Psylla pyricola Foerster (pear psylla) transmitted Erwinia amylovora Winslow (fireblight) in 7 of 596 tests made from 1964 to 1969 at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont., Canada. Confirmation of transmission was by symptom expression and phage increase in Pyrus test tissue.

Pitfall trapping is a widely used sampling method for biodiversity-related research of ground-dwelling arthropods. The trap is a container, usually with a preservative, that is sunk into the ground to collect arthropods which happen upon the trap perimeter and fall in (Lemieux and Lindgren 1999; Work et al. 2002). Two types receive the most use: deep circular pitfall traps and shallow rectangular pan traps (Marshall et al. 2001). The preserving fluid can influence trap efficacy (Deville and Wheeler 1998). Our objectives were to compare the efficiency of pitfall and pan traps with and without detergent in the preserving fluid (Marshall et al. 1994), using carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and spiders (Araneae) as focal taxa.

Yield saved by insecticidal applications against the bertha armyworm, Mamestra configurata Walker, in commercial fields was measured by comparing yield in protected (unsprayed) plots of 74.4 m2 and in adjacent sprayed areas. Coefficients of variation of yield from sample units 2, 1, and 0.5 m2 ranged from 0.12 to 0.51; statistical precision was increased by taking twenty-five 0.5 m2 sample units per plot. Analysis of pod damage from selected plants predicted percentage yield loss equal to that determined by area sampling.

The results showed that yield saved by control in commercial situations did not exceed 0.325 g/larva, a value that was determined in previous work by field cage trials. Using 1981 costs for spraying and rapeseed prices and a yield loss of 0.325 g/larva, the break-even point for cost-benefit occurs when larval density is 23/m2, a value double the currently recommended density of 10 to 12/m2. Many rapeseed growers therefore are controlling the bertha armyworm at net economic loss, a situation verified by an analysis of 42 separate control decisions made by growers in 1981.

The female and male of Tarsonemus granarius n. sp. are described and illustrated. This mite occurs in granaries in Canada, Japan, and the British Isles. It feeds on, and perhaps disseminates, fungi that deteriorate grain stored for prolonged periods. Similarities and differences in the morphology and ecology of adults of this species and of T. fusarii Cooreman are discussed.

The aquatic plants Utricularia minor L., Lemna minor L., and Elodea canadensis Rich. in Michx. were tested for their effects on the colonization of artificial ponds by mosquitoes and their predators. During the 11 weeks of sampling there were significantly fewer mosquito eggs, and hence mosquito larvae, in the plant-filled ponds than in plantless control ponds, and more predators in the Utricularia and Elodea ponds than in the plantless and Lemna ponds.

A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a novel insect growth regulator (IGR) with juvenile hormone activity. Tests show the third instar to be the stage most sensitive to the regulator based on reduction of fecundity throughout inhibition of normal adult development. Effective control in most stages was for the first time brought about within the realm of economic feasibility. The IGR could be of value in future control of aphid populations.

Three species of woodpeckers (Piciformes: Picidae) in Manitoba, Canada, were examined for chewing lice (Phthiraptera): the resident downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens (Linnaeus), n=55), and two migrants, yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius (Linnaeus), n=316) and northern flicker (Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus), n=225). Six species were collected: Menacanthus pici (Denny) (Amblycera: Menoponidae) from all hosts, and five species of Ischnocera (Philopteridae): Penenirmus auritus (Scopoli) from downy woodpeckers and sapsuckers, Picicola snodgrassi (Kellogg) and Brueelia straminea (Denny) from downy woodpeckers, and Penenirmus jungens (Kellogg) and Picicola porisma Dalgleish from flickers. Adults and nymphs were present on downy woodpeckers all year, and on migrant sapsuckers and flickers from when they arrived until they left, suggesting lice reproduce continuously on their hosts. Prevalence and mean intensities of louse infestations generally decreased from their respective springtime levels to their lowest values during or at the end of the breeding season of their hosts, and then increased in various degrees during the fall. No seasonal pattern in louse sex ratios was observed except on northern flickers, where male to female ratios for two of three species were lowest during the breeding season. Resident and migrant hosts had similar seasonal patterns of infestation by lice.

Several species of parasites have played an important part in the biological control of the European spruce sawfly, Gilpina hercyniae (Htg.), in the Maritime Provinces. Most of the parasites were collected in Europe by the Imperial Institute of Entomology (9), and some material was collected in Japan through the cooperation of the United States Bureau of Entomology. The parasites were reared or propagated by the Dominion Parasite Laboratory, Belleville, Ontario (12), and liberated by officers of the Dominion Entomological Laboratory, Fredericton, assisted by other government and company services.

