Larvae of Enoclerus sphegeus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Cleridae) were separated into three groups for study. Throughout their development, the larvae in each group were fed mountain pine beetle larvae, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), of a specific size (small, medium, or large). Clerid larvae fed small D. ponderosae larvae generally completed three stadia, while the other two groups, which were fed medium-sized and large prey, respectively, usually passed through two larval stadia. The number of stadia a larva would have was determined by the amount of food consumed during the first stadium. The feeding period of larvae given small prey was considerably longer than that of those fed medium-sized or large beetle larvae, but the prepupal period was much shorter. The head capsules of second-instar larvae that passed through two stadia were distinctly wider than those of second-instar larvae that completed three stadia.

Samples of the Douglas-fir bark beetle, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopk., taken from two different segments of the infested bole were different in gallery production, egg deposition, and yolk deposition. The same two groups were distinguished by comparing fat body cell nuclei taken before the onset of the reproductive period. Techniques for comparing nuclei involved creation and analysis of digital images of nuclei. These groups were indistinguishable from each other, at that stage, by any other known method. The two groups differed in total absorbance of Fuelgen-stained nuclei (DNA content) and nuclear area. Significance of these findings is discussed in relation to early detection of reproduction-related quality differences and population dynamics of bark beetles.

The population structure of the European earwig, Forficula auricularia Linnaeus (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), was investigated in three sites in eastern Canada (Montréal, Québec; Fredericton, New Brunswick; Truro, Nova Scotia), with two goals; describe the seasonal trends of the epigeal phase, and ascertain if the three studied populations belong to sibling species “A”, as opposed to sibling species “B” found in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Insects were collected using wooden grooved traps placed on lawns and tree trunks; traps were checked weekly from the first spring melt of the frost barrier until after autumn first frost (epigeal phase). The epigeal phase was short, about five months. The different instars and adults showed a single peak of abundance. No first instars, few second instars, and mostly fourth instars and adults were collected in the arborescent stratum. The data demonstrated that these three populations have the same epigeal phenology. The interbreeding experiment established that the three studied populations belong to the same sibling species (A) of F. auricularia, and differ from sibling species (B) from Vancouver. I suggest that the climatic conditions in eastern Canada are like those in other world regions where sibling species “A” is present, and that these regions represent the edge of the bioclimatic environment of this species because of its limits on reproduction.

Species of tenebrionid beetles in the genera Coelocnemis and Eleodes share high similarity in dorsal features. Similar species are largely sympatric in occurrence, and the distributions of some species pairs are almost identical. These congruences in appearance and geographic distribution are interpreted as evidence of Müllerian mimicry. All these beetles produce quinonoid secretions, presumably used in defense against vertebrate predators. The widespread occurrence of defensive secretions, and the similarities in dorsal silhouette and cuticular sculpturing, suggest that Müllerian mimicry is of general importance among tenebrionid beetles. The common black coloration of tenebrionids probably has an aposematic function, since black contrasts sharply with most substrates under the crepuscular lighting conditions in which tenebrionid activity typically occurs. The suitability of numerical phenetic methods for the description and analysis of convergence and mimicry phenomena is discussed.

Ecitovagus gibbus, new genus and new species of diapriid wasps (Diapriinae, Diapriini) associated with the army ant Neivamyrmex nigrescens (Cresson) in Arizona, is described. Taxonomic and ecological relationships with other ecitophilous diapriids are discussed.

Larvae of Neoacarus occidentalis Cook, the first known larval Neoacaridae, are described, and host association and distributional data for the species are provided. A provisional diagnosis for the genus Neoacarus and remarks on possible phylogenetic affinities of Neoacaridae are presented based upon new knowledge of larval morphology.

Poecilips pteridophytae Schedl is the first species of Scolytidae to be found on a fern. It appears to be fairly widely distributed in New Guinea on the tropical bracken fern, Pteridium aquilnum (L.). The association is most probably of recent evolutionary origin. The immature stages are described in the text. Its life history is relatively short, the life cycle raking 2 to 4 mouths, and takes place wholly width the stem of the fern, except for emigrating adults. P. pteridophytae may have considerable economic potential as a biological control agent of bracken fern in countries where it is a pest.

