During 1994–2008, 58 adult and 195 juvenile eastern cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus (Allen)), one adult and 23 juvenile snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus Erxleben), and eight adult white-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus townsendii Bachman) (Mammalia: Leporidae) were examined for ectoparasites. The most abundant ectoparasite on cottontails was the sucking louse, Haemodipsus setoni Ewing (Phthiraptera; Polyplacidae), recorded from this host for the first time. Infestations in adult and juvenile cottontails were highly aggregated, k = 0.136 and 0.153, respectively. Prevalence of infestation in adult cottontails was 70.6%, with a mean intensity of 5614.1 (range: 1–166 249); 10 adults had more than 1000 lice. In juvenile cottontails, prevalence was 34.8% and mean intensity was 6.2 (range: 1–87). On adult cottontails, 73.4% of the total lice were nymphs, while on juvenile cottontails only 11.6% were nymphs. It appears that dispersal from parents to offspring is overwhelmingly achieved by adult lice. Seventeen adult cottontails were infested with the tick, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (Packard) (Acari: Ixodidae). No fleas specific to rabbits were collected but small numbers of the rodent fleas Monopsyllus vison (Baker), Orchopeas caedens (Jordan), and Aetheca wagneri (Baker) (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae) were recorded. Only one snowshoe hare was infested with H. setoni and three were infested with H. leporispalustris; no fleas were found on snowshoe hares. Two white-tailed jackrabbits were infested with H. leporispalustris; one carried Pulex irritans Linnaeus (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae), and none carried lice.

Pandemis limitata (Robinson) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is one of several leaf-feeding caterpillar pests of commercial tree-fruit crops in British Columbia, Canada. Recent discovery that European Pandemis Hübner species are attracted by lures combining acetic acid and the caterpillar-induced apple-leaf volatiles, 2-phenylethanol, and phenylacetonitrile, prompted our examination of P. limitata response to these compounds. Trapping tests in organic apple orchards revealed that neither of these individual benzenoids, nor their binary combination, was attractive. Acetic acid alone was weakly attractive, but more importantly, catches increased significantly when an acetic-acid co-lure was combined with 2-phenylethanol or phenylacetonitrile, individually and together. Catches of male and female P. limitata with acetic acid+2-phenylethanol, or acetic acid+2-phenylethanol+phenylacetonitrile were similar, respectively, and both sexes were caught significantly less often in traps baited with acetic acid+phenylacetonitrile. When combined with acetic-acid co-lures, traps baited with membrane dispensers releasing 2-phenylethanol at ~1 mg/day caught significantly more moths than traps baited with rubber septa lures releasing 2-phenylethanol at ~0.6 mg/day. Moth catches in traps baited with 2-phenylethanol were unaffected when the emission of acetic-acid co-lures was increased from ~28 to 63 mg/day. Catches of male P. limitata in traps baited with sex pheromone were significantly greater than catches in traps baited with acetic acid+2-phenylethanol, or traps baited with a ternary blend of acetic acid+2-phenylethanol+sex pheromone. Catches of female P. limitata in traps baited with acetic acid+2-phenylethanol were significantly reduced when it was combined with sex pheromone. Use of the ternary acetic acid+2-phenylethanol+phenylacetonitrile blend provides an opportunity to develop multispecies bisexual trapping systems to improve management of sympatric tortricid pests currently causing economic losses in organic apples in British Columbia. More work on long-lasting release devices, nonsaturating traps, and organically acceptable killing agents are needed to develop organic mass-trapping systems.

A new species of gall midge, Stenodiplosis phragmicola Sinclair and Ahee (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is described. The host plant, Phragmites australis (Cavanilles) Trinius ex Steudel (Poaceae), is a tall, widely distributed emergent aquatic macrophyte. An introduced subspecies of the plant is considered invasive in North America (although a native subspecies also occurs). Insect specimens were collected during September 2010 and 2011 from the florets of common reed at 12 sites around Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Preliminary data on ecological interactions between the plant and the insect are presented. Out of 2400 florets sampled, 9.5% were host to larvae of S. phragmicola. Three sites had much higher rates of infestation, with between 20% and 30% florets, and up to 100% of sampled shoots containing fly larvae. The largest stands in the sample all hosted fly populations and there was a positive association between the reproductive output of P. australis stands (measured as the average inflorescence mass per stand) and the proportion of shoots per stand containing larvae. The occurrence of S. phragmicola on the native subspecies of P. australis is also documented. Insects that consume reproductive structures of the common reed have not previously been reported from the plant's introduced range in North America.

