The commercial feeding stimulant Pheast® was tested in the laboratory to determine its attractive and phagostimulatory effects on larval Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris). In choice experiments, larvae were attracted initially to filter paper discs treated with Pheast, but did not remain on or near treated discs. Larvae were not attracted initially to raspberry leaf discs treated with Pheast, but were more likely to stay near treated leaf discs than water-dipped ones. Larvae were neither attracted to nor arrested on whole raspberry leaves treated with Pheast. In no-choice experiments, larvae fed Pheast-treated leaves consumed more leaf tissue than, and grew almost twice as quickly as, larvae fed leaves dipped in water. When larvae were fed leaves treated with Dipel WP (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki) plus 5% Pheast, the mortality was 93% greater than that of larvae fed leaves treated with Dipel WP alone. These results suggest that Pheast has potential to enhance efficacy of B. thuringiensis against C. rosaceana on raspberries in the field.

Pompilus, Fabr., is preoccupied, and the family name Pompilidæ must be changed to Ceropalidæ, as has been shown recently by Fox (vide Ent. News, Vol. XII., 1901, p. 268). In consequence, my subfamily Pompilinæ must be changed to Aporinæ.

This subfamily is unquestionably the largest in number of genera and species of any of the groups of the family Ceropalidæ (Pompilidæ). Most of the species, in comparison with those found in the Pespinæ, are of medium size or small, few attaining much over an inch in length, while the vast majority are much smaller.

While conducting research on the geographic origin of the wheat stem sawfly (Cephus cinctus Norton), we compared North American specimens to specimens of Eurasian Cephus spp., and discovered that specimens currently placed as C. hyalinatus Konow from Siberia are conspecific with the North American species. Given the pest status of the North American populations, which attack wheat and other cereals in the upper Great Plains (Weiss and Morrill 1992), this discovery has important implications for the management of the species. Discussion of these implications will be provided elsewhere (Ivie 1996).

Species of the genus Trigonotylus Fieber are revised for North America. A new species, mexicanus, is described from Mexico and British Honduras. Synonyms proposed are: californicus Carv. = longipes Slat. & Wagn., and montanus Carv. and viridis (Prov.) = ruficornis (Geoff.). Redescriptions are given for 15 previously described species known from North America: americanus Carv., antennatus Kelt., brooksi Kelt., canadensis Kelt., coelestialium (Kirk.), confusus Reut, dohertyi (Dist.), flavicornis Kelt., longipes Slat. & Wagn., pulcher Reut., ruficornis (Geoff.), saileri Carv., slateri Carv., tarsalis (Reut.), and uhleri (Reut.). A key to species, additional records on distribution, and illustrations of the male genitalia of all the species are given.

There are ten species of Lachesilla recorded from the United States. The following three have been found on corn (maize) during this work: L. nubilis (Aaron), L. pedicularia (Linné) and L. forcepata var. major Chapman, the first being the common species on corn around Urbana and Champaign, Ill.

Individual growth rates of larval dragonflies can exhibit density dependence under field conditions. Retarded growth can occur despite an apparent abundance of food and may be due to some form of stress caused by aggressive interactions. I used laboratory experiments to test for effects of larval density, accumulated waste products, and disturbance on growth of larval Enallagma ebrium given abundant food. Experimental treatments had no clear effect on larval weight, size, or duration in an instar. Thus aggressive interactions, in the absence of food limitation, may not be important in affecting growth rates of larval odonates.

In subarctic Canada conventional methods of correlation and regression analyses were inadequate in relating periodicities in mosquito flight to fluctuating physical environments (Haufe, 1958). The periodicity for individual species shifted in relation to sidereal time. In addition to a random component in the variation, a gradual shift was associated with the advance of the season for consecutive cycles of activity. For the most abundant species it appeared as older individuals constituted an increasing proportion of the natural populations. The relative variations in absolute values of light and hygrothermal conditions identified with 24-hour flight periodicities were inconsistent with seasonal variations in 24-hour meteorological cycles. If light was a primary factor in the activation of natural populations in the 24-hour cycles, observed variations in correlations would suggest variable adaptation of mosquitoes to previous light conditions and to other physical and biological factors.