Females of a European parasite, Microctonus bicolor Wesm. tested with adults of crucifer-infesting flea beetles from Manitoba, oviposited readily in Phyllotreta striolata (F.) and occasionally in Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze), but not in Psylliodes punctulata Melsh. Immature parasites developed and emerged from both P. striolata and P. cruciferae. M. bicolor is unlikely to provide economic control of P. cruciferae, which is the most important of the rapeseed-infesting flea beetles in the southern part of the prairie provinces. Further releases of M. bicolor should be in more northerly rapeseed-growing areas where there are higher population densities of P. striolata than at the original release site in southern Manitoba.

Seven species-groups comprising 20 species in the New World genus Pandeleteius are described or redescribed; they are recognized by their irregular elytral striae and their well-developed stylus on the coxite of the female genitalia. The species-groups and their composition are as follows: P. biseriatus species-group—P. biseriatus (Kirsch), P. confinis sp.nov., P. subtilis sp.nov., P. thomasi sp.nov.; P. pollinosus species-group—P. pollinosus sp.nov., P. mesosternalis sp.nov.; P. porosus species-group—P. porosus (Boheman) (P. aspericollis Hustache, new synonymy), P. spinipennis sp.nov., P. scorpioides sp.nov., P. semiconnatus sp.nov., P. connatus sp.nov., P. torosus sp.nov.; P. upsilon species-group—P. upsilon Howden, P. penai sp.nov., P. baccatus sp.nov., P. cornelli sp.nov., P. smithsoni sp.nov.; P. assimilis Voss (monobasic species-group); P. colatus sp.nov. (monobasic species-group); and P. latirostris (Hustache) (monobasic species-group).

Lectotypes are designated for Menetypus aspericollis Hustache and Pandeleteius assimilis Voss.

All species are South American except P. thomasi, which is Mesoamerican.

Host plants are unknown but adults of five species are recorded as feeding on leaves of various Caesalpinaceae and Mimosaceae.

Cultural practices, temperature, and precipitation affect the population fluctuations of Hylobius pales (Herbst) in the piedmont of Georgia. Of the environmental factors, temperature appears to have the most decided influence on the seasonal activity of the weevils. Precipitation may cause some variation but has no effect on general population trends. Cultural practices affect the numbers of weevils collected but not the seasonal trends. Although weevils are long lived and oviposition and larval development occur almost continuously, there are two population peaks during the year.

The lodgepole terminal weevil, Pissodes terminalis Hopping (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is widely distributed in western North America on three races of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.), as well as jack pine (P. banksiana Lamb.), Bishop pine (P. muricata D. Don.), and Monterey pine (P. radiata D. Don.).

Three types of life cycle, one with three subtypes, are identified. In the univoltine type 1 cycle, adults emerge from attacked leaders in the fall, overwinter probably in the ground, and re-emerge in the spring to lay eggs in elongating leaders. Larval and pupal development is completed by early fall. The univoltine type 2 life cycle is similar, except that overwintering takes place in leaders; fourth-instar larvae overwinter in type 2A, pupae in type 2B, and adults in type 2C. The type 3 life cycle takes 2 years to complete, with the first winter being passed as a third-instar larva in the leader and the second as an adult, probably in the ground. The type 1 life cycle is most common at altitudes < 2000 m and the type 3 life cycle at altitudes over ca. 2500 m; all types may be found at altitudes of 2000–2500 m.

Species of Agabus of the lutosus-, obsoletus-, and fuscipennis-groups, as defined by Larson (1989), are revised. Members of the lutosus- and obsoletus-groups are restricted to the Cordilleran and Great Plains regions of temperate western North America. Within this region, the species of each group are largely parapatric. Three species are assigned to the lutosus-group: A. lutosus LeConte along the Pacific Coast; A. griseipennis LeConte in the Great Basin, Rocky Mountain, and Great Plains regions; and A. rumppi Leech in the southern deserts. Agabus lutosus and A. griseipennis hybridize in the Pacific Northwest; A. lutosus mimus Leech is synonymized with A. lutosus. The obsoletus-group contains five species: A. obsoletus LeConte, A. morosus LeConte, and A. ancillus Fall along the Pacific Coast and the Sierra Nevada Mountains; A. hoppingi Leech in the Sierra Nevada Mountains; and A. obliteratus LeConte, containing two subspecies, A. o. obliteratus and A. o. nectris Leech, new status, with a wide range including the Great Plains and Cordillera but not reaching the Pacific Coast. The four species of the fuscipennis-group, A. ajax Fall, A. coxalis Sharp, A. fuscipennis (Paykull), and A. infuscatus Aubé, are boreal and all except A. ajax are Holarctic. Agabus coxalis is restricted to northwestern North America, the other three species are transcontinental.For each species the following information is provided: synonymy, description, and illustrations of taxonomically important characters; notes on relationships, variation, distribution, and ecology; and a map of North American collection localities. Group diagnoses and keys to the species of each group are presented. A correction to the key to species groups of North American Agabus (Larson 1989) is made with the addition of a couplet to include the obsoletus-group. Lectotypes are designated for A. discolor LeConte and A. obliteratus LeConte.

Andrena krigiana, n. sp.

♀.—Black; mandibles rufous at tips, toothed near the apex; basal process of labrum short, subquadrate, emarginate; clypeus somewhat shining towards apex, where it is rather distinctly punctured, elsewhere opaque and reticulated; face before ocelli longitudinally striate; facial foveæ quite short, not descending below insertion of antennæ, filled with a fine pubescence which appears black; antennæ short, joint 3 as long as the next three together, or nearly so, apical joints dull testaceous beneath; thorax throughout opaque and finely reticulated; enclosure of metathorax poorly defined, but rather strongly rugose; pubescence of head and thorax rather thin and dull fulvous; wings subhyaline, nervures and stigma honey-yellow, second cubital cell about one-third as long as the third, oblique, receiving the first recurrent nervure at, or a little before, or a little beyond, the middle; abdomen shining, rather sparsely and rather evenly punctured, apical margins of segments pale testaceous, hardly subfasciate, fimbria fulvous; scopæ pale, the hairs of hind tibiæ rather strongly plumose. Length, 8 mm.

The apple clearwing moth, Synanthedon myopaeformis (Borkhausen) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), is a European species discovered in Cawston, British Columbia, Canada, in 2005. Using coupled gas chromatographic – electroantennographic detection analyses we identified candidate sex pheromone components in pheromone gland extracts and effluvia from calling females. Analysis of gland extracts using four gas-chromatography (GC) columns (DB-5, DB-17, DB-23, and DB-210) showed three components (A, B, and C) that consistently elicited strong responses from male antennae. Based on previous work, the most antennally stimulatory component, B, was hypothesized to be (3Z,13Z)-octadecadienyl acetate ((3Z,13Z)-18:OAc). Its retention time on the four GC columns and its mass spectrum in a concentrated extract matched those of an authentic standard, thus confirming structural assignment. Components A and C were below the detection threshold of the mass spectrometer, but their retention times on the four GC columns matched those of authentic standards of (3Z,13Z)-octadecadienol ((3Z,13Z)-18:OH) and (2E,13Z)-octadecadienyl acetate ((2E,13Z)-18:OAc), respectively. Synthetic (3Z,13Z)-18:OAc, (3Z,13Z)-18:OH, and (2E,13Z)-18:OAc all elicited strong responses from male antennae, further supporting structural assignments of these three components. Of these antennally active compounds, only (3Z,13Z)-18:OAc and (3Z,13Z)-18:OH were detected in effluvia from calling female moths. In field trapping tests in Cawston, (3Z,13Z)-18:OAc alone was as attractive as, or more attractive than, binary or ternary blends containing this component. (2E,13Z)-18:OAc was behaviourally inactive alone or in combination with (3Z,13Z)-18:OAc, whereas 5% (3Z,13Z)-18:OH appeared antagonistic. Our analysis confirms that (3Z,13Z)-18:OAc is the major pheromone component in S. myopaeformis, and it alone is sufficiently attractive for use in detection surveys and development of pheromone-based controls for this introduced pest in Canada.

