible to determine (1).

Until mid- or late July, most larvae of the wheat stem sawfly generally move into the upper internodes of the host stems. Then, as the stems mature, the larvae migrate down to the basal internodes and cut the stems at about ground level.

The migration is initiated in response to the visible and infrared light transmitted through the ripening stems. The direction of the migration, toward the basal internodes, results from the orientation of the larvae to the vertical axis of the stems reinforced by a positive larval response to gravity.

The larvae cut the stems at ground level because they are shielded there by the soil from visible and infrared radiation. The location of cutting is also influenced by the preference of the larvae for drier sites in which to cut.

The date of cutting is directly related to the loss of moisture from the stems, but not to a precise level of stem moisture. The larvae may form their cocoons in response to desiccation.

The distribution patterns of species of Coleoptera occurring in eastern Canada are examined. The following patterns are discussed: eastern ranges, northeastern ranges, amphiatlantic ranges, boreal ranges, subarctic ranges, arctic ranges, and introductions. The historical development of each of these ranges is discussed relative to their expansion from refugial areas.

In 1972, limb jarring, tanglefoot trunk barrier, emergence trap, and insecticide spray knockdown methods of sampling for adult pecan weevil, Curculio caryae (Horn), were compared. The latter two methods were most efficient in detecting onset of adult emergence, seasonal fluctuations in emergence, and population differences among sample dates and among trees. In 1973, further comparisons of the latter two methods gave results similar to 1972 results. The required sample size was influenced by population density. The number of pecan trees to be sampled for a 20% standard deviation of the mean was small enough to be practical for grower use for most sample dates in 1973 and at dates near peak emergence in 1972.

The pea leaf weevil, Sitona lineatus (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is an important pest of field peas, Pisum sativum Linnaeus (Fabaceae), and faba beans, Vicia faba Linnaeus (Fabaceae), that has recently become established in the Prairie Provinces of Canada. Male pea leaf weevils produce an aggregation pheromone, 4-methyl-3,5-heptanedione, in the spring when overwintered weevils migrate to fields to feed and mate. The current study tests the attractiveness of the aggregation pheromone with and without synthetic bean volatiles to pea leaf weevils in the spring and in the fall when weevils seek perennial legumes to feed and overwinter. Modified Leggett traps similar to those used in Europe did not retain weevils in this study. Aggregation pheromone-baited pitfall traps caught male and female weevils in the spring and fall. Weevils were not attracted to traps baited with three bean volatiles, (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, and linalool. Bean volatiles did enhance response to pheromone, but only in the fall. Weevils were captured in most semiochemical-baited traps in a 1:1 sex ratio, but female-biased catch in control traps might indicate greater activity of females in the trap vicinity. This study lays the groundwork for semiochemical-based monitoring to detect pea leaf weevil spread in the Prairie Provinces.

Electroantennogram (EAG) responses from male Cydia strobilella (L.) indicated that (E)-8-dodecenyl acetate (E8-12:Ac) was the most stimulating of the dodecenyl and tetradecenyl compounds assayed. Field-screening tests, which included compounds previously reported as attractive, demonstrated that only E8-12:Ac was effective. The optimum trap dosage was 0.3–3 μg on red rubber septa. Catches of males were greater when traps were hung in the upper crown of either white spruce or black spruce.

The influence of potato cultivar (Solanum tuberosum tuberosum (L.) cvs. Katahdin (long-season), Norchip (mid-season), and Superior (short-season)) and vertical leaf position on certain life statistics of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), were assessed in a glasshouse environment. Aphids were caged on upper and lower leaves of each cultivar. Developmental time requirements for pre-reproductive life stages were similar among cultivars and between leaf positions. Longevity was similar among cultivars within leaf position. However, aphids survived 62.3, 53.6, and longer on lower leaves than on upper leaves of Superior, Norchip, and Katahdin (p < 0.05 on Superior and Katahdin). Mean generation time (MGT) was similar among cultivars on upper leaves. On lower leaves, MGT was shorter on Superior than on Katahdin. MGT was 15.2, 6.9, and shorter on lower leaves than on upper leaves of Superior, Norchip, and Katahdin, respectively (p < 0.05 on Superior). Total fecundity and intrinsic rate of increase were greater on the lower leaves of each cultivar.

This is a report on a program to sample the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hbn.), with the object of obtaining reliable statistics for life tables (see e.g. Morris, 1955; LeRoux and Reimer, 1959).

