The traditional subgenera of Colon Herbst containing the North American fauna are Colon s.str., Myloechus Latreille, and Eurycolon Ganglbauer. We use these and also describe Tricolon and Striatocolon as new subgenera. Identification of species in the genus Colon is taxonomically difficult because of allometric variation of external characters in males, and lack of distinctive characters in females. We present keys, illustrations, and descriptions to distinguish the known North American species. A total of 37 species names have been previously applied to Colon in North America. We designate lectotypes for Colon thoracicum Horn, C. asperatum Horn, C. oblongum Blatchley, C. dentatum LeConte, C. pusillum LeConte, C. putum Horn, C. hubbardi Horn, C. nevadense Horn, and C. liebecki Wickham. We recognize 16 names as synonyms of previously named species as follows: C. clavatum Mannerheim = C. bidentatum Sahlberg; C. complicatum Hatch = C. celatum Horn; C. decore Casey = C. thoracicum Horn; C. excisum Hatch = C. hubbardi Horn; C. femorale Hatch = C. lanceolatum Hatch; C. kincaidi Hatch = C. hubbardi Horn; C. mannerheimi Szymczakowski = C. oblongum Blatchley; C. pusillum Horn = C. dentatum LeConte; C. putum Horn = C. dentatum LeConte; C. paradoxum Horn = C. bidentatum Sahlberg; C. nevadense Horn = C. celatum Horn; C. productum Hatch = C. hubbardi Horn; C. rufum Hatch = C. dentatum LeConte; C. schuhi Hatch = C. discretum Hatch; C. serripoides Hatch = C. asperatum Horn; C. pribilof Hatch = C. liebecki Wickham. We describe 22 species as new, as follows. In the subgenus Tricolon: C. blatchleyi and C. pacificum. In the subgenus Colon: C. arcum, C. nitidum, C. politum, and C. vancouverensis. In the subgenus Myloechus: C. boreale, C. californicum, C. chihuahua, C. chiricahua, C. grossum, C. hatchi, C. hesperium, C. incisum, C. longitorsum, C. megasetosum, C. mesum, C. monstrosum, C. pararectum, C. potosi, C. similare, and C. xilitla. All these species are restricted to North America except for C. bidentatum and C. politum which are northern Holarctic. This yields 42 species recognized for the North American fauna. These beetles occur in forest, open woodland, and grassland habitats. Their larvae, biology, and food are still unknown.

Variation in leaf quality includes differences in both primary nutrients and secondary metabolites. Both of these factors can influence the feeding preference and resulting performance of herbivores in ways that are difficult to disentangle when comparing foliage from different sources. Our study was designed to assess the effects of the ratio of the primary nutrients in host-tree foliage, protein and sugar, on the performance and feeding behaviour of the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria Hübner (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)). Fourth-stadium larvae were fed trembling aspen leaves (Populus tremuloides Michx (Salicaceae)) supplemented with casein, sucrose, or buffer only (control). No differences in taste responses to the three leaf types were detected. In a cafeteria situation, feeding behaviour over the short term was largely determined by the use of pheromone trails and hence depended on which leaf was contacted first. Over the longer term, caterpillars fed most on the control leaf and the sugar-supplemented leaf and discriminated against the protein-supplemented leaf. Sugar supplementation increased survivorship relative to the control treatment but slowed development and did not affect growth; protein supplementation decreased growth. These findings are consistent with past research comparing forest tent caterpillar performance and feeding preference on different host plants.

Nearctic horse flies usually identified as Tabanus (Hybomitra) frontalis Walker or septentrionalis Loew, or simply as T. frontalis septentrionalis complex, have puzzled taxonomists for more than a century. These tabanids (Figs. 1-3), which are among the most widely distributed, most abundant and most troublesome biters of animals and man in North America, are extremely variable, especiallly in color and size. Those who have studied the group have widely different views concerning the taxonomic significance of the variations observed. To date, five nominal species (excluding T. opacus Coq.) have been described from small samples of populations of the group from various parts of Canada, i.e., frontalis and incisus Wlk. (Nova Scotia), septentrionalis Loew and labradorensis Enderlein (Labrador), and canadensis Curran (central Manitoba).