Larval performance and adult size of Chrysomela knabi Brown varied with host quality and species. Beetles reared on a low moisture diet of Salix humilis Marsh. or a novel host, S. nigra Marsh., showed reduced growth rates, survival, and adult size compared with performance on the local host, S. humilis, at high moisture. For all performance variables, beetles were least successful on the novel host. Development (hatch to pupation) was 1.2 and 3.9 days faster on the high moisture diet than on the low moisture diet or novel host, respectively. Survival (hatch to pupation) was 8 and 20% higher on the local host (high moisture) than on the low moisture diet and novel host, respectively. Weight and elytral length of newly eclosed adults showed these same trends.

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the thoraces of adult Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood revealed five octanol dehydrogenase (ODH, E.C. 1.1.1.73) phenotypes (and a sixth was predicted) in males and females, two arginine phosphokinase (APK, E.C. 2.7.3.3) phenotypes in males and three APK phenotypes in females. Each enzyme was postulated to be under the control of a single locus; Odh with three alleles on an autosome and Apk with two alleles on the X-chromosome. Allele frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in our colony, and breeding experiments provided direct evidence for single locus control of each enzyme. The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique described permits determination of banding patterns for xanthine oxidase, aldehyde oxidase, ODH, and APK from a single individual.

The Nearctic species of the brachystomatid genus Heleodromia Haliday are revised. The following six species are recognized: Heleodromia boreoalpina Saigusa, H. chillcotti Sinclair sp. nov., H. cranehollowensis Cumming and Coovert sp. nov., H. irwini Wagner, H. pullata (Melander), and H. woodi Brooks sp. nov. The following new Palearctic distribution records are also reported: H. boreoalpina (Russian Far East), H. irwini (Germany, Russian Far East), and H. immaculata Haliday (Russian Far East). A key to adults, illustrations of male terminalia, and known distributions are included.

Earwig (Forficula auricularia L.) populations infested by the nematode Mermis subnigrescens Cobb were collected from the Ayton area of Ontario, Canada, in 1968 and 1969. Parasitism levels in earwigs from this area ranged from 10.9 to 63% and appeared to be a factor in population control. It is suggested that M. subnigrescens could be used to effect population reduction of earwigs by release of infested earwigs or by distribution of nematode eggs.

Larval characterizations for the genera of North American Brachycentridae are revised and two new genera created, bringing to five the total number now recognized on this continent. Previous concepts of larval morphology in Micrasema are emended. Discovery of the larval stage of Brachycentrus (Amiocentrus) aspilus Ross necessitates elevation of this subgenus to generic status. Association of larvae with the two North American species placed in Oligoplectrum necessitates removal of one, O. dimicki (Milne), to Micrasema. Discovery of all stages of a new species on Mount Hood, Oregon, necessitates creation of a new genus. A provisional larval key to the genera of the North American Brachycentridae is proposed and the phylogenetic relationships of the genera are discussed. Validity of the Asian genus Oligoplectrodes is questioned.

Experiments were designed to determine the actual number of spores and crystals of Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) and of nuclear polyhedral virus and entomopoxvirus deposited at ground level per unit area and to determine any change in spore:crystal ration following aerial application in forested plots.

The results indicate that: (1) The estimation of B.t. aerial spray deposits by the commonly used agar plate method grossly underestimates the deposit rates of active ingredient. The tracer dye method more accurately estimates deposit rates for both B.t. and entomopathogenic viruses. As a dye 0.1% Erio Acid Red XB is recommended. (2) The relationship between drop size and the number of spores and crystals or virus inclusion bodies/drop is curvilinear. This relationship probably holds true regardless of spray volume rate. All visible spray deposits at ground level contained some active ingredient. (3) With B.t. sprays the sporexrystal ratio emitted from the aircraft is not changed upon target impact.