Eighteen sexual mosaics of S. arcticum including 16 distinct gynandromorphs and 2 apparent intersexes are described. These were discovered among 41,615 normal females from Athabasca, Alberta. Male and female terminalia are compared in four specimens possessing duplicates. Four specimens including two presumed intersexes and two which appeared to be normal males were parasitized with mermithid larvae.

Chrysonotomyia (Achrysocharella) is represented in North America by three species groups. The formosa group includes damastes (Walker), formosa (Westwood), and ovulorum (Ratzeburg); the punctiventris group includes punctiventris (Crawford), gracillariae n. sp., hyphantriae n. sp., and borealis n. sp.; and the diastatae group includes diastatae (Howard). Keys, descriptions, host records, and comparison of the subgenera Achrysocharella Girault and Chrysonotomyia Ashmead are included. New synonymies and new combinations of names representing material incorrectly placed under Achrysocharella are also included.

In the case of any circumpolar plant, it is of much interest to learn whether the insects and fungi attacking it are the same in Europe, Asia and America. The Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uvaursi) is already know to have a cocci (Targionia Dearnessi, Ckll.) infesting it, which is only known to occur in America. This T. Dearnessi, however, is not confined to the Arctostaphylos, for Professor L. Bruner sent me specimens which he collected Oct. 24, 1900, at Weeping Water, Nebraska, on Ceanothus Americanus.

Most of the range of the red turnip beetle, Entomoscelis americana Brown, lies within the Western Cordillera and Interior Plains physiographic regions of North America between latitudes 45°N and 68°N. Entomoscelis americana is associated mainly with three types of vegetation: forests, forest–grasslands, and grasslands. Temperature adaptations in the egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages that permit E. americana to occupy its present range are outlined. Host plant abundance may be the main factor preventing eastward extension of its range. Climate and host plant abundance together appear to limit E. americana to low altitude locations north of 60°N latitude. Eight of the temperature adaptations of the egg and adult stages together seem to limit southward extension of the range. Entomoscelis Chevr. appears to have a Holarctic distribution, with 11 species in the Palearctic region and one (E. americana) in the Nearctic region. The stock giving rise to E. americana may have migrated to North America during the Pleistocene when the Bering land bridge was in existence. Entomoscelis americana likely spent the Wisconsinan glacial period south of the ice in the Western Cordillera and (or) in central United States.

Injury to young jack pine in an experimental plantation at Cloquet, Minn., by a shoot boring insect, Eucosma sonomana Kearfott, stimulated the investigacions on life history, biology and incidence reported here. Notes on life history, biolop and injury are included for two additional species of the subfamily Eucosminae, family Olethreutidae; namely Petrova albicapitana Busck, and Petrova pallipennis McDunnough.

The life history of Monarthrum fasciatum was studied from 1971 through 1973 on oak in Missouri. Three generations of the beetle were observed each year and the measurements of the life stages and the gallery components were recorded. The female to male ratio was approximately 2:1. No relationship was found between oak-wilt-killed trees and M. fasciatum.

The cherry scallop shell moth, Hydria prunivorata (Ferguson), is a colonial feeder on black cherry, Prunus serotina Ehrh. Pupae overwinter in the litter and adult emergence occurs from May through September. Eggs are laid on the foliage in pyramidal-shaped masses 23–26 days after adult emergence. Eggs begin to hatch 4 days following oviposition and each of the four larval stages lasts 4–6 days. There is one generation per year in New York. The egg parasite Telenomus sp. is the principal mortality factor occurring in populations that have remained at outbreak levels for 2 or more years. The life stages of H. prunivorata are described and control recommendations discussed. The peach bark beetle, Phloeotribus liminaris (Harris), may kill black cherry trees that are stressed by heavy defoliation.

Lecanium tiliae (L.) is now attacked in British Columbia by three species of parasites, about 18 predators, and a fungus. Parasites are the most important natural enemies but parasitize an average of only 30% of the scales. Reasons for low parasite effectiveness include: hyper-parasitism by one species, Coccophagus lycimnia, which is apparently a recent arrival in the district, on itself and on the chief parasite, Blastothrix longipennis; a tendency for C. lycimnia to be relatively abundant in low scale populations; differences in sex ratio of B. longipennis between low and high host populations; and parasite mortality in the scales. It was confirmed that the parasites pass the summer as diapausing adults rather than in alternate hosts. It is concluded that the biological control attempt of 1928 and 1929 that has been widely regarded as a success was in fact probably a failure, as the introduced parasite, B. sericea, did not apparently become established. An attempt in 1969 and 1970 with an introduced fungus also failed.

