The male imagines of 12 new Nearctic species of Limnophyes are described: Limnophyes cristatissimus n. sp., Limnophyes hudsoni n. sp., Limnophyes ninae n. sp., Limnophyes nudiradius n. sp., Limnophyes pilicistulus n. sp., Limnophyes folliculatus n. sp., Limnophyes carolinensis n. sp., Limnophyes recisus n. sp., Limnophyes coloradensis n. sp., Limnophyes margaretae n. sp., Limnophyes hastulatus n. sp., and Limnophyes spatulosus n. sp. The female imagines of Limnophyes hudsoni n. sp. and Limnophyes carolinensis n. sp. are described. A key to male imagines of Nearctic Limnophyes is given.

A 2-year study conducted in 0.6-ha apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) blocks examined the effects of treatment with pheromone rope dispensers on captures of the obliquebanded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris, 1841), and the redbanded leafroller, Argyrotaenia velutinana (Walker, 1863), in traps baited with varying dosages of pheromone lures or Isomate®-OBLR/PLR Plus pheromone rope dispensers. In untreated blocks, captures of male A. velutinana were high and did not differ among (i) traps baited with a standard lure loading used to monitor this pest, (ii) lure loadings 10 and 100 times the standard loading, and (iii) traps baited with an Isomate-OBLR/PLR Plus pheromone rope dispenser. In pheromone-treated blocks, captures of A. velutinana in traps were reduced 94%–99% for all loadings tested (up to 1000 times the standard loading). The results for C. rosaceana were different. In untreated blocks in 2002, traps baited with 10 or 30 standard lures captured significantly more C. rosaceana than traps baited with a single standard lure; however, in 2003, traps baited with the standard lure loading captured significantly more moths than traps baited with 100 and 1000 times the standard loading. Also, traps baited with Isomate-OBLR/PLR Plus pheromone rope dispensers captured significantly fewer C. rosaceana than traps with standard lures in untreated blocks. In pheromone-treated blocks, traps baited with standard monitoring lures and lures with higher loadings (10 and 1000 times the standard) captured equivalent numbers of C. rosaceana; the capture of moths was reduced by only 50%–71%. We conclude that Isomate-OBLR/PLR Plus pheromone rope dispensers deployed in Michigan, United States of America, are effective in disrupting orientation of A. velutinana; however, they are not very effective for C. rosaceana. In addition, increasing lure loading above that of 1× monitoring lures (rubber septa or membrane type) does not appear to reliably increase the effectiveness of monitoring of males of either leafroller species in orchards where pheromone ropes are deployed at recommended densities.

During 1984 and 1985 macrolepidopterous larvae were collected by pole pruning of foliage of black birch, mixed oaks, black cherry, and red maple at Cooper’s Rock State Forest in northern West Virginia. A total of 3027 larvae representing 100 species in 14 families was collected. The most abundant species were the noctuids Polia latex (Gn.) and Morrisonia confusa (Hbn.), and the geometrids Probole amicaria (H.-S.), Itame pustularia (Gn.), and Melanolophia canadaria (Gn.). Of the 100 total species of larvae, 43 were recorded from birch, 61 from mixed oaks, 63 from black cherry, and 57 from red maple.

A study of the insect inhabitants of the sour cherry orchards of the Niagara district of Ontario was begun in the spring of 1947, ass part of an investigation of virus diseases of stone fruits carried on cooperatively between the Dominion Entomological Laboratory at Vineland Station and the Dominion Laboratory of Plant Pathology at St. Catharines. The virus disease cherry yellows of sour cherry had by that time become prevalent and appeared to be spreading rapidly. The rate and pattern of spread revealed by a survey of orchards suggested that an insect vector may be involved in the dissemination of the virus. The Hemiptera were chosen as the first group for study because most of the known vectors of plant viruses belong to this order.