The work of the Northern Insect survey and of the Northern Biting Fly Program brought to light many interesting questions concerning the habits and ecology of northern insects and it seemed desirable to set up more detailed studies that would be continued for a number of years at a chosen site. Through the courtesy of Dr. G. Hattersley-Smith and of the Defence Research Board such a program has been established at Hazen Camp, on the northern shore of Lake Hazen, Ellesmere Island (81° 49′ N., 71° 18′ W.). D. R. Oliver spent seven weeks at Hazen Camp in 1961, and in 1962 a party of six entomologists, a nematologist and a botanist worked there for 2½ months, almost the whole of the growing season. A smaller group is continuing the work in 1963.

This list is a record of insects which have been found in or on Douglas fir in the northern Rocky Mountain region by personnel of the Forest Insect Field Laboratory at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It comprises insects which feed upon the tree, as well as the parasites and associates of these insects. Of the 153 species listed, 102 were collected by the writer while making a study of the Douglas fir beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopk.). The remainder are listed in the laboratory records and were collected by J. C. Evenden, R. E. Balch, H. J. Rust, and D. DeLeon.

Ammonia has long been known to be an attractant for the apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) (Diptera: Tephritidae) (Hodson 1943, 1948). The responses of apple maggot to ammonia release rates, however, have not been adequately determined. Ammonia release rates determined from mass losses of ammonium carbonate, ammonium acetate, and casein hydrolysate lures (e.g., Jones 1988; Reynolds and Prokopy 1997) do not take into account decomposition and release of compounds such as carbon dioxide or volatiles that may be moderately repellent (Bateman and Morton 1981; Mazor et al. 1987) or attractive to some Tephritidae flies (Mazor et al. 1987). In this study, the objectives were to determine the responses of apple maggot females and males in western Washington to ammonium hydroxide lures designed to release a wide range of ammonia. An emphasis was placed on identifying the ammonia release rates that elicit maximum fly responses.

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.

When the immature stages of Crioceris asparagi (L.) were reared at 10 constant temperatures, differential rates of survival and development were observed. The duration of all stages decreased with increase in temperature up to 32°C. The eggs tolerated a wider range of temperatures (8°–34°C) than larvae and pupae (10°–34°C). Developmental rates plotted against temperature did not deviate significantly from fitted curves of the form 1/y = K/1 + ea−bx. During three generations, accumulated degree-days above a base of 10° during development of C. asparagi in the field did not differ significantly from stage thermal requirements as calculated.

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.

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.

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.

Protein-rich pea flour and its extract are toxic to stored-product beetles and, at a concentration of 0.1%, can control these insects in a granary. To reduce the concentration of protein-rich pea flour needed to control stored-product beetles, natural products or currently used grain protectants (diatomaceous earth, neem, Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner), malathion, and pyrethrum) were mixed with protein-rich pea flour in wheat. Mixtures were tested against the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), and the rusty grain beetle, Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens) (Coleoptera: Cucujidae). Neem and protein-rich pea flour acted synergistically against T. castaneum. Malathion and protein-rich pea flour acted synergistically against S. oryzae. Protein-rich pea flour combined with diatomaceous earth or pyrethrum acted additively against S. oryzae. All other combinations acted antagonistically. An extract from protein-rich pea flour reduced feeding of S. oryzae, and three enzyme inhibitors, piperonyl butoxide, profenofos, and diethyl maleate, were tested for their possible synergistic effects on feeding deterrence and mortality. Piperonyl butoxide and pea extract had additive effects, and diethyl maleate had no effect on the feeding and mortality of insects. Profenofos alone killed all insects in 3 days. The flour consumption of S. oryzae was positively correlated with LT50 (time to 50% mortality) in flour disks treated with pea extract.

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.