This study examined the use of degree-day models to predict alfalfa weevil Hypera postica (Gyllenhal) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) population development on the Canadian prairies. Air temperatures, alfalfa weevil abundance, and instar data were collected in 2013 and 2014 from 13 alfalfa (Medicago sativa Linnaeus; Fabaceae) fields across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. We coupled three alfalfa weevil population prediction models with three temperature data sources to determine which combination most closely aligned with results observed. Our objective was to find the best prediction of peak occurrence of second instar alfalfa weevils, the optimum time for management decisions. Of the parameters analysed, prediction model had the greatest effect on the accuracy of peak instar prediction, with Harcourt and North Dakota models better at predicting population peaks than the Guppy–Mukerji model. Interactions between temperature source and prediction model significantly affected prediction accuracy. The probability of accurate prediction of population peaks to within 3.5 days of actual occurrence using in-field and multiple-site temperature data sets, combined with Harcourt and North Dakota development models, was 0.45–0.70. Lower predictability was found from fields in the Mixed Grass Ecoregion than in other ecoregions. The use of the recommended models can assist growers in timing their monitoring activities and deciding if pest management action is warranted.

Oviposition rate (eggs per ♀-degree-day) and fecundity (total number of eggs per ♀) were measured in two populations of Melanoplus sanguinipes (F.) under natural conditions during two seasons (1984, 1985). Differences in fecundity between the two seasons were indirectly associated with differences in time of hatching. In 1985, females hatched earlier and had shorter preoviposition periods, greater longevities, and higher oviposition rates; consequently, fecundity averaged about three-fold greater than in 1984. Longevity appeared to be the most important single determinant of fecundity. Maximum fecundity was 73.2 eggs (equivalent to four pods) and mean fecundity ranged between 10.1 and 28.9 eggs per female.

In a recent monograph of the plant bugs of the prairie provinces (Kelton 1980), I stated that the subfamily Cylapinae did not occur in the prairie provinces. However, collections in 1982 and 1983 in Manitoba and Alberta produced specimens of Fulvius imbecilis (Say). This is the first record of this species in Canada. Additional records for Canada are given for F. slateri Wheeler, imbecilis is illustrated, and a key to separate them is provided.

Investigations at Fredericton requiring specific instars of the cabbage maggot, Hylemya brassicae (Bouché), led to studies of laboratory methods for rearing this insect. Previous attempts to rear H. brassicae had proved unsuccessful since the species does not reproduce readily under artificial conditions. Slingerland (1894) was unable to obtain eggs of this species, though his cages contained hundreds of adults. Washburn (1906) reported that adults that had matured in the field would oviposit in cages. Schoene (1916) used adults that had emerged in the laboratory as well as some fresh-looking individuals captured at large. These were supplied with water and some cruciferous plants, as well as banana, sugar, water, and blossoms of weeds common in his community. Adults fed readily upon the sweetened mixture and decaying banana, and lived four to eight weeks. One female was dissected and found to contain 13 full-sized eggs, but no reference to oviposition was made.

Carbon dioxide shows some promise as a fumigant for control of stored product insects and some of its properties and uses have been summarized by Monro (1969). Recently, horticulturists have shown that firmness in apples and cherries is retained longer when they are treated with carbon dioxide before storage (S. W. Porritt, Research Station, Agriculture Canada, Summerland, B.C., pers. comm.). Since the gas has favorable properties for use as a fumigant and leaves no residue in food, we examined its potential for killing pests on harvested apples.

The control of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), by formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) (B.t.) and other microbial agents and chemical insecticides was assessed in field plots of potatoes and tomatoes over a 5-year period. Applications of formulations of thuringiensin, the beta exotoxin of B.t., and of B.t. var. son diego (B.t.sd.) to potatoes reduced numbers of larvae of the potato beetle compared with the nontreated check and resulted in yields significantly greater than from the check plots and, in most cases, similar to yields from plots treated with carbofuran. Treatment of tomatoes with B.t.sd. reduced populations of larvae of the Colorado potato beetle compared with the nontreated check and increased yield of nondamaged fruit from plots. An initial application of carbofuran to potatoes or permethrin to tomatoes followed by applications of thuringiensin or B.t.sd. protected potatoes or tomatoes as well as did the chemical insecticide used alone in a treatment program. Applications of preparations of B.t. var. kurstaki or spores of the fungus Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin or the microsporidium Vairimorpha necatrix (Kramer) did not reduce populations of the beetle.

