The acceptability of host plant extracts on pith, charred filter paper, and an agar diet, and vacuum infiltrated into lettuce leaves was compared on three species of Lepidoptera and two of Coleoptera. The vacuum infiltrated lettuce was eaten by two of the Lepidoptera and it was the only method acceptable to the Coleoptera. The agar diet was eaten by the three Lepidoptera while pith and charred filter paper were acceptable to only two of them. It is concluded that vacuum infiltration of lettuce leaves is a useful method for the bioassay of host plant extracts to determine if they contain insect feeding token substances.

Plant galls are growth deformities developed under the influence of parasitic insects. The process of differentiation of normal plant tissue into gall tissue has been examined by many authors (Kostoff and Kendall 1929; Rohfristch 1977; see also Mani 1964) but less effort has been made to study the effects of the gallmaker on plant tissues outside the vicinity of active gall formation. Negative effects on the overall growth of the host plant can be expected because the gall acts as an energy and nutrient sink (Palct 1972; Hartnett and Abrahamson 1979), which can cause abnormal patterns of resource allocation among plant organs.

Controlled field studies carried out in plots within a field of NorMan flax, Linum usitatissum L., showed that the loss of flax plants caused by the red-backed cutworm was proportional to the number of cutworm larvae present. A density of 16 larvae per 0.5 m2 destroyed most plants by severing the plant stems at the soil surface. The loss of only some plants at larval densities lower than 16 larvae per 0.5 m2 resulted in a small but significant increase in per plant yield but the increase did not completely compensate for the yield reductions caused by plant loss. The larvae removed plants in blocks with the result that the density of the remaining plants was unchanged and the opportunity for compensating plant growth was limited. An equation defining this relationship between larval densities and yield is presented. Ancillary experiments in which the population of cutworm larvae was sequentially sampled showed that, after an initial loss of about 20% when the plots were established in the field, the larval population remained constant. The proportion of the larvae found around damaged plants also remained constant until the larvae became immobile through preparation for pupation. Because of this stable relationship, reliable estimates of potential crop loss from cutworm larvae in flax should be possible by sampling for cutworms only around damaged plants within a specified row length.

Male Grapholitha molesta (Busck) treated with 40 krad of gamma radiation in the late pupal stage reduced egg-hatch by 93.6%, and in the young adult stage by 96.4%, in eggs from untreated virgin females with which they were mated; in addition, hatched larvae failed to complete development. Induced sterility was consistently greater in treated adults as compared with treated pupae. Females in the late pupal stage were sterilized with about 10 krad.

Male longevity decreased in proportion to the radiation dosage above 30 krad when caged at a ratio of 3 ♂: 1 ♀. Longevity of untreated males decreased in proportion to the number of females available for mating.

Radiation levels of 30 krad or more decreased male mating, especially when applied to the pupal stage, in inverse proportion to dosage, as detected by caging males with three times as many females.

The number of matings per untreated male increased with the number of females available up to an average of 3.8 while the number of matings per female averaged approximately 1.6 with from one to three males per female.

Twenty species of Tabanidae in three genera [Hybomitra (15 spp.), Tabanus (four spp.), Haematopota (one sp.)] were caught in Manitoba horse fly traps from mid-May to mid-July in 1987, and from mid-May to mid-August in 1988. Hybomitra lurida (Fallen) and H. nitidifrons nuda (McDunnough) peaked in abundance in late May to early June; H. illota (Osten Sacken) and H. lasiophthalma (Macquart) in early June; H. affinis (Kirby), H. arpadi (Szilady), and H. zonalis (Kirby) in mid-June; H. epistates (Osten Sacken) and H. pechumani Teskey and Thomas in late June to early July. Abundance of H. trepida (McDunnough) peaked twice, in late June and early August. Tabanid density and diversity were greatest during June; few flies were present at the site after mid-July. For most species, at the beginning of the flight season, 80–100% of flies dissected were nulliparous. After approximately 1 month of flight activity, parity in all but three species reached levels approaching 100%, and remained high thereafter. Hybomitra lurida and H. nitidifrons nuda were 100% parous within 2 weeks of their first appearance in traps. Parity of H. trepida increased to 100% after 4 weeks, declined to 40% 2 weeks later, and returned to 100% after another 2 weeks.

Morphological, life history, and distributional data are presented for North American species of the subgenus Stygomomonia (sensu stricto) Szalay, 1943. Adults of the seven previously recognized species are redescribed, and deutonymphs of five of these species are described for the first time. Two species, S. (s.s.) neomexicana Cook and S. (s.s.) occidentalis Cook are substantially revised on the basis of an examination of the types and extensive series of newly collected specimens. Three new species are described, S. (s.s.) californiensis on the basis of deutonymphs and adults, and S. (s.s.) imamurai and S. (s.s.) cooki on the basis of adults. A new diagnosis of the subgenus is proposed and discussed, the relationships of the various species are discussed, and a key to deutonymphs and adults of North American species is presented. New distributional data are presented for all species, and dispersal patterns from Pleistocene refugia are discussed.

It is not unusual for parasite attack on insect hosts to have different consequences for individuals of the same species. An indication of the variation in types of alternative effects is given by a consideration of three host-parasite relationships. First, although most hosts in a population are susceptible to parasitization, some are immune to attack: about one in 3,000 larvae of the Mediterranean flour moth, Anagasta kühniella (Zeller), was found by Payne (1934) to be immune to attack by Bracon hebetor Say. Second, tile morphology of hosts may be modified differentially by parasitism: unhatched eggs of Aphdius platensis Brethes exert a juvenilizing effect on nymphs of Aphis craccivora Koch whereas parasite larvae sometimes cause the appearance of adult characters (Johnson, 1959). Third, some hosts are successfully parasitized whereas others are killed long before parasite progeny can mature: adult females of Metaphycus helvolus (Com.) kill the black scale, Saissetin oleae (Bern.), by parasitization, by mutilation with the ovipositor, and by host-feeding at wounds made by the ovipositor. Field tests showed that up to 97 per cent of a black-scale infestation may be killed by the parasite over a period of several months.

We studied the diversity and summer seasonal activity-density of Carabidae associated with soybean fields infested by the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura; Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Québec, Canada. Carabid beetles were sampled in six to seven fields from June to September 2004 and 2005 using pitfall traps. A total of 33 species from 15 genera were identified, with the exotic Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger) (Coleoptera: Carabidae), representing 75.8% and 84.5% of all individuals trapped in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Large variations in species richness and diversity indexes were observed between fields within and between years. Multivariate analyses showed that carabid activity-density varied as a function of field location and sampling period, with individuals belonging to species overwintering as adults being more abundant early in the growing season. There was no relationship between carabid trap catches and A. glycines density, suggesting that carabid beetles do not respond numerically to soybean aphid populations at the spatial scale studied.

The condition in which Coleoptera pass the winter is a subject on which there are in American literature but few recorded observations. That no species hibernates in the egg stage is highly probable, though in all the others it occurs—some wintering in the perfect state alone, some in the larva and the imago condition, and others as larva and pupa.

Many of the species appear to make some preparation, retiring to situations that will more or less protect them from intense cold; others seem to have power to survive without any practical protection, as Lixus concavus and Megilla maculata, to be mentioned further on.

Gross decomposition (wt./cal) losses of rabbit feces colonized by larvae of the sciarid fly Lycoriella mali Fitch as contrasted with feces incubated without fly larvae were studied in the laboratory. Under conditions of high larval density and intense grazing pressure, fecal weight and calorie losses (30 days) were double those from fecal samples incubated without flies. Decomposition losses among the samples in a given treatment showed limited variation although the number of emergent adults varied greatly. Although published caloric values obtained for microflora and flies are significantly higher than those recorded for the rabbit feces used in this study (4837 cal/g), feces colonized by flies and feces incubated without flies had caloric values equivalent to that of the unincubated control. Larvae consumed both the mycelium and sporocarps of coprophilous fungi.

Spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a destructive defoliator found throughout the Nearctic boreal forest. This pest has a broad geographic range and shows regional variation in key life history traits. These population differences may represent important adaptations to local environmental conditions and reflect underlying genetic diversity. Existing laboratory colonies of spruce budworm do not capture this regional variation, so we established five new spruce budworm colonies from across its range to explore regional adaptations among spruce budworm populations within common garden experiments. We present methods for establishing new spruce budworm laboratory colonies from wild populations. We describe the process of flushing, rearing, and disease screening used on these new populations to produce healthy disease-free laboratory stocks.

Three new species of Pityophthorus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) are described from Canada: aquilonius from the Yukon Territory, collinus attacking Pinus albicaulis in British Columbia, and orarius attacking Pseudotsuga menziesii in British Columbia.