The taxonomy of the genus Ceramida Baraud, 1987, some species of which are severe pests, is considered difficult because of a lack of reliable diagnostic characters. We propose a new approach to the taxonomy of this genus by studying the efficacy of morphometric characters for species discrimination employing multivariate analysis. All members of the genus were included in the analysis. The seven morphometric characters considered were all found to be diagnostic at me species level: width of clypeus at base and at mid-length, and length of clypeus, full body, antennal club and stem, and apical segment of maxillary palp. The most informative character is the length of the antennal club relative to body size. This character divides the genus into three morphological groups. The ratios traditionally employed in the taxonomy of this genus cannot be used as discrete characters because there are no gaps in their range of variation. Our discriminant analysis produced several classification functions that serve as a new taxonomic tool to distinguish between morphologically similar species. Eleven species are recognized within the genus and eight new synonymies are proposed.

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.

Two new species of Forcipomyia (Lasiohelea) and three new species of Forcipomyia (Thyridomyia) are described in all stages.Saunders’ "Lasiohelea complex" is reviewed and is here suggested to be restricted to Kieffer’s Lasiohelea (s. lat.) and to comprise the following Forcipomyia subgenera: Synthyridomyia, Thyridomyia, Lasiohelea, Dacnoforcipomyia and the subgenus represented by Lane’s Lasiohelea stylifer Lutz.It is also suggested, pending further evidence, that Lasiohelea be returned to its original generic status.

On St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, the leaf axils of two species of Bromeliaceae were sampled for dipterous larvae. One half of the collections were made from the axils of Tillandsia utriculata, restricted almost entirely to the dry, coastal portions of the island, and the other half from Aechmea lingulata, found in the moist mountainous regions. Three species of Chironomidae, representing three subfamilies, and five other families of nematocerous larvae were found. Though species of Diptera were found throughout the island, the Chironomidae and Ceratopogonidae were restricted to the dry areas, and the Culicidae were found predominantly in Aechmea lingulata, on Bordeaux Mountain.

Larvae of the predatory gall midge Feltiella acarisuga (Vallot) diapaused as prepupae in tightly woven, brown, silk cells on leaf surfaces. Photoperiod alone, at day lengths from 16 to 8 h did not induce diapause at either 20 or 25 °C. A low incidence of diapause was induced by a combined photoperiod and thermoperiod of an 8-h day at 25 °C and a 16-h night at 15 °C. The incidence of diapause was higher under these conditions if the larvae were fed diapausing spider mites, Tetranychus urticae (Koch) (Acari: Tetranychidae). Because F. acarisuga only diapauses at daylengths equivalent to mid-winter, when its prey, T. urticae, is also in diapause, it can be used as a biological control agent for T. urticae in British Columbia greenhouses throughout most of the growing season.

The biology and phenology of the yew big bud mite, Cecidophyopsis psilaspis (Nalepa, 1893), were studied on Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia Nutt., in British Columbia, Canada. The mite showed the typical life cycle of eriophyoids on evergreen hosts, with all stases being present throughout the year. The numbers of C. psilaspis, which colonized both vegetative and reproductive buds, peaked in May to August, with the lowest numbers in March and October and the highest numbers in June. Mite numbers differed among bud types, with averages following the sequence terminal buds = lateral buds > male reproductive buds > axillary buds > female reproductive buds > latent buds. Very few mites were found in latent buds except during bud formation, when other vegetative buds were unavailable. Reproductive buds were colonized mostly from May to July. There was no evidence of arrhenotoky in C. psilaspis, as the proportion of mites that were females ranged from 54% to 100%. Temperature and predation were considered the likely factors that determine population fluctuations. It was hypothesized that C. psilaspis abundance increased following favorable spring temperatures and new food resources, whereas predation by other mite species and lower temperatures, which prolonged development, were responsible for the low numbers in March and October.

Investigations of light sensitivity and its physiological effects on insects developing within subcortical tree tissues are limited, presumably due to the assumption that cryptic microhabitats are completely devoid of light. In this study, we documented light-mediated behaviour and opsin gene expression in larvae of the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), an extremely important forest insect that is well adapted for development beneath the bark of pine (Pinus Linnaeus; Pinaceae) trees and is eyeless in the larval stage. Larvae were negatively phototactic, as they selected dark over light microhabitats in phototaxis assays. We recovered long-wavelength opsin transcripts from all life stages, including eggs and larvae, suggesting that D. ponderosae is photosensitive throughout its entire life cycle. Our results imply that photosensitivity contributes to immature D. ponderosae survival and that extraocular photoreception could be common among bark beetle larvae.

