Pheromone lures for eastern and western blackheaded budworms, Acleris variana (Fernald) and A. gloverana (Walsingham), were synthesized and deployed in traps at locations with decreasing and increasing populations of western blackheaded budworms in British Columbia, Canada. Traps baited with these lures caught comparable numbers of moths at all sites tested in each year. The lures were sensitive to changes in density of budworm populations below observable damage levels, and numbers of moths in traps were strongly correlated with independent estimates of egg densities in the same year. The results confirm the qualitative similarity of the sex pheromones in eastern and western species of blackheaded budworm and demonstrate their utility as a tool for monitoring population trends, including increases in populations to damaging levels.

Female gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), exhibited a distinct calling rhythm at 17 °C, with peak calling ca. 4.0 h before the beginning of scotophase and minimal calling at or near the onset of the photophase (4.0 h). The rhythm persisted under continuous darkness (DD) and is thus circadian. The duration of calling in DD was shorter than that under a 16 h L: 8 h D photoperiodic regime. In contrast, under continuous light (LL) females called continuously and no overt rhythm was observed. Individuals kept under LL from the beginning of the pupal stage exhibited a distinct calling rhythm following a transfer to DD. The influence of temperature on the calling rhythm of L. dispar differed from most other species of moths studied to date. At lower temperature the onset of calling occurred later than at higher temperatures. The duration of the calling period increased from 11.1 h at 9 °C to continuous calling at 35 °C. The responses of females to temperature changes made at different times during the calling period suggest that the timing of calling in L. dispar does not depend on absolute temperature level.

Adults of Trisetacus chamaecypari n. sp., and female adults of T. thujivagrans n. sp. are described, and species of Trisetacus associated with Cupressaceae and Taxodiaceae are discussed and keyed. An original diagnosis of the genus Trisetacus is included.

The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), affected yield by significantly reducing the mean height of aphid-susceptible Grimm alfalfa in a greenhouse experiment by 45%, the height of the longest stem by 35%, the green weight by 38%, the dry weight by 44%, and the fiber by 13%. There was limited change in quality of alfalfa. The percentages of protein, fat, total sugar, reducing sugar, dry matter, and nitrogen-free extract were not significantly different in the infested and non-infested alfalfa. Potassium was significantly lower in the infested plants but they contained more calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. With the exception of isoleucine the amino acid composition was similar in the infested and non-infested alfalfa.

The species belonging to this interesting family have received very little attention from Entomologists generally, and considering the extent of the North American fauna, comparatively few species have been described. Of these almost nothing is known of their habits and development.

Black horned tree crickets, Oecanthus nigricornis (Walker), were continuously reared for the first time in the laboratory. Optimum rearing conditions per unit effort involved 2 months at −5 °C to terminate egg diapause, and subsequent incubation of eggs from infested raspberry cane segments at 27 °C and 45% relative humidity. Eggs began hatching in 2 weeks, and second generation eggs were obtained within 2.5 months. The best survival from egg to adult was 55%. The possibility that male tree crickets provide a nutritional investment in their progeny is discussed.

The mass production of Nosema fumiferanae spores using second, third, and fourth instar larvae of Choristoneura fumiferana is described. In general, second instar larvae inoculated with 2 × 105 spores per millilitre of suspension resulted in a maximum spore yield of 1.3 × 108 spores per larva. A spore concentration of 2 × 107 reduced larval weights and increased larval mortality.

Terrestrial arthropods collected from Bathurst Island in 1969 are listed: 78 species (4 spiders, 13 mites, and 61 insects, 30 of which are chironomids) have now been collected in this area of the high arctic. Notes on the overwintering of some of the commoner insect species are given. Although the collecting season was a poor one in 1969 because of adverse weather conditions, the list probably represents half or more of the island’s arthropod fauna. The nature of the list indicates that this fauna is impoverished compared to some other areas of the Queen Elizabeth Islands. This impoverishment may be largely explained by climatic factors.

There seems to be no information about the feeding habits of the adult in Nepticulidae, a family of moths well known as leaf-miners in the larval stage which belong to the primitive section Monotrysia. The following observations seem therefore to be worth recording.