Parthenium hysterophorus Linnaeus (Asteraceae) is a toxic weed found abundantly in major agroecosystems of the world. The weed is inhabited by both phytophagous Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera), used as biocontrol agents, and the predaceous Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). The present investigation was designed to assess the feeding attributes and larval development of Zygogramma bicolorata Pallister (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in the presence of semiochemical tracks of coccinellid beetles. Results revealed that the presence of coccinellid semiochemical tracks on the weed reduced larval consumption rates, conversion efficiencies, and growth rates. The feeding deterrent effects of the semiochemical tracks were species specific. Larvae accumulated lower concentrations of glucose, proteins, and triacylglycerols and exhibited reduced body biomass in the presence of semiochemical tracks. The coccinellid semiochemical tracks also promoted Z. bicolorata larvae to accelerate their developmental rates and develop faster than the larvae reared in the absence of semiochemical tracks. While the fourth instars consumed food maximally and were heavier, their food use efficiencies were lower than the other instars. Our findings, therefore, suggest that the presence of semiochemical tracks of coccinellids on P. hysterophorus impedes its biological control by Z. bicolorata larvae.

A description of the previously unknown larva of Ischnura erratica Calvert is presented. In addition, information on larval habitat, and on the emergence and breeding behaviour of the adults is documented.

The major component of the sex pheromone of the eastern spruce budwonn was established by Weatherston et al. (1971) to be trans-11-tetradecenal. Subsequently it was found (Sanders and Weatherston 1976) that a small proportion of cis-11-tetradecenal was essential to attraction and indeed was a component of the natural pheromone. In addition Weatherston and Maclean (1974) have shown that the female sex pheromone gland contains trans-11-tetradecenol, a presumed biosynthetic precursor to the aldehyde.

Nine winter wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum Linnaeus) (Poaceae) were the source of the Sm1 gene for resistance to wheat midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), in spring wheat. All nine showed antibiosis characteristic of Sm1, as expected. They also showed oviposition deterrence and reduced hatch, which contributed to overall resistance. The overall level of resistance of the nine winter wheat cultivars was usually lower than that of resistant spring wheat lines in laboratory trials, but equally high in a field trial. Five of seven other North American winter wheat cultivars also showed resistance. Three of these were grown in the 1920s and earlier, before wheat varieties were officially registered. One of these, “Mediterranean”, came from Europe in the 1880s and may be the origin of Sm1 in North America. Two of 11 Chinese winter wheat lines showed resistance to wheat midge but at a lower level than that characteristic of Sm1. Widespread resistance in North American winter wheat cultivars was unexpected because wheat midge has not been a pest of winter wheat for many decades. North American winter wheat cultivars can provide sources of resistance to wheat midge, particularly high levels of oviposition deterrence as exhibited by “Goens” and “Rawhide”.

Recent study of the male genitalia in the Miridae (Kelton, 1959) showed that the Palearctic Stenodema virens (L.) does not occur in North America. The six other species that have been reported in the North American literature are: dorsolis (Say), vicinum (Prov.), trispinosum Reut., sequoiae Bliven, falki Bliven, and imperii Bliven. The three species described by Bliven (1955, 1958) were not available to me for study, however, Bliven (1960) has recently published a paper containing figures of the male genital claspers of these species. These appear to differ considerably from those of virens, vicinum and trispinosum as well as amongst themselves.

In Canada, viticulture has been practiced since the arrival of European settlers. After a period of low activity due to the prohibition in North America, viticulture enjoyed a renaissance in the 1970s such that it became a rapidly growing industry in Canada. It is currently practiced mainly in five provinces, i.e., British Columbia, Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. In Eastern Canada, several species of wild vines (Vitis Linnaeus; Vitaceae) grew naturally before cultivation of domesticated cultivars and these had their entomofauna. In contrast, no wild vines grew in British Columbia. As a consequence, the insect fauna varies according to the provinces and the regions and the agroclimatic conditions. Here we review the literature relevant to viticultural entomology in Canada and discuss the main grape insects. It is noteworthy that certain insect pests of grapes were the subject of the first issues of The Canadian Entomologist. Selected milestones are provided to document the evolution of research in grape entomology in the context of dynamic evolving viticultural and oenological industries. In recent years, the arrival of several invasive species challenged the sustainability of integrated pest management programmes.

Many Neotropical species whose range is restricted to tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) are in danger of local or total extinction due to warming and drying as air warmed by climate change ascends these mountains. While the species richness of many arthropod higher taxa declines at high elevations, those species that do reside in TMCF are often highly specialised and endemic, rendering their natural history especially interesting. However, we know little about these TMCF arthropods. One genus of ants, Adelomyrmex Emery, 1897 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is characteristic of many TMCFs in Central America, and exemplifies this pattern. While workers of this genus are very common in leaf litter samples, winged males and winged queens have been unknown and nests have never been observed for most species. Here we report how a combination of affordable digital field microscopes and DNA barcoding has allowed nest discovery and documentation and linked male and worker Adelomyrmex. Based on this work, we have now learned that male Adelomyrmex can be quite abundant locally.