Lyctocoris canadensis new species is described from southwestern Quebec. The other species of Lyctocoris known to occur in North America are L. campestris (Fabricius), L. doris Van Duzee, L. elongatus (Reuter), L. mexicanus Kelton, L. okanaganus Kelton & Anderson, L. rostratus Kelton & Anderson, L. stalii (Reuter), and L. tuberosus Kelton & Anderson. Species are keyed, known information on their ecology is given, and male genitalia and female abdominal segments are illustrated.

The following table contains all the species of Psilocephala known to me as occurring in America, north of Mexico, with the addition of one species form Jamaica, West indies.

The painted leafhopper, Endria inimica (Say), occurs in grasslands in southern Canada and the northern states of the U.S.A. It is the only known vector of wheat striate mosaic virus (WSMV) in North America. In Manitoba the insect is not abundant. It does not migrate into the province, and overwinters in the egg stage only. There are two generations per year, the first completing development on grasses about 1 July and the second developing mainly on cereals in summer. E. inimica has a high rate of development at 90° F.; the lower limit is near 60° F. At 80 ± 5° F. the life cycle was completed in 45.8 days. In the field, in summer, the life cycle was completed in 42 days. A description of the life stages of the insect is presented.

WSMV has occurred only in trace amounts in Manitoba. Leafhoppers collected in the field showed a low frequency of virus transmission and the source of overwintered virus appeared to be small. The disease does not appear to constitute a serious problem in Manitoba.

The sexual behaviour of the blister beetle Epicauta atomaria (Germar) (Meloidae: Meloinae: Epicautini), a pest that affects diverse crops of economic importance in South America, was evaluated for the first time under laboratory conditions. Twelve pairs of E. atomaria adults were collected from low-lying roadsides adjacent to grazed areas in Diamante, Entre Ríos, Argentina. To describe the sexual behaviour of this species, the number of events and their duration within different courtship phases in E. atomaria males were compared. An ethogram was built, showing that males perform three different behaviours during courtship phases: the quiescent period, antennal rubbing, and mounting. Our results showed that, during courtship, the number of events and the time of the mounting were low and significantly lower compared to behaviours undertaken during the quiescent period and antennal rubbing. In conclusion, the courtship of E. atomaria was clearly dominated by the quiescent period and antennal rubbing. To date, this is the first study to investigate sexual behaviour in E. atomaria, providing a foundation for future phylogenetic studies.

Stephanitis pyrioides (Scott) (Hemiptera: Tingidae) is an important insect pest of azaleas, Rhododendron Linnaeus spp. (Ericaceae), in the United States of America. Because neonicotinoids, insecticides traditionally used against S. pyrioides, pose a risk to pollinators and natural enemies, nursery growers have reduced neonicotinoid use and are seeking alternative management options. Novaluron, an insect growth regulator, elicits a transovarial effect by reducing the viability of eggs after exposure to S. pyrioides adults. However, stability and persistence of transovarial effects on adults following exposure are not clear. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) the persistence of the transovarial effect of novaluron for up to three weeks after a single adult exposure and (2) the residual activity of aged novaluron residues eliciting a transovarial effect against S. pyrioides after a single application. Stephanitis pyrioides density was