Black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) were collected from a tamarack stand, Larix laricina (Du Roi) Koch, heavily infested with Adelges lariciatus (Patch) (Homoptera: Adelgidae). Insect nets were used to sweep the tamarack branches to capture black flies associated with the trees. Six black fly species were sweep-netted, with 85.5% of all flies belonging to Simulium venustum Say complex. Samples of honeydew and the crops and midguts of individual black flies were tested by thin layer chromatography using fructose, glucose, sucrose, turanose, melezitose, raffinose, and stachyose as standards. The sugars fructose, glucose, sucrose, raffinose, and stachyose were found in the adelgid honeydew samples. Of the 201 black flies tested, 194 contained sugars, which occurred in 16 combinations. It is argued that stachyose can be used to indicate when black flies have fed on the adelgid honeydew. We conclude that 49.7% of the S. venustum collected from the tamarack had fed recently on this honeydew source. In addition, it was observed that black flies reared in the laboratory readily ingested freshly excreted and older (dry) honeydew when presented with branches from the tamarack stand.

The fecundity, survivorship, and rate of development of the lupine aphid Macrosiphum albifrons Essig were determined and summarized into life tables from which the intrinsic rate of increase was computed. The life tables, using a time scale in days, were converted to a variable life table model using a physiological time scale based on an estimated thermal threshold of development of 3.59° (± 0.587°). A method of determining age and fecundity of adult aphids was developed from weight and embryo content. The use of intrinsic rate of increase and of the method of aging in field population dynamics are discussed.

The paper describes a new species and genus of fly, Archidipteron walkeri (Nymphomyiidae: Diptera), found in samples seined by screens from the Molus river, New Brunswick, after spraying of the watershed with DDT in oil.

The species is compared with Nymphomyia alba, Tokunaga, of Japan and the affinities of the family discussed. It was concluded that these insects are only distantly related to other Diptera and are probably best considered as belonging in the Archidiptera, a suborder of the Diptera, as proposed by Rohdendorf.

The ecological position of the insects is discussed but definite conclusions are not drawn pending more information on life cycle, particularly of the, as yet unknown, larval stages.

The spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), is indigenous to most of the boreal forests in Canada and adjacent Eastern and Western United States. Throughout most of this range the budworm maintains a one-year cycle, overwintering as second instar larvae. In some mountainous areas of Alberta and British Columbia, a form of the budworm has a two-year cycle and over-winters as second instar larvae in the first year and as fourth instar larvae in the second year. The habitat temperatures of these two forms were investigated and related to rates of development in an attempt to discover the environmental factor which maintains the two-year cycle budworm as a distinct form even though it is geographically surrounded by the one-year cycle budworm.

The vector competence (VC) of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Culicidae) varies geographically and is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that influence VC may help develop novel control strategies. The selection of susceptible and refractory strains is the first step in this process. We collected immature A. aegypti in the field and established strains that were susceptible and refractory to Dengue-2 virus by isofamily selection through several generations. Infection was detected by immunofluorescence of head or midgut tissues to determine infection barriers and the % of VC by tissue. We selected three strains: Susceptible (Cali-S) (96.4% susceptible at F19), Refractory with a midgut escape barrier (Cali-MEB) (44.1% refractory at F15), and Refractory with a midgut infection barrier (Cali-MIB) (40% refractory at F16). The effects of the infection were measured using Kaplan–Meier survival rates over the first seven generations. All selected strains showed a similar decrease in survival and in the number of eggs laid/female through the seven generations, suggesting that changes were a result of the selection process rather than the virus infection. The results of this study suggest that VC is associated with multiple genes, which have additive effects on susceptibility.

The earliness or lateness of the hatching period in Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabr.) affects the type and amount of damage to the crop and the timing of control measures. An empirical model for prediction of hatching at each decile of egg populations was developed by multiple regression using daily maximum air temperatures for a unit interval of 5 days from 2 March to 29 June and embryonic development in the preceding fall. The model accounted for a maximum of 96% of the variance in hatching date. It showed the average effect of a unit change of 1° of daily maximum temperature for each of the 24 5-day intervals on the number of days to hatch. The time and pattern of hatching of the major bulk of egg population was dependent mainly on spring temperature; however, fall embryonic development accounted for considerable variation in hatching time especially of the less developed eggs. The implications for population growth and certain assumptions made during the analyses in this study are discussed.