The infuscatus group comprises 20 species and 2 subspecies. The group is wholly American, the main habitats occurring in the dry parts of the U.SA. and Mexico. Only Philodromus infuscatus Keyserling reaches Canada, while a few species are neotropical. P. droseroides Schick is divided into P. d. droseroides of California and P. d. arizonensis ssp. n. of Arizona. Similarly P. infuscatus is divided into P. i. infuscatus of eastern U.S.A. and P. i. utus Chamberlin of western U.S.A. The following are described as new species: P. pratarioides, P. harrietae, P. mississippianus, P. separatus, P. tortus, P. probolus, P. infectus, P. longiductus, P. breviductus, P. pseudanomalus, P. mexicanus, and P. cavatus. P. dispar Walckenaer, a species introduced from the Old World, is the sole American representative of the dispar group.

When the polyphagous parasite Itoplectis conquisitor (Say) was reared on either of two hosts, Thymelicus lineola (Ochs.) or Galleria mellonella L., it showed no preference for the host from which it had emerged when exposed to equal numbers of the two hosts in the same type of ecological niche. No evidence for the existence of preimaginal conditioning in I. conquisitor was obtained.

In free-choice trials with Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess), a serious greenhouse pest, and 16 species of weeds commonly found near greenhouses in Nova Scotia, the leafminer produced feeding punctures and mines in every weed tested. There were wide variations in mean numbers of punctures per plant and larval mines per plant and less pronounced variations in the mean ratios of punctures to mines. In single-host trials, development time and survival of larval and pupal L. trifolii were determined on 10 of these weeds and on Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. White Marble. Pupal survival with all weeds was as high or higher than with chrysanthemum and larval survival was as high or higher than with chrysanthemum in 6 of the 10 weeds. Time from oviposition to adult emergence was as short as that on chrysanthemum on two weeds and shorter on six others. Only creeping Charlie, Glechoma hederacea, was an unsuitable host with no larvae developing to the pupal stage. The ability of L. trifolii to use common weeds as alternate hosts indicates that weed control in and around greenhouses should be included in any program to protect greenhouse chrysanthemums from this leafminer.

Chemical treatments to kill male San Jose scale, Quadraspidiotus perniciosus (Comstock), were applied to apples, pears, and peaches in Washington, Oregon, and California respectively. Dilute sprays of diazinon applied just prior to or at first emergence of overwintered males and 7 or 14 days thereafter were compared with normal sprays directed against scale crawlers. In all instances, treatments for male scale gave control equal to that provided by a single spray timed to control first generation crawlers.

Although the male sprays were effective, they do not fit well into current pest management programs. Complications with the male sprays included timing that coincided with petal fall on earlier varieties or full bloom on later varieties with potential for kill of pollinators; possible disruption of adult predators stressed by overwintering, and russeting of Golden Delicious apples from immediate post-bloom sprays. In all three crops, post-bloom male sprays would also be an added seasonal treatment. Current practices utilize pre-bloom sprays, or combine scale crawler control with sprays for codling moth, Laspeyresia pomonella (L.), peach twig borer, Anarsia lineateila Zeller, and/or mites in June.

Techniques for successfully rearing an alder sawfly, Eriocampa ovata (L.), are reported, along with measurements of several developmental and reproductive characteristics, and observations on the insect’s behavior and ecology. Individuals with 7 instars, and those which ultimately diapause, had longer larval stages than individuals with only 6 instars, or those which were diapause-free. There was more diapause in low than in high humidities.

As the summer progressed, the length of the larval stage decreased in laboratory-reared individuals, but the length of the cocoon stage of the same individuals increased. Total leaf consumption per individual varied with rearing density, being greatest in groups of 10 larvae per leaf.

In 1930, the spruce sawfly, Diprion polytomum (Hartig), was found severely defoliating spruce trees in the interior of the Gaspe Penninsula in Quebec. At that time it was estimated that some 2,500 square miles were affected. Since then the infestation has increased in intensity and extent, and in 1936 the sawfly was known to be present throughout most of the spruce forests of north eastern America from the eastern boundary of Ontario to Nova Scotia (I).

The detection of insect infestation by the Canadian Grain Commission is decreased in efficiency by the mortality of adult beetles in the pneumatic sample delivery systems used in terminal elevators in the Vancouver, B.C., area. Dead insects are difficult to see while grading the grain and cannot be extracted by Berlese funnels.