A study was conducted in a mature apple orchard in Nova Scotia to compare the density of eggs of the European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch), over the whole tree to their density on a selected area using a random selection and standard selection technique. Both methods provided nearly equivalent estimates of population densities for generations 2 and 4 but not for generation 3. The population estimates based on sampling from the selected area overestimated the whole tree population.

Optimum allocation of sampling resources may be obtained by sampling a small number of clusters from each of a large number of trees.

No sexual dimorphism in weight was observed at emergence of adult Aleochara bilineata Gyll. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae). The weight of adults was strongly correlated with the size of the pupa in which the parasitoid developed. Newly emerged adults increased in weight after feeding, and this increase was greater in females than in males, reflecting the beginning of oogenesis. We showed that females invested simultaneously in reproduction and somatic functions the first day following mating. Although males and females showed no significant differences in weight at emergence, the females fed actively upon emergence and weighed significantly more than the males for 30 days after emergence. After that period, most of the eggs has been laid and both male and female weights were similar.

Managed bumble bees are important pollinators of greenhouse crops, but few studies have examined factors that affect the health and productivity of commercially produced colonies. We investigated whether supplemental feeding with diverse pollens affected worker longevity and colony size of Bombus occidentalis Greene (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies in tomato (Solanaceae) greenhouses. We found no differences in colony worker populations, brood production, or queen and drone production between supplemented and nonsupplemented treatments, suggesting that B. occidentalis colonies obtain adequate nutrition from the tomato pollen available in greenhouses. Adult populations did not increase in any treatment, but either remained stable or declined after colonies were placed in greenhouses. Because brood-rearing increased in all treatments but adult populations did not, adult mortality due to a non-nutritional factor such as disease or disorientation appears to be an important problem limiting the size of bumble bee colonies, and thus the effectiveness of bumble bees for greenhouse tomato pollination.

Melanotus communis (Gyllenhal) larvae were introduced into temperature gradient columns containing moist or dry organic soil. In other experiments certain sections of the columns contained moist soil while soil in the remaining sections was dry.

Moist soil caused M. communis larvae to aggregate at higher temperature levels (24 °C) whereas dry soil evoked a positive response to the coolest level (10 °C). Cool (10 °C), moist sections attracted most of the wireworms while sections containing moisture at the highest temperature level caused a bimodal pattern of aggregation with M. communis larvae moving to both cool–dry or hot–moist conditions.

Differences in geotactic responses by M. communis larvae did not occur when the column was positioned vertically or horizontally.

Mean weekly catch of adult Psila rosae (F.) on sticky, yellow-painted cardboard traps from 93 commercial carrot fields provided seasonal records of their activity during 1980–1983 in the lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia. When monitoring extended from April through November in 1982 and 1983, 3 distinct periods of adult activity were observed that probably reflect the occurrence of 3 adult generations per year. Trap catch first peaked in mid- to late-May, followed by a second peak in late-July to early-August, and a third peak in mid-October. Of the temperature summations calculated, those commencing 1 February provided the most accurate degree-day (DD) indices for predicting seasonal activity of overwintering and 1st-generation adults. Four-year means for cumulative DD above 3 °C (air temperature) after 1 February for first, 10%, maximum, and 90% trap catch of the overwintering generation were 326, 435, 557, and 838 DD, respectively.

Preconditioning of isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. and Metarrhizium anisopliae (Metch.) Sor. with specific insects increases their virulence. An isolate of B. bassiana used two years previously in pathogenicity tests against spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clem., required only one passage through this insect to attain 100% mortality in 48 h of incubation, whereas an isolate of M. anisopliae that was not previously used against this insect required four passages to attain the same degree of virulence as B. bassiana. Larvae of Laspeyresia youngana (Kft.), Dasineura rachiphaga Tripp, and Dasineura canadensis Felt were very susceptible to both fungi and 100% mortality was obtained in less than 48 h of incubation. Larvae of Lasiomma anthracina Czerny were much less susceptible. Puparia of both genera of Diptera were more resistant than larvae and required longer incubation to obtain 100% mortality.

The Palearctic species Amara communis (Panzer) and Bembidion femoratum Sturm were both first reported from North America in 1992. Since that time a sizeable number of additional specimens of both species have been found, which substantially expands their known range on the continent. These records are summarized herein. The possible modes of introduction of both species are discussed within the context of other introduced insects, particularly those first found in Atlantic Canada. In the case of A. communis, the many coastal localities where it occurs would seem to indicate that it was introduced in association with transatlantic marine traffic, possibly the shipment of dry ballast. In the case of B. femoratum, the mode of introduction is less clear. Possible associations with nursery stock, dry ballast, and the movement of aircraft are all discussed.