We assess the degree of sequence divergence in the maternally inherited mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and cytochrome b (CytB) genes between two sister species of field crickets, Gryllus rubens Scudder, 1902 and Gryllus texensis Cade and Otte, 2000. We analyzed 1460 base pairs from 10 individuals of each species; individuals were sampled from areas of both allopatry and sympatry. Overall average pairwise mitochondrial sequence divergence between species was 1.4% ± 0.1% (mean ± SD); however, there was almost an order of magnitude more divergence in COI (2.59% ± 2.25%) than in CytB (0.35% ± 0.24%). Gryllus texensis appears to harbor a much greater level of genetic variation than does G. rubens. Phylogenetic trees constructed from these sequences show reasonable separation of species; however, sequences are not reciprocally monophyletic. Gene tree polyphyly may reflect recent species-level divergence and (or) interspecific gene flow. The pattern of sequence divergence and genetic variation in these taxa is consistent with allopatric or peripatric speciation in Pleistocene glacial refugia in the southeastern (G. rubens ancestral lineage) and southcentral United States (G. texensis ancestral lineage).

Fecundity and biomass of nine species of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) feeding on six species of plants were compared to assess whether the two measures are equally effective for quantifying aphid performance. Performance was quantified by measuring both fecundity (the number of offspring born over a defined interval) and biomass (the dry mass of offspring produced) using three variables expected to affect performance: host-plant genotype, aphid genotype, and aphid density. The efficacy of the performance parameters was assessed by comparing their ability to discriminate among treatments for the three variables. Biomass usually provided a more effective measure of performance than fecundity, but for one aphid species, fecundity was more effective than biomass. Biomass of offspring is the preferred measure of performance, but biomass and fecundity should both be recorded whenever practical.

The insecticide Foray 48B (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki Berliner) was applied undiluted at 30 BIU per ha to control spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), in a mixed boreal forest stand of balsam fir, Abies balsamea (L.) Mill., and black spruce, Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P. When the treatment was timed to coincide with the early flushing of balsam fir shoots, the corrected budworm population reductions were 74 and 52% on balsam fir and black spruce, respectively. This treatment resulted in 19 and 8% defoliation on the two respective species. When the insecticide application was timed later to coincide with the late flushing of black spruce shoots the corrected population reductions were 93% on balsam fir and 72% on black spruce. Defoliation of the two species was 29 and 10% respectively, following this treatment. Larval survival on both species after the spray timed for black spruce (0.8 and 2.2 larvae per 45-cm branch on balsam fir and black spruce, respectively) was significantly less (P = 0.05) than that observed after the spray timed for balsam fir (4.6 and 4.2 larvae per 45-cm branch on the respective host species).The data indicate that the spray timed to correspond with the flushing of black spruce was generally more efficacious than the spray timed to impact on newly flushed balsam fir; nevertheless, the results raise the question as to how B. thuringiensis insecticides impact on early-instar budworm larvae when there is no preferred current year foliage on which the insects can feed.

Economic injury levels of the alfalfa weevil on alfalfa were investigated in New York State. The dry weight food consumption for the larval stage of the alfalfa weevil averaged 7.34 mg/larva. For every gram (dry weight) of alfalfa consumed, 1.59 g (live weight) in insect tissue was produced. In the laboratory, it was found that insect food consumption could account for only about 50% of the total weight loss in alfalfa plants after 10 days of larval feeding. Therefore, alfalfa weevil damage to alfalfa was more than the larval food consumption, and this was believed to be due to the loss of the plant’s photosynthetic potential. In the field on first growth alfalfa, the economic injury level was calculated to be 56 larvae/stem. First growth alfalfa was less severely injured by alfalfa weevil larvae than our second growth alfalfa infested with equal populations of alfalfa weevils. It was shown that first growth alfalfa was able to compensate for 87% of the insect feeding while second growth alfalfa could compensate for only 50%. Since the alfalfa plant’s capacity to compensate for alfalfa weevil feeding can vary due to environmental conditions and plant characteristics, economic injury levels must be adjustable. To provide more reliability to economic injury levels, we propose that in alfalfa the following seven measurements be made: (1) alfalfa weevil larval density; (2 and 3) parasites and predators of the weevil; (4) rainfall and moisture level; (5) plant nutrients; (6) alfalfa variety; and (7) stage and previous management of alfalfa stand.