The level of mortality varied with the species of beetle and the system tested, but not with the type of grain. In one system the following mortalities were found: Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens), 73%; Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.), 65%; Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), 65%; and Sitophilus granarius (L.), 22%. C. ferrugineus, the most important insect infesting Canadian grain, sustained an average mortality of 55% in the five systems tested. No consistent mortality pattern was found among the systems with respect to delivery tube length, number of turns, or approximate grain speed. Berlese funnel extraction was found to be inefficient for O. surinamensis and inconsistent for S. granarius.

Aerial application of Mimic® 2LV to rising outbreak populations of the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens); Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Québec, Canada, resulted in high levels of population reduction at spray deposits of 0.5–1.2 μg tebufenozide/g of foliage. Application to potted host trees in outdoor enclosures followed by bioassays revealed multiple effects on spruce budworm survival and recruitment. Chronic (14-day) exposure of late-instars to treated foliage reduced larval survival and also pupal survival, mating success, and fecundity, depending on the product concentration applied. Treatments that produced foliar deposits of ~ 0.5–1.5 μg tebufenozide/g caused high larval mortality. Exposure to deposits of ~ 0.15–0.5 μg/g caused delayed mortality during the pupal stage and reduced the mating success of survivors, while exposure to ~ 0.07–0.15 μg/g reduced the fecundity of mated females. Sublethal exposure did not affect the progeny of survivors, either in egg hatch, survival during diapause, or survival and performance after diapause. Reduced survival during late-larval and pupal stages combined with lower recruitment as a result of reduced mating success and fecundity are likely to play a role in the suppression of Mimic®-treated spruce budworm populations in the years following treatment.

Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff) was first recorded from Jamaica in 1978 and has become a potential pest in Pinus plantations in the island. Its distribution there is determined by the occurrence of suitable food, but not by altitude or rainfall. Developmental mortality due to predators, parasites, and resin did not limit population numbers within logs: control resulted ultimately from competition among egg-laying females and among larvae for space in suitable logs. However, when the entire Jamaican population was considered, dispersive loss of adults played a major part in the limitation of numbers. A cyclic budget revealed that a minimum of 44% of the population was lost during dispersal. Dispersive loss in the males (77.3%) was higher than that in the females (35.4%), and this difference may be related to the primary role of the males in finding suitable logs.

Two species of cone maggots, Strobilomyia Michelsen, are known to attack seed cones of spruces in North America. Seed cones of black, red, and white spruce from Newfoundland to Alberta were collected to determine the number of host species and the distribution of these maggots. Strobilomyia appalachensis Michelsen was obtained only from seed cones of black and red spruce, whereas S. neanthracina Michelsen was obtained only from white spruce seed cones. Our observations represent the first record of S. appalachensis in Canada. We conclude that, like S. neanthracina, S. appalachensis has a transcontinental distribution, but exploits different hosts, namely black and red spruce. We also observed that S. appalachensis was capable of extended diapause.

The population stability of Baizongia pistaciae (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on its primary host, the tree Pistacia palaestina Boissier (Anachardiaceae), was investigated using 17–20 years of data from a study of gall abundance on individual trees in Israel. Abundance varied by at least an order of magnitude among adjacent trees, among locations, and among years. Stability was quantified for the alternate-year cohorts as population variability (PV) and persistence, at three spatial scales. PV (a proportion between 0 and 1) was similar between cohorts and declined with population scale – subpopulation (a tree): 0.676 ± 0.092 (±1 SD, n = 40); population: 0.581 ± 0.098 (±1 SD, n = 6); region: 0.424 (0.345 and 0.503, n = 2). Persistence (proportion of years that galls were present) was usually near 0.9, but 0.1 for some subpopulations, and 1.0 at the population and regional scales. Although protected within large galls on long-lived trees, the PV of B. pistaciae was similar to that of native, free-living aphid species on more ephemeral herbaceous hosts, but lower than for introduced aphid species. Persistence of B. pistaciae decreased as abundance decreased but not as PV increased. PV did not increase with the length of the study period; and declined with increasing population scale, because abundance was not synchronised among subpopulations or populations. PV was similar among populations, suggesting this parameter is characteristic of the species, although positive correlations between cohorts on a tree showed that PV was affected by the site-specific tree–grass habitats in which this species lives.