Basic studies on factors determining abundance of the European corn borer are few, some of the most notable having been carried out by Barber (1926), Huber et al. (1928), Thompson and Parker (1928), Stirrett (1938), Vance (1943), Baker et al. (1949), Bigger and Petty (1953), Everett et al. (1958) and Chiang and Hodson (1959). None of these studies was a thorough study of mortality factors in development of the European corn borer from endemic to epidemic levels. A number of specific factors known to be important in the epidemiology of this species have been investigated by Arbuthnot (1949), Neiswander (1952), Goleman (1954), Chiang and Holdaway (1955), and Chiang (1959), and the application of biometric techniques to the sampling of corn borer populations has been studied by Beard (1943), McGuire (1954), and Bankcroft and Brindley (1956). None of the latter authors have, however, investigated sampling techniques relating to the development of life tables for this species.

The restructuring of the design of an existing trap such as the Pherocon® IC (Trécé Inc., Adair, Oklahoma) can be fraught with the dangers of changing a de facto standard in research. However, what we present here is not a restructuring but a simplification and acceleration of the process for changing the traps' liners (sticky bottoms). The assembly of components for the standard Pherocon IC traps is basically straightforward; however, it is time-consuming and may be messy and cumbersome when attaching or replacing trap liners. For a number of years, we have assembled IC traps without the provided tube spacer; instead, we have bent the suspension/assembly wire into a shape that gives the same consistent spacing between the trap top and liner but allows faster (Table 1) and cleaner replacement of the liner. Our method allows us to assemble the traps in the laboratory without the liner and perform final assembly in the field, where the traps are marked and baited and liners are added quickly; subsequent liner replacements are clean and fast.

The addition of copper to an artificial diet improves growth and survival of the house cricket, Acheta domesticus (L.), the optimum concentrations being 2 μg/g for females and 10 μg/g for males. This sex difference in requirements is attributed in part to the accumulation of copper by the larval testis. Adult males showing a loss in pigmentation, the so-called ’albino’ males, are obtained on diets low in copper; the percentage of ’albino’ males is increased by the addition of vitamin E to the diet. The pigmentation effect of vitamin E is explained by movement of copper into the testis, the development of which is stimulated by vitamin E.

The background against which decisions on control strategy and tactics are made is explained and general approaches to pest control are discussed at length. Canadian work on population dynamics that involves research on the processes that regulate numbers is reviewed. The author's conviction that this work provides the best avenue yet explored to the solution rather than temporary alleviation of pest problems is explained. A pest-control strategy for the insects attacking peach in the Niagara Peninsula, in which a logical progression of research, the assignment of priorities, and the concentration of staff and facilities on problems of major importance are advocated, is outlined. Finally, weaknesses in administrative strategy are discussed and it is suggested that the findings of basic researchers on population dynamics should be exploited more fully by parent organizations and applied more energetically by those directly charged with responsibility for insect control.

Pitfall traps are used extensively to sample ground-dwelling arthropods for systematic and ecological studies. They are inexpensive and easy to use and can be operated for relatively long periods of time without maintenance. These traps can collect arthropods in numbers that are suitable for rigorous statistical analysis, although their efficiency is influenced by many biotic and abiotic variables (Greenslade 1964; Spence and Niemelä 1994). Typically, pitfall traps are most productive when they are buried in the substrate, with the upper edge flush with the soil surface; traps with their upper edge above the substrate are much less effective (Greenslade 1964). Because of this, studies of ground-dwelling arthropods in habitats where soil is thin or lacking, or where digging is difficult, are left with no satisfactory alternatives to pitfall traps. A ramp pitfall trap developed by Bostanian et al. (1983) is useful in these habitats because it can be placed on the ground surface without digging. However, the original metal design was strongly biased toward the collection of large (>10 mm) ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) (Bostanian et al. 1983); it was also large, bulky, and relatively expensive. In this paper, we describe a ramp pitfall trap that is inexpensive, easily constructed, and durable. The trap is light, portable, easily installed, and effective in collecting all sizes of arthropods and can be used in many habitat types.

A new species of the genus Quedius Stephens, Q. repens spec, nov., is described from Oregon. It belongs to the Limbifer-group and represents the third species of this species group known from the Pacific coast area.

Additional data on taxonomy, bionomics, and geographical distribution of many species are presented.