Based on field and laboratory research, a simulation model was developed that describes the within-season population dynamics and oviposition of adult northern corn rootworm beetles, Diabrotica barberi Smith and Lawrence, in field corn, Zea mays L. Particular emphasis was placed on the role of host plant phenology. Overall goals were to examine the contribution of insect dispersal to the dynamics of single fields, and provide a means of examining the factors influencing insect/plant synchrony and the relationship between adult abundance, oviposition, and crop phenology. The model is process-oriented and integrates component models for corn phenology, and adult emergence, mortality, dispersal, reproductive development, and oviposition.

Comparison of field data with simulations excluding dispersal generally indicated a net emigration of beetles from corn fields on a season-long basis; however, the timing and magnitude of dispersal from fields were strongly influenced by the relative timing of corn flowering, beetle sex, and the reproductive maturity of females. Simulation and field data were used to describe and estimate the parameters of a component model for dispersal incorporating these features. Various component models and the overall system model were validated against independent field data. The model provided adequate prediction of adult emergence and crop phenology for three varieties on which it was based, but consistently underpredicted total oviposition and poorly predicted the phenology of two different corn varieties. Overall, the model accurately predicted seasonal population trends, the relative abundance of mature females, and the relationship between adult abundance and oviposition.

The oribatid mite genus Ceratozetes Berlese is represented in America north of Mexico by 21 previously described species known from forest, grassland, subarctic and arctic soils and litter, and canopy habitats. The closely related genus Ceratozetoides Shaldybina is represented in America north of Mexico only by C. cisalpinus (Berlese). Three new species of Ceratozetes from North America are described: C. biporosussp. nov. from forest habitats of southeastern North America, C. cyclopeasp. nov. from montane habitats in western North America, and C. pseudomediocrissp. nov. from forest habitats of western North America. A detailed revised diagnosis is given for Ceratozetes, Ceratozetoides, all previously described species of Ceratozetes (C. angustus (Banks), C. borealis Behan-Pelletier, C. cuspidatus Jacot, C. enodis (Ewing), C. fjellbergi Behan-Pelletier, C. gracilis Michael, C. kutchin Behan-Pelletier, C. longispinus Jacot, C. mediocris (Berlese), C. oresbios Behan-Pelletier, C. pacificus Behan-Pelletier, C. parvulus Sellnick, C. spitsbergensis Thor, C. subaquila (Ewing), C. subinconspicuus (Berlese), C. thienemanni Willmann, C. virginicus (Banks), and C. watertonensis Behan-Pelletier), and Ceratozetoides cisalpinus. Ceratozetes figuratus (Ewing) and C. zeteki (Ewing) are considered junior subjective synonyms of C. enodis (Ewing) syn. nov., and C. inupiaq Behan-Pelletier is transferred to Mycobatidae as Cyrtozetes inupiaq (Behan-Pelletier) comb. nov. New distribution records are given for Ceratozetoides cisalpinus and Ceratozetes angustus, C. borealis, C. cuspidatus, C. gracilis, C. mediocris, C. longispinus, C. oresbios, C. pacificus, C. parvulus, C. thienemanni, C. virginicus, and C. watertonensis. A diagnostic key is provided to adults of the Ceratozetes and Ceratozetoides species now known for America north of Mexico. An analysis of the systematic relationships of 23 of these species based on adult characters indicates that Ceratozetes, excluding Ceratozetoides, is paraphyletic. The clade that includes Ceratozetoides cisalpinus and 15 species of Ceratozetes includes most species for which immatures are known. One sister clade includes Ceratozetes cyclopea, C. enodis, and C. fjellbergi and another includes C. kutchin, C. parvulus, and C. thienemanni. The decision whether or not these 6 species should be retained in Ceratozetessensu stricto awaits discovery of their immatures and molecular analysis.