Methods of trail formation and organization of group foraging by the ants Formica obscuriventris Mayr, Myrmica americana Weber, and Crematogaster lineolata (Say) were studied under laboratory conditions. Each species was able to organize group travel to a persistent food source. M. americana and C. lineolata achieved this by using trail pheromones, the former species using these pheromones only to establish the trail and the latter using them in all stages of foraging. F. obscuriventris apparently did not use trail pheromones and each individual learned the route to the food independently.

In field and cage experiments in a Costa Rican oil palm plantation, the largest, most fecund female bagworms, Oiketicus kirbyi, had the greatest mating success. Differential mating success of small and large females may be attributed to mate choice by males or to competition between protogynous females for access to males.

The cylindrical bark beetle, Lasconotus intricatus Kraus., is attracted to multiple-funnel traps baited either with black spruce logs infested with male four-eyed spruce bark beetles, Polygraphus rufipennis (Kirby), or the male-produced aggregation pheromone, 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol. The addition of the host terpenes, bornyl acetate and β-pinene, to 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol reduced the attraction of L. intricatus. 3-Carene, myrcene, and α-pinene appeared to have a partial inhibitory effect. Catches in spring and summer disclosed a high degree of temporal coincidence between the two species. We hypothesize that L. intricatus utilizes the aggregation pheromone of P. rufipennis as a host-finding kairomone.

Morphological and distributional data are presented for North American species of the family Chappuisididae, including members of the genera Chappuisides Szalay (subfamily Chappuisidinae), Uchidastygacarus Imamura (subfamily Uchidastygacarinae), and Morimotacarus Imamura and Yachatsia Cook (subfamily Morimotacarinae). The phylogenetic relationships of mites in these subfamilies with other Arrenuroidea are discussed, leading to the conclusion that mites previously placed in the families Chappuisididae and Uchidastygacaridae Imamura probably represent a single, holophyletic group. As a result, the family Chappuisididae is redefined, and four subfamilies are recognized, namely Chappuisidinae, Uchidastygacarinae Imamura, Tsushimacarinae Cook, and Morimotacarinae Imamura. The name Uchidastygacaridae is placed in synonymy with Chappuisididae. New diagnoses are proposed for the family and subfamilies.

Adults of Chappuisides eremitus Cook are redescribed, and adults of seven new species, namely C. anomalus sp.nov., C. neomexicanus sp.nov., C. acadianus sp.nov., C. cooki sp.nov., C. occidentalis sp.nov., C. californicus sp.nov., and C. oregonensis sp. nov., are described for the first time. Deutonymphs of C. acadianus, C. cooki, and C. occidentalis are also described. A new diagnosis is proposed for the genus Chappuisides and subgeneric concepts are reviewed critically.

Adults of Uchidastygacarus (Imamurastygacarus) ovalis Cook, U. (s.s.) imamurai Cook, and U. (s.s.) acadiensis Smith are redescribed, largely on the basis of recently collected specimens including the first known adult males of U. (I.) ovalis. Adult males of U. (s.s.) magnificus sp.nov., adult females of U. virginiensis sp.nov., and deutonymphs and adults of both sexes of U. appalachianus sp.nov. are described for the first time. New diagnoses are proposed for the genus Uchidastygacarus and its subgenera.

Adults of Morimotacarus nearcticus sp.nov., the first known nearctic species of the genus, are described and adults of Yachatsia mideopsoides Cook are redescribed. Deutonymphs of both of these species are described for the first time. The name Yachatsia euforma Habeeb is placed in synonymy with Y. mideopsoides based on study of type specimens and assessment of variability within populations. New diagnoses are proposed for the genera of Morimotacarinae.

A phylogenetic framework for Chappuisididae is outlined and discussed. New distributional data are presented for North American species, permitting the first comprehensive attempt to assess the zoogeography of the family. The family probably differentiated from early derivative mideopsiform arrenuroid stock similar to Nudomideopsidae in Laurasia during the late Cretaceous or early Tertiary. Extant subfamilies apparently originated early in Tertiary times, and the clades that include modern genera dispersed throughout western North America and eastern Asia, and in some cases more extensively on both continents, between the early Tertiary and the Pleistocene. Climatic cooling in late Tertiary times, culminating in glacial episodes during the Pleistocene, resulted in displacement of chappuisidid taxa to various refugial areas south of continental ice sheets. Modern species are in the process of invading recently deglaciated areas in both eastern and western North America, but at differing rates that reflect their vagility, cold-tolerance, and ability to colonize newly established interstitial habitats. Chappuisididae have considerable potential value as indicators of the impact of environmental changes on interstitial freshwater ecosystems.

