Since Neodiprion swainei Midd. overwinters within cocoons in the soil, it is necessary for the population ecologist to sample the forest floor. One-footsquare units of soil have been used for sampling cocoons in population studies of N. swainei in the Province of Quebec. After removal from the forest floor the samples were placed individually in cotton bags for shipment to the laboratory. The ordinary method to extract cocoons required that the samples be first broken up by hand, then passed over various-sized screens to eliminate the sand and other small particles. Following this, each sample was carefully manipulated and scrutinized by one worker and the cocoons removed, then similarly re-examined by another worker. Best results were obtained when the samples were dry.

The life histories of many of the Geometridae are not well known; those of a few economic species in the Ennominae have been worked out but many more remain to be studied. Life-history notes on the following seven species are presented: Semiothisa granitata Gn., S. sexmaculata Pack., Eufidonia discospilata Wlk., Melanolophia canadaria Gn., Campaea perlata Gn., Selenia alciphearia Wlk., and Caripeta divisata Wlk. The larvae of all these have been described; those of Selenia and Campaea were described by Dyar (1899 and 1903) and the remainder by McGuffin (1943a, 1943b, 1944, 1945, and 1947).

The species discussed below was first recorded under the name Synetaeris n. sp. as a parasite of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clem., in Ontario by McGugan and Blais (1959), although they point out that it may have been collected from budworm in British Columbia during the 1940's but incorrectly identified at that time. These authors collected S. tenuifemur during the declining years of a budworm outbreak in the Lake Nipigon region of northwestern Ontario, and it was during the declining years of a severe outbreak that the parasite was first reared from budworm in the Green River area of north-western New Brunswick (Morris, 1963, in press). These data suggest that S. tenuifemur is associated with endemic budworm populations, an assumption advanced by McGugan and Blais (1959). However, it was not found in the Green River area from 1945 to 1947 when budworm density was at a low level prior to the 1949-1959 outbreak.

Scarabatermes amazonensis n. g., n. sp., is described from Leticia, Colombia. The species occurs in the nests of Neocapritermes braziliensis (Snyder).

The occurrence of Dioryctria ametella (Hulst) (Lepidoptera: Phycitidae) as well as several other insect inhabitants of Cronartium fusiforme Hedgc. and Hunt cankers was investigated. A species of Pissodes (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Eurytoma sciromatis Bugbee (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) were found to be winter inhabitants of the cankers. The importance of the cankers as an overwintering habitat for D. amatella was also considered.

It is generally admitted that the primitive position of the Arthropod mouth and its associated appendages is ventral, this position being evident in the early embryonic stages of all groups and retained in the adult stages of many forms, particularly among the Crustacea. It is by no means to be inferred from this, however, that this ventral position of the mouth is the primitive one in the Insecta as a class. Great variability exists among insects in the postembryonic stages in respect of this feature. The mouth and jaws are usually directed more or less forward and downward but vary from a wholly anterior position to a definitely ventral one, or they may even be directed posteriorly.

Galls induced by the aphid Tamalia coweni (Cockerell) were sampled from greenleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula E. Greene) in Shasta County, California. Thirty galls from each of four sites were collected over a 5-year period (1990–1994) at roughly weekly intervals (N = 5010). The contents of each gall were examined and recorded. Excluding T. coweni, 25 taxa were encountered representing eight arthropod orders: Acari, Thysanoptera, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera. All play a minor role in the gall community with the exception of two species of Diptera. The data suggest that Leucopis sp. and Heringia sp. are obligatory predators of T. coweni and coexist by partitioning the aphid resource with different exploitation strategies. Heringia sp. has a relatively low infestation rate (10.8%) but is a superior competitor. Leucopis sp. compensates for its inability to compete effectively with Heringia sp. by maintaining a higher infestation rate (41.4%).

The Nearctic species of Neophyllomyza Melander are revised and descriptions, illustrations, and an identification key are provided for the two included species, N. quadricornis Melander and N. gaultin. sp. Large numbers of adults of both species were collected in emergence traps on decaying logs of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh. (Aceraceae)) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. (Fagaceae)) in eastern Canada, indicating that the larvae of both species are saproxylic, although their exact food source is unknown. Although the two species are sympatric over much of their range and apparently use the same resources for larval development, their habits differ: N. quadricornis was collected from logs in both the early- and the advanced-decay stage from late May until September, with a peak of emergence in late June, whereas N. gaulti was reared almost exclusively from logs in the advanced-decay stage and from mid-July to mid-August. This suggests that N. gaulti is more specialized in its larval habits, which may reduce competition between the two species.

A Howardula sp. nematode parasite of the tobacco flea beetle, Epitrix hirtipennis (Melsheimer), was able to utilize the adult male to disseminate juveniles. At 27°C the mean total number of juveniles released per beetle was 369 for female beetles and 377 for males at an average rate of ca. 37 per day from both sexes. A cooler temperature retarded the onset of dissemination but did not affect the rate of release. Fifty-nine per cent of the free-living nematodes survived for 5–6 days, but none survived beyond 13 days. Seventy-nine per cent of the free-living nematodes were female.

Both adult females and larvae of Agromyza frontella (Rondani) exploit the same food source, alfalfa leaflets. In laboratory studies, larval development in leaflets with many adult nutrition holes resulted in a higher incidence of mortality than in leaflets with low levels of adult feeding. Furthermore, in heavily attacked leaflets, survivors had a slightly longer larval developmental time and lower pupal weights. In heavily attacked alfalfa fields where adult nutrition holes are numerous, the above-mentioned adult–larval interaction could play a density-dependent role in the population dynamics of A. frontella. However, in most situations adult feeding probably has an indirect effect, accentuating intraspecific larval competition by decreasing the quantity of the available limiting resource.

Large numbers of Oriental fruit moth adults were successfully tagged (500 or more counts per minute) by holding them for 24–48 hr. in cages provided with cotton wicks moistened with a water-solution of P32 at 20 microcuries per millilitre. The addition of sugar to the tagging solution did not increase its effectiveness. Approximately 80% of the total radioactivity of the tagged moths was internal due to ingested liquid and the remainder was on the surface of their bodies; 73% of the total was in and on the abdomen. The loss in radioactivity of tagged moths in 1–6 days was 2.2–4.7 times greater than the theoretical loss due to isotope decay alone. The highest rate of loss occurred during the first day, probably through excretion before the P32 was absorbed from the digestive tract. Egg laying contributed to loss of radioactivity. Though water and liquid bait removed some P32 from tagged moths this did not result in appreciable contamination of other moths trapped in the liquids.

Attempts to tag large numbers of moths (400–1000 per cage) for release and recovery experiments were only partially successful as the radioactivities attained by individual moths varied widely at different times and from cage to cage, even under the same environmental conditions. This appeared to be partly due to differences in the feeding behaviour of different batches of moths and it may have been influenced by the conditions under which they were reared.

In European countries parasitism of toads by flies of the genus Bufolucilia is of rather common occurence. Although the species silvarum is holarctic in distribution, Hall (1947) considers it “not a common species” in North America. At the time of his publication it had been reported from only one species of North American anuran, the Bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, when forty-eight parasitized frogs of this species were discovered near Franklin, California. Since then, reference to the species in the literature seems to be limited to reports of the adult flies (James, 1953; Schoof, et al., 1956; and Judd, 1956).

Phenacoccus cevalliæ, n. sp.

♀. Oval, 4 to 5 mm. long, pale olive green, but covered with white secretion, with lateral tassels and thick caudal tassels; placed in alcohol, they stain the liquid pale green; alcoholic specimens appear strongly segmented, with two longitudinal blackish bands, best marked in rather immature specimens. Eyes prominent; skin with many small circular glands; the lateral patches consist of about twelve glands each, but are without spines; a few rather large bristles scattered about the body; legs and antennæ reddish-yellow; denticle on inner side of claw rudimentary, just visible; antennæ 9-jointed, the club 2-jointed. Measurments of antennæ and legs in μ: Anterior legs, femur and trochanter 470, tibia 330, tarsus 130; hind legs, femur and trochanter 540, tibia 440, tarsus 135.

Blissus canadensis sp. nov. is described from Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Montana. It has reached high numbers on barley in Alberta and is a potential pest. It closely resembles Blissus occiduus Barber, and reports of B. occiduus in Canada most likely refer to B. canadensis.

The eastern and forest tent caterpillars are native insects and have been recognized as pests of forest trees and shrubs since colonization of thi country by the early settlers (Swaine, 1913; Baird, 1917; Baerg, 1935; Wadley, 1938). The eastern tent caterpillar becomes conspicuous in the spring about the time the leaves of wild cherry appear and thereafter for about a month.

A Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner formulation, with and without chitinase, was tested on various instars of Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria Guén. reared under various temperature conditions. The results revealed that resistance to infection increased as larval development progressed and at lower temperatures. At a given temperature, 65% of third-instar larvae died after 5 days while only 10% of fifth-instar larvae died in the same period. Chitinase increased the efficiency of B. thuringiensis for all larval instars and at all temperatures.

Runs in my key to Psallus (Hemiptera of Conn., 1923, p. 462) to the couplet with morrisoni Kngt. and parshleyi Kngt., but differs from both in having the second antennal segment yellow except at base.

The North American representatives of seven species groups in the genus Pardosa are reviewed and are found to have the following distribution: (1) the atrata group, represented by the widespread nearctic species P. fuscula (Thorell), which may or may not be conspecific with P. atrata (Thorell) of the Palaearctic; (2) the cubana group, represented by P. cubana Bryant of the Caribbean area; (3) the ferruginea group, represented by P. beringianasp.n. from Alaska and Yukon Territory; (4) the moesta group, represented by the widespread nearctic P. moesta Banks; (5) the monticola group, represented by the holarctic P. palustris (Linnaeus); (6) the saltuaria group, represented by the holarctic P. hyperborea (Thorell) and the nearctic P. californica Keyserling; (7) the solituda group, represented by the nearctic P. solituda Levi and Levi, found only in the high Rockies.

The jack pine tip beetle, Conophthorus banksianae McPherson (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), has been distinguished from its sibling species, C. resinosae Hopkins, partly because immature stages were present in the field longer and because it may be bivoltine. A life history study of the tip beetle revealed it is univoitine, overwintering as an adult. The developmental period of C. banksianae from eggs to adults is about the same as that for C. resinosae. As in C. resinosae, adult C. banksianae usually mate in the spring, but some mate the previous fall. Mating occurs on or in the host. Female-biased sex ratios are found consistently throughout the life cycle of C. banksianae and in overwintering adults of C. resinosae. In Ontario, oviposition galleries are initiated in the old shoots until mid-June, thereafter in new shoots. Peak oviposition is completed before new shoots have fully elongated. The very similar life history traits of C. banksianae and C. resinosae suggest the species are closely related, if not the same species as recently proposed.