To investigate how bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) communities repopulate habitat following severe disturbances, we compared assemblages in new, regenerating landfill sites planted in 2003, recent landfill sites planted in 2000, and control meadows relatively undisturbed for >40 years. All sites were identically sampled using pan traps and sweep netting, from early May to late September 2003, equalising collection effort among sites. In addition, we carried out five-minute aerial net samplings wherever sites contained large patches of wildflowers. We predicted that abundance and diversity of bees would be highest in recent sites and lowest in new sites. This prediction was partially supported: bees were most abundant in recent sites followed by control, then new sites, but species richness was highest (82 species) in recent sites, followed by new sites (67 species), then control (66 species). A randomisation analysis showed that there were more species than expected in new sites and fewer than expected in control sites. Differences in blossom availability likely explain differences in bee abundance and diversity among habitat regeneration levels. Overall, our results suggest that the bee community recolonised newly available sites immediately in the first year and that bee diversity and abundance increased for at least three years, subsequently declining between three and 40 years.

Several instances of predation by lacewing larvae on adults of the flea beetle Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze) have been observed in Saskatchewan. Other reported insect predators of rapeseed-crop-infesting flea beetles in the Canadian prairie provinces are the beetle Collops vittatus Say (Gerber and Osgood 1975), and one of the big-eyed bugs, Geocoris bullatus (Say) (Burgess 1977).

The first observation of an attack on an adult flea beetle by a lacewing larva was in August 1972, when some lacewing larvae, adult flea beetles, diamondback moth larvae (Plutella xylostella (L.)) and unidentified aphids and midges were swept from maturing rapeseed near Aberdeen, Saskatchewan. One of these lacewing larvae attacked an adult of P. cruczferae in a glass collecting-vial and carried the flea beetle around in its jaws. Other lacewing larvae attacked aphids, midges, and diamondback moth larvae. Further evidence for lacewing larvae feeding on adult flea beetles was obtained in August 1979, when a sizeable population of lacewing larvae in a rapeseed crop was encountered near St. Gregor, Saskatchewan. One of the larvae swept from this crop had an adult of P. cruciferae in its jaws when it was first seen in the sweep net. Later the same day, another lacewing larva, swept from a nearby rapeseed field, attacked an adult of P. cruciferae in a collecting vial. In the laboratory both lacewing larvae, still carrying their prey, were quick-frozen, preserved in 70% ethanol and later photographed.

Mortality of larvae of the pale apple leafroller, Pseudexentera mail (Freeman), and the winter moth, Operophtera brumata (Linnaeus), that formed cocoons and pupated in soil or vermiculite treated with pathogens was determined in orchard and insectary tests. The entomogenous fungus Metarrhizium anisopliae reduced survival to less than 5% in most tests. The entomogenous nematode DD136 was slightly less effective. The fungus Beauveria bassiana had little effect. Less than 50% of the test insects survived in non-treated media.

An extraction method, timed counts taken from broadleafed forbs, and counts taken on apple sucker leaves were evaluated as sampling methods to estimate populations of the predatory phytoseiid mite Amblyseius fallacis Garman in the ground cover of commercial apple orchards. All three gave comparable density estimates at moderate and high population levels. The extraction sample technique was most effective in measuring low population densities, however the timed vegetational procedure was deemed the most practical method for monitoring these mites for pest management purposes. With respect to predator distribution in the ground cover, mites were aggregated somewhat in the heterogeneous understory, but were almost randomly distributed on apple sucker leaves. Predators were equally likely to find prey irrespective of location beneath the tree canopy. They showed little preference for different plant species with the exception of a higher incidence than expected on apple (Malus) and possibly on grape (Vitus sp.) and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia).