The life cycle of Leucopis (Leucopis) verticalis Malloch, a chamaemyiid predator of mealybugs, is presented. There are at least two and probably four generations a year in northeastern Ohio, with overwintering occurring as diapausing pupae. Eggs are laid in or near colonies of Pseudococcus comstocki (Kuwana) (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) infesting such ornamental shrubs as Taxus cuspidata Sieb. and Zucc. var. hicksii Rehd (Japanese yew) and Euonymus Fortunei (Turez.) Hand-Mazz. (wintercreeper). The incubation period requires 48–72 hours at 21°–25 °C. Larvae complete development in 12–15 days. Larvae feed by breaking through the integument of the prey with their mouthhooks and sucking out the body contents. Each larva usually kills all of the immature mealybugs within a colony before attacking the stem mother. Puparia are formed within the remains of the destroyed colony. The pupal period of non-diapausing pupae requires about 12 days. Pupae formed after mid-September enter diapause and overwinter. The entire life cycle in nature can be completed in 33–42 days if no diapause intervenes.The egg, three larval instars, and puparium are described and illustrated.

Female Colorado potato beetles fed foliage of Solarium tuberosum of the Russet Burbank variety infected with potato leafroll virus have lower fecundity and shorter longevity than those fed virus-free foliage. Also, female beetles prefer feeding on foliage infected with potato leafroll virus. This observation could be of importance in the development of resistant varieties of potatoes to potato beetles.

In the laboratory, the longevity and fecundity of female Zeiraphera canadensis Mut. & Free. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) given access to a 10% sucrose solution and water was greater than that of females provided only water. The presence or absence of sucrose did not affect oviposition rate during the first 10 days post-emergence, after which most females denied sucrose died. The enhanced fecundity of sucrose-fed females was due to their increased longevity and, hence, longer oviposition period. Greater longevity, combined with a decrease in oviposition rate and egg viability with age, resulted in a lower average lifetime oviposition rate and percentage viable egg production for females provided sucrose. Although carbohydrate ingestion resulted in increased fecundity and longevity in the laboratory, its effect in nature may be minimal because Z. canadensis usually does not live more than 10 days under field conditions.

A new genus, Mirocaudagen. nov., and a new species, Mirocauda albilineanasp. nov., are described and illustrated. Because of the nature of the post-tibial spur, this genus belongs to the tribe Tropidocephalini. A key to the 17 Chinese genera (including 3 subgenera) of the tribe Tropidocephalini is provided. Two new synonymies are reported: Malaxa aurunca Yang et Yang, 1986 is a junior synonym of Malaxella flava Ding et Hu, 1986 and Specinervures liquida Yang et Yang, 1986 is a junior synonym of Specinervures interrupta Ding et Hu, 1986. A checklist of genera in the tribe Tropidocephalini from the People's Republic of China is appended.

This paper describes the seasonal history and habits of the less important red pine cone insects, and presents notes on the predators, scavengers, and other insects that commonly inhabit infested cones. During 1950-1954, Eucosma monitorana Hein., Laspeyresia toreuta Groté, and Rubsaamenia sp. were rarely as abundant as the cone beetle, Conophthorus resinosae Hopk., (10) or Dioryctria spp. (11), although they contributed significantly to seed loss. Owing to the scarcity of these insects, some of the life history details remain incomplete.

A true understanding of the evolution of the morphological characters of the tortricid larva, and hence of the phylogeny of the species, requires study of early as well as late instars. The characters of the first instars of about 20 species are compared with those of later instars. Postembryological changes and their significance are discussed for the head, the coronal suture, the ocelli, the spinneret, the body, the spiracle, the anal shield, the anal fork, the crochets, the integument and sclerotized areas, and the setae. Characters of the primitive larva are postulated, and it is concluded that this larva probably lived in a protected habitat, mining some part of its host plant, and had a convenient exit from which it could eject the frass. The evolution of some of the tortricid tribes as indicated by larval characters is also tentatively suggested: the Olethreutinae could have evolved from the Tortricinae as a result of the suppression «f the anal fork on the primordial tortricid ancestor; the reappearance of the fork not too long after its suppression resulted in the Olethreutini, and its continued suppression resulted in the Eucosmini and Laspcyresiini. The Archipini and Sparganothini appear to be the most specialized of the tribes examined of the Tortricinae, and the Laspeyresiim the most specialized of the Olethreutinae, with Laspeyresia Hbn. group 1 possibly being among the most recently evolved in the Tortricidae.

The inferences in this paper are drawn from: examination of the setal arrangements of a few first instars, the chaetotaxy of which is presumed to be an expression of the phylogenetic past of the larva; the fundamental setal arrangements on those larvae that, in late instars, show undoubted structural specialization; deductions as to the original arrangements of setae on the posterior abdominal segments by comparison with that on the primitive middle abdominal segments; the structural changes that occur between early and late instars and between generalized and specialized larvae; and lastly, a knowledge of the life histories of some of the species examined.

It is hoped that the discussion supporting these inferences will enable us to better understand (a) the changes occurring in larval characters not included here, (b) the phylogeny of other tribes of the Tortricidae, and (c) the larval structural changes and phylogeny of other families in the Microlepidoptera.

Frazer and Gilbert (1976) described the predation of pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), by adult coccinellids. They developed a formula to predict the predation rate as a function of temperature, predator density, and prey age-distribution and density. Gutierrez et al. (1979) extended the formula to describe several predators sharing the same prey. The following papers develop the study to cover the complete predator-prey relationship, including the dynamics of both predators and prey.

Aptesis biasizona (Grav.) is a common and widely distributed parasite of diprionid sawflies in central, western, and northern Europe, with parasitism varying from three to 90 per cent on different hosts and in different areas. One of these sawflies, Neodiprion sertifer (Geoff.), is very commonly attacked, with parasitism of 30 to 80 per cent in Czechoslovakia, 10 to 52 per cent in Hungary, and 17.5 to 40 per cent in Sweden (Morris et al., 1937).

The larva and pupa of Glutops rossi Pechuman are described. Because of their remarkable similarity to the same stages of Pelecorhynchus Macquart, as well as many similarities in their adults, the genus Glutops Burgess is transferred from the Xylophagidae to the Pelecorhynchidae.

Western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman, adult males were observed in a wind tunnel for their response to synthetic sex pheromone and subsequently examined to determine their degree of infection with a microsporidian parasite, Nosema sp. A subsample of C. occidentalis was randomly selected and electroantennograms (EAG) of individual moths were measured for response to pheromone. The Nosema infection level ranged from 0 to 21.8 × 106 spores per milligram and was significantly negatively correlated with the proportion of males wing-fanning, taking off, and flying upwind to contact the pheromone source. The level of Nosema infection and the amplitude of the antennal response (EAG) to pheromone were not significantly related. These results suggest that Nosema affects the response of C. occidentalis males to pheromone in some way other than directly reducing the sensitivity of the antennae. We hypothesize that sublethal infections of Nosema sp. may reduce mating success of the western spruce budworm in field populations.

The satin moth, Stilpnotia salicis (L.), has been a pest of shade trees in the Maritime Provinces for about 25 years. Surveys of its distribution were started by the Division of Plant Protection (9) immediately following the discovery of this introduced species in 1930 and later carried out annually by members of the Fredericton Laboratory and the sub-laboratories at Debert, N.S., and Corner Brook, Newfoundland. The surveys have been accompanied by periodic collections and rearings, but only the larger and more representative of these are discussed in the present paper.

Daily patterns of host-seeking activity by female tabanids were determined by hourly trapping (0530–2230 hours) with Manitoba horse fly traps at Seven Sisters, Man., 4 days a week, throughout the summer of 1988. Hybomitra epistates (Osten Sacken) and H. pechumani Teskey and Thomas were most active during late morning or mid-day; H. arpadi (Szilady) and H. zonalis (Kirby) in early afternoon; H. affinis (Kirby), H. illota (O.S.), and H. lasiophthalma (Macquart) in late afternoon; H. nitidifrons nuda (McDunnough) and H. lurida (Fallen) in early evening.

The morning onset of tabanid flight activity usually was related to temperature, but the cessation of activity in the evening was related either to temperature or light, depending on which was first to fall below threshold levels. Tabanid flight activity was generally low at temperatures below 20°C, although H. lasiophthalma and H. affinis occasionally were caught at 12°C. Little flight activity occurred at light intensity levels below 1000 lx regardless of temperature. At Churchill, Man., where tabanids were trapped hourly from 27 July to 15 August in 1988, H. affinis and H. frontalis (Walker) activity was low below 14°C, although some activity occurred at 6°C.

Research on operational use of Bacillus thuringiensis 3a3b against spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumijerana (Clem.), led to the development of a concentrated B. thuringiensis formulation containing the required potency of 20 B.I.U. of B. thuringiensis in a final volume of 4.7 l./ha (Smirnoff 1978). Aerial operational applications of this formulation were highly effective against the spruce budworm and resulted in acceptable foliage protection (Smirnoff 1979, 1980a). However, it is felt that B. thuringiensis will be used extensively against C. fumiferana only when its cost is lowered to that of chemical insecticides. heref fore, several B. thuringiensis + chitinase formulations were developed leading to an even more concentrated B. thuringiensis formulation, which we call Futura, in which the required 20 B.I.U./ha is applied in a final volume of 2.5 l./ha. We describe the composition of Futura and discuss the bacteriological and physical qualities of the formulations and its efficacy.

A fossil mayfly nymph Caenoephemera shangyuanensis, gen.nov., sp.nov., discovered in the lower part of the Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Jianshangou, Beipiao district, West Liaoning, China, is described. It has several archaic features typical of Paleozoic mayfly nymphs, such as 5 tarsal segments and hind wing pads not covered by fore wing pads, but also exhibits specialized modern features, such as a short metathorax, abdominal tracheal gills, and cerci. It appears to be intermediate in structure between Paleozoic and extant mayfly nymphs.

Approximately 140 gynes of the paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus, were overwintered in the laboratory with their natal nest and nestmates. After a 14 day isolation period, three marked female nestmates were placed into a nesting box with three marked female nestmates from a presumably unrelated colony. Fifteen nesting boxes were constructed, each with six gynes from two different sister groups. The identities of paired gynes (spaced ≤5 cm apart) and foundresses on nests were recorded in blind observations. Sisters preferentially paired (P <.0001) prior to nesting. Of 18 foundress associations formed at newly constructed nests, 16 consisted of sister groups.

The arthropod fauna of New Brunswick potato fields was surveyed using pitfalls, yellow pan traps, ground cloths, and sweepnets. Of the more than 560 species or group-species identified during the 3-year study, at least 80% were transient ones indicating a loosely structured community of insects. Terricolous arthropods typically had a lower number of species and a more even distribution than aerial arthropods but a similar index of diversity. The proportion of parasitic and predatory species was high suggesting a potential for the use of native biological control techniques in potato pest management programs.

Three species are recognized in the North American genus Megetra LeConte. The most distinctive of these anatomically and ecologically is M. cancellata (Brandt and Erichson), which ranges discontinuously from Arizona and New Mexico to the state of Hidalgo in México and occurs in limited sympatry with both of its congeners. Megetra vittata (LeConte) ranges from northern Arizona to western Texas. It appears to be strictly allopatric with, and similar ecologically to, M. punctata, new species, which ranges from southern Arizona and New Mexico to Durango, México. Specific diagnoses are made on the basis of characters of adult and, for M. cancellata and M. punctata, larval anatomy. Intraspecific variation in several adult characters is analyzed. Notes on the seasonal distribution, habitat, and behavior of the adult beetles are included.

Entomologists, like research workers in other fields, frequently wish to determine whether the percentage of individuals having a certain attribute (e.g., % eggs parasitized) is associated with some other variable, which may be either qualitative or quantitative. The numbers of individuals observed with and without this attribute are recorded for each category of the other variable. A test is made of the hypothesis that the true percentage or proportion of individuals with this attribute is the same in each category. One of the methods commonly used for this purpose is the x2 test of independence. If rhe calculated x2 exceeds a specified level of significance, the hrpochesis is rejected; otherwise it is accepted. The test is described in most books on statistical methods, e.g., Goulden (1952).

The conventional yellow citrus blackfly trap was tested to determine whether size, shape, and a translucent versus an opaque material had any significant influence on capture of adults. The trap shape (square, rectangle, triangle, and circle) had no influence on efficiency, though the total number of adults caught per trap had a positive correlation with its surface area. Translucent traps were more attractive to adult citrus blackfly than opaque traps. Fluorescent yellow traps with a reflectance of 550–553 nm had a greater attractiveness than yellow with equivalent reflectance.

Over the past ten years a number of exotic predators have been introduced into New Brunswick and other parts of North America as part of a biological control program against the balsam woolly aphid, Adelges piceae (Ratz.). Several of these have become established and others show considerable promise. As introductions continue it becomes exceedingly important that field workers be able to distinguish rapidly all stages of introduced and native predators. Field identification characters for some species (Chamaemyiidae and Syrphidae) have been published in previous papers in this series (Brown and Clark, 1956, 1960; Clark and Brown, 1957) and have been found to be very useful.