Although human-modified landscapes are characterized by the loss of natural habitats, new habitats also can be created and exploited by many species. The importance of landscape change to invertebrate associations (particularly host-parasite associations) is understudied. Our objective was to determine whether prevalence and intensity of gregarine parasitism in the damselfly Ischnura verticalis (Say) (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) differed between 17 artificial and 7 natural wetlands in landscapes that varied in amount of forest and wetland cover and road density determined at spatial extents of 500m and 1km from each wetland. Wetlands were located in and around Ottawa, Ontario, and Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Wetland type did not account for significant variation in principal components based on forest and wetland cover and road density at either spatial extent. Gregarine prevalence was higher in damselflies collected from natural wetlands than in those collected from artificial wetlands and was positively associated with increasing forest cover. In contrast, gregarine intensity was inversely related to road density. Our results suggest that parasitism of damselflies by gregarines is associated with wetland type and landscape characteristics, although the mechanisms producing such relationships are unknown.

A bioassay apparatus using an aquarium filter to maintain water flow and to minimize contamination with black fly larvicides was developed. The apparatus is fairly compact, provides good visibility of and access to the test organisms and is assembled easily from materials readily available. It can be operated in a flow-through or a recirculation mode and can be used to assess pesticide effects on non-target stream invertebrates.

Electrophoretic analyses of 12 loci on nine populations from Morocco, northern Spain, and southern France have revealed heterogeneity among localities (Fst = 0.064, Nm = 3.65) and a highly significant G test for polymorphic loci. The nine populations clustered into two groups on the UPGMA phenogram of genetic distances. Ecophysiological characters were examined (photoperiodic thresholds for diapause induction, development time, and number of larval instars at 25°C, under various photoperiods) for four of these populations. According to these ecophysiological characters, the populations could be divided into two groups congruent with those obtained with the genetic analysis. Although the species is known as being sedentary, we can put forward the hypothesis that insects could fly, not across the Pyrenees, but via the Atlantic or Mediterranean coast, thus creating a genetic flow between populations. Moreover, despite a larval diapause, the high mortality rate observed within certain subpopulations might contribute to genetic differentiation from residual populations surviving hard winters.

Since 1925 the lecanium scale Eulecanium coryli (L) has been one of the most destructive insects in the coast region of British Columbia. It was introduced accidentally from Europe about 1913. A great variety of hosts are attacked, the chief of these, in order of preference, being: alder, horse-chest-nut, maples of several species, hawthorn, mountain ash, laurel, elm and garden roses; a few scales are often to be found on species of Rubus, Populus, Betula and Salix.

Collyria calcitrator (Grav.) is an important parasite of the wheat stem sawflies Cephus pygmaeus (L.) and C. (Trachelus) tabidus (F .) in Europe (Salt, 193 1). It was imported from England and released against the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Nort., in the Prairie Provinces, especially Saskatchewan, from 1930 to 1939. One of its usual hosts, the European wheat stem sawfly, C. pygmaeus, first reported in Ontario in a meadow near Ottawa in 1887 (Harrington, 1890), was first recorded as damaging wheat in Ontario in the counties of Hastings, Prince Edward, and York in 1938. I t was a serious pest in New York and Pennsylvania in the early 1920's (Ries, 1926). As C. cinctus was a major pest of wheat in Western Canada and C. pygmaeus a pest in New York and Pennsylvania, the discovery of moderate to heavy infestations of C. pygmaeus in several localities in south-central Ontario in 1939 by Mr. G. H. Hammond, Entomology Field Station, Marmora, caused concern about the future importance of the sawfly as a pest of wheat in Ontario. C. calcitrator was being imported from England for release against C. cincctus in Western Canada at the time and advantage was taken of the opportunity to release the parasite in Ontario as a possible aid in control.

The termitophilous tribe Termitohospitini was discovered in Japan. Sinophilus yukoaesp.nov. and Japanophilus hojoigen.nov., sp.nov. are described from specimens collected in Nansei-shotô. The genus Sinophilus is redefined. These species are the first-discovered inquilines of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki in Japan. This suggests that C. formosanus is native to Japan rather than an introduced species, as previously believed.