Experiments with rutabagas, cabbage, and cauliflower were conducted on mineral soils, mainly with pre plan tin g soil treatments of insecticides applied in bands placed about 2.5 cm below the soil surface (1.25 cm below the seed) in shallow ridges to determine the best insecticides for use in controlling the cabbage maggot. Drench or granular spot applications were also used for transplanted stem crucifers. Broadcast, surface band, and supplementary drench treatments had been tested earlier but were discarded in favor of the band-in-row treatments, mainly because of hazard to beneficial predators and parasites. Of the many materials tested, carbofuran, fensulfothion, and chlorfenvinphos have consistently given the best control throughout the growing season. Trichloronat, E.I. 47031, and mecarbam also gave good results. Thionazin and phorate gave excellent control until 1968 when applied at the exact required depth in the row with machinery; control was often erratic when these materials were applied on a field scale with hand applicators. In 1968, these two insecticides gave less effective early season control and poorer residual control than in previous years. Carbofuran, and phorate, appeared to influence the development of rhizoctonia rot lesions on the sides of the roots more than other materials in all experiments. Rot lesions were more numerous and severe on rutabagas that followed potatoes than on land that had previously been used for cereals. Root maggots in stem crucifers were controlled with a number of insecticides. Methods of application for all cruciferous crops are discussed.

In “Wasp Studies Afield” we recorded the enormous mortality of these hibernating queens in the crevices of rocky bluffs. Since that record was made, on half a dozen different occasions, I have found handfuls of dead wasps on the window-sills of several club-houses.

Stem-group Phasmatodea, known as the Susumanioidea, are previously established from the Jurassic through the Paleocene. Here, we extend this record to the early Eocene with five new fossils: two forewings from the Klondike Mountain Formation exposures at Republic, Washington, United States of America, and three partially complete specimens from the McAbee locality in southern British Columbia, Canada. We assign both of the Republic specimens to the new genus and species Eoprephasma hichensinew genus, new species. Two of the McAbee fossils appear to represent two further new species, which we refer to as Susumanioidea species A and B for lack of clearly preserved diagnostic species-level character states. The third might belong to one of these two species, but this is unclear. In all three, the mesothorax and metathorax are not notably extended, the forewings are not shortened, the foreleg femur is straight, and species A possesses an extended, external ovipositor with an operculum (unknown in the other specimens). These conditions are rare and never found in combination in Euphasmatodea. All other stem-group Phasmatodea younger than the Early Cretaceous of China are only known from isolated wings.

Plant bugs in the genus Lygus are pests of canola (Brassica napus L. and Brassica rapa L.) in western Canada and may require insecticidal control. Sweep-net sampling of field plots and commercial fields in southern Manitoba between 1988 and 1995 was used to develop sequential sampling plans for plant bugs in canola to facilitate control. The variance–mean relationships for plant bug catches were defined by Taylor’s power law, and the parameters of the relationships were the same for field plots and commercial fields. Sampling units of 10, 20, 50, and 100 sweeps per sample had variance–mean relationships with the same slope but different intercepts and required different minimal sample sizes. Samples taken at two crop stages had similar variance–mean relationships, but at a later crop stage the intercept of the relationship differed and the parameters were estimated with less precision. Samples taken in two ways along the edges of commercial fields and at various distances into the fields all gave similar estimates of plant bug density, justifying the use of edge sampling. Experienced samplers caught more plant bugs than inexperienced ones, although the difference was primarily due to the number of nymphs rather than adults that were collected, and this difference was less pronounced in the edge samples. Sweep-net sampling collected less than 10% of the plant bugs present in the sampling area. Sequential decision plans are presented for four sampling units and three crop stages. Sampling commercial canola with a sweep net to make decisions on the need to control plant bugs can be completed in as little as 28–35 min. The sampling is most efficiently conducted with a sampling unit of 10 or 20 sweeps taken along the edge of a field. In an independent test of the sampling method, plant bug densities were classified correctly in relation to the need for control in 20 fields using the minimum sample size.