Ascogaster carpocapsae Vier. was not known to have spread naturally over the mountain barriers into the apple growing districts of British Columbia, and it was considered that the introduction of this species might aid in the control of the codling moth (Cydia pomonella Linn.) which has become a serious pest in that area during recent years.

A field investigation was carried out in Chatham, Ont., to evaluate the oviposition preference and survival of Hylemya brassicae (Bouché) on six early cruciferous crops, namely, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, and kohlrabi. A significantly greater number of eggs was laid on Chinese cabbage than on any other host. In the first generation, the percentage mortality for each of the life history stages differed significantly on the various crucifers but the total generation mortality did not.

Pissodes punctatussp.nov. and Pissodes yunnanensissp.nov., reared from Pinus armandii Franchet and Pinus yunnanensis Franchet (Pinaceae) in southwestern China, are described and illustrated. Both species attack the upper portions of the stems of young trees, and larvae feed in the phloem and cambium.

An eriophyoid mite, Nalepella halourga Keifer, is newly recorded in Canada from two hosts: black spruce, Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP., from Ontario, and Norway spruce, Picea abies (L.) Karst., from New Brunswick. For the first time this mite is reported as damaging black spruce under greenhouse conditions. A key to the eight described species of Nalepella and notes on their host associations and economic importance are included.

Diagnostic characters of Euxoa albipennis (Grt.), E. lillooet McD., E. declarata (Wlk.), and E. campestris (Grt.) are discussed. Euxoa rockburnei and E. declarata californica are described as new species and new subspecies, respectively. Adults and genitalia of the constituents of the series are illustrated and a key to species is presented.

A new species of the genus Quedius Steph., Q. infernus spec, nov., is described from Oregon and Washington.

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

The effect of abamectin on the leafminer, Liromyza trifolii (Burgess), was investigated using topical applications, leaf dips, and repellency bioassays. Topical application of technical material in acetone to susceptible adult females provides an LD50 value of 0.404 ppm. Leaf-dip assays using abamectin formulated in water with third-instar larvae gave an LC50 value of 0.386 ppm. These data provide baseline information on the toxicity of this material to L. trifolii and are important in the development of resistance management programs. Adult female leaf miners were repelled from feeding and ovipositing on chrysanthemum plants treated with formulated abamectin up to 7 days after foliar application in choice and no-choice assays. The implications of these data in managing populations of L. trifolii are discussed.

Based on external structural features and on those of male and female genitalia, the monobasic carabid genus Chalteniagen.nov. is described and illustrated, along with Chaltenia patagonicasp.nov. A parsimony analysis of tribe-level taxa supports a position of this new genus within the supertribe TrecFhitae. Based on the analysis of fittest trees, the genus Chaltenia is most closely related to the tribe Zolini. Several characters, such as head with three supraorbital setae, two rows of squamosetae on ventral surface of male protarsomeres 1–2, elytral interval 8 not carinate, and glossal sclerite quadrisetose, differentiate the genus Chaltenia from the three subtribes of Zolini. Because of the large degree of difference from the previously known genera of Zolini, a new monogeneric subtribe, Chalteniina, is described in order to hold the new genus Chaltenia. The biogeographical pattern exhibited by the tribe Zolini is congruent with the biogeographical patterns of other carabids, such as the tribe Broscini, that show an amphitropical distribution.

Descriptions and figures are presented for Leptohyphes dicinctus, L. melanobranchus, L. brunneus, L. consortis, L. ferruginus, L. hispidus, L. lestes, L. lumas, L. pilosus, L. spiculatus, Tricorythodes notalus, and T. ulmeri from Mexico and Central America.

Behavioral differences between a Conophthorus beetle attacking jack pine shoot tips and the red pine cone beetle, C. resinosae Hopkins, were studied. In field experiments the red pine cone beetle attacked cones and shoots of both pines but preferred cones over shoots and red pine cones over jack pine cones. The jack pine tip beetle attacked both jack pine and red pine snoots, but no progeny appeared in red pine shoots. In laboratory tests, the red pine cone beetle survived equally well in vapors of simulated red and jack pine shoot resin, while the jack pine tip beetle survived best in the jack pine resin vapor. The jack pine tip beetle is described as a new species, Conophthorus banksianae McPherson.

A national survey shows that the merchant grain beetle, Oryzaephilus mercator Fauvel, has been present in Canada since at least 1925 and that it has become firmly established as a household pest of processed cereal products preferably of high oil content, but has not been reported from stored grain. A related species, the saw-toothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.), infests both stored grain and processed cereal products. Illustrations are provided to show the morphological characters by which the two species may be recognized and separated.