The New World species of Pseudonapomyza Hendel are reviewed. Only two species of the genus were previously known to occur in the Nearctic region: P. atra (Meigen) and P. lacteipennis (Malloch). Pseudonapomyza europaea Spencer and P. asiatica Spencer are here recorded for the first time in the Nearctic region and P. asiatica is recorded for the first time in Costa Rica and Venezuela. A key is provided to identify the four known New World species of Pseudonapomyza.

This study investigated thermal aspect potentials of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera (Linnaeus) (Arecaceae)) infested by red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)) in early detection. Palms were forced infested, i.e., fertile females and males were introduced inside the palms to initiate infestation. Effects of three infestation intensities on date palm were examined throughout a 24-day period. Temperature gradients inside infested and healthy palms of the commercial cultivar (Khalas) were determined using data loggers. Adult weevils and loggers were introduced inside holes drilled in palm trunks for measuring temperatures at 15-minute intervals during 24 consecutive days. These 24 days after infestation is the larval stage where most of the damage occurs and the infested palms can still be rescued through remedial control measures. A repeated measures analysis showed that the temperature of infested palms during the two seasons of the study were 33.22 °C and 30.08 °C, while for the healthy palms were 31.83 °C and 27.56 °C. Differences were significant during the first (F=6.14, df=3, P=0.009) and the second (F=3.89, df=3, P=0.038) season. The corresponding ambient atmosphere temperatures were 31.83 °C and 28.03 °C, respectively. This study provides valuable baseline information for developing a real-time sensor fusion system for a nondestructive early detection of insect infestation.

The effects of ethanol and α-pinene lures on trap catches of forest coleopteran predators and fungivores were evaluated in studies conducted in 2002–2004 to evaluate trap responses of bark and woodboring beetles in the southern United States of America. Traps baited with ethanol, α-pinene, or a combination of the two attracted predator species in six families of Coleoptera. The most abundant species were Coptodera aerata Dejean (Carabidae), Thanasimus dubius Fabricius (Cleridae), Temnoscheila virescens (Fabricius) (Trogossitidae), and Lasconotus spp. (Zopheridae). Most species were attracted by both ethanol and α-pinene lures; traps baited with both compounds generally caught the greatest numbers for most species. There was some evidence of geographic variation in responses to ethanol and α-pinene. For example, catches of C. aerata in ethanol-baited traps were enhanced by the addition of α-pinene in North Carolina but not in Alabama or South Carolina. Catches of Lasconotus spp. in traps baited with α-pinene were enhanced with ethanol in Florida but not in North and South Carolina. The fungivore Pycnomerus sulcicollis LeConte (Zopheridae) was captured in significant numbers in traps baited with α-pinene. Responses of predators to ethanol and α-pinene mirrored those of bark and woodboring beetles captured in these same experiments.

A 10,000 acre stand of mature balsam fir, in Temiscouata County, Quebec, which had a spruce budworm population of about 21 larvae/18 in. branch-tip was sprayed with a Bacillus thuringiensis + chitinase formulation. Aerial spraying was carried out by three TBM aircraft between 4 and 7 June 1972, when insect development was at the peak of the third instar. Where the quantity of B. thuringiensis colonies per square centimeter was higher than 77 and spray deposit higher than 0.4 gal/acre (U.S.), larval mortality was between 84% and 93% compared with between 39% and 53% in the check plot. Foliage protection was 47%. The results indicate the possibilities of using B. thuringiensis + chitinase to control spruce budworm infestations.

Steremnius carinatus (Boheman), once considered a scavenger, has become recognized as a pest of coniferous seedlings. The weevils breed in roots of fresh stumps and in buried slash on logged areas, and adults emerge by the end of the second summer after logging. Adults girdle young seedlings from near the root collar to 1 in. above ground level, but seldom attack the second year after planting. Adult weevils are long-lived, and can survive three or more winters, establishing broods each spring. They eat a wide variety of vegetation and fruits and other materials containing sugars and starches. Greenhouse trials demonstrated selective feeding on seedlings and field tests showed that the weevils breed in most coastal coniferous species in British Columbia. Rates of brood development ranged from 2 months at 80°F to 24 months in unheated outdoor conditions. Differences in rates of development, apparently related to temperature, were found between localities. Phloem may be suitable for oviposition 2 years after logging, but often is depleted by the feeding of other bark-mining beetles. Although some weevil damage is caused by emergents from stumps on rights-of-way, damage from larger populations emerging later from newly-cut sites may be reduced by planting immediately after cutting.