Larvae and adults of Mamersellides costenius sp.nov., from Mexico and Florida, USA, are described. The resulting new morphological data are incorporated into revised diagnoses for the genus Mamersellides, the subfamily Anisitsiellinae, and the family Anisitsiellidae. Preliminary assessment of character states exhibited by larvae and adults of Mamersellides and other genera of Lebertioidea, and by those of genera of the family Limnesiidae, suggests that a comprehensive cladistic analysis would provide a phylogenetic basis for extensive revision of the classification of these mites.

The life cycle of the avian parasitic flies Philornis Meinert (Diptera: Muscidae) is poorly known, limiting the understanding of the ecology of these flies, including interactions with their hosts. We provide data on length and survival of pupal and adult stages and the duration of the pre-oviposition period of Philornis torquans Nielsen. Specimens were collected at larval and pupal stages from infested broods. The pupal stage lasted on average 10.5 days and adults lived up to 100 days in the laboratory. At least 90.2% of larvae pupated and 85.7% of the latter emerged as adults. For individuals collected as larvae, pupal mortality was 3.5 times higher than for those collected as pupae. Females laid from 1–8 clutches in their lifetime and deposited, on average, 41 eggs per female (range: 1–148). Females collected as pupae were larger and had shorter pre-oviposition periods and lifespans than females collected as larvae, but there were no differences in the total eggs laid by these females. This is the first information on reproductive parameters of a subcutaneous species of Philornis, and forms the basis for studies on conditions required for reproduction of this species in captivity.

Fifth-instar larvae of the larch sawfly, Pristiphora erichsonii (Hartig), of different weights, were deprived of food and placed in containers with moist moss. A low percentage of the early fifth-instar larvae were able to spin cocoons, but the percentage rapidly increased to a plateau as the larval weight increased. All but the heaviest larvae suffered appreciable mortality before first-year adult emergence was complete. A curvilinear relationship between larval weight and survival to the adult stage or to larvae in prolonged diapause is evident. The percentage of mature ova in adult females was reduced at the lower larval weights, with corresponding increases in the percentages of near-mature and large immature ova. There were linear relationships between larval weights, adult weights, and numbers of oöcytes. A method for assessing premature larval drop and other causes of mortality under field conditions is described and data for a number of years and plots are presented. Variations in the percentages of unparasitized normal late fifth-instar larvae were large. Data indicate that parasitism by Olesicampe (Holocremnus) sp. nr. nematorum (Tschek) and Bessa harveyi (Townsend) is the most important factor, probably a key factor, contributing to this variation.

A study of halictine nests in a habitat near Toronto leads to the discovery of an undescribed species of the genus Dialictus that shares morphological resemblances with Dialictus rohweri (Ellis) and architectural similarities with Augochlorella striata (Provancher).

The Korean species of the genus Latibulus Gistel (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) are reviewed. Two new species and a key to nine species are presented: Latibulus argiolus (Rossi), Latibulus bilacunitus Sheng and Xu, Latibulus flavopetiolus Oh and Lee new species, Latibulus fulvus Oh and Lee new species, Latibulus hokkaidensis Lee and Oh, Latibulus lautus (Tosquinet), Latibulus liaoningensis Sheng et al., Latibulus nigrinotum (Uchida), and Latibulus orientalis Horstmann. The genus is reported from Mongolia for the first time, based on the cocoon of an unidentified species. Polistes chinensis antennalis Pérez and Polistes jadwigae jadwigae Dalla Torre (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) are reported as new host species for the genus and L. nigrinotum, respectively.

Un piège à fosse construit sur le même principe que celui décrit récemment par Doane (1961), mais plus simple de fabrication et d'emploi, nous a donné d'excellents résultats lors d'une enquête préliminaire sur les Carabidés associés à diverses cultures de la région de Belleville.

L'appareil (Fig. 1) se compose principalement d'un entonnoir (C) inséré dans un cylindre (B) et conduisant à une bouteille (D) où sont retenus les insectes. Une boite à conserves de 48 onces dont on a enlevé les extrémités sert de cylindre. Enfoncé jusqu'à son rebord supérieur dans le sol, il prévient l'effondrement des parois de la cavité où sont disposées les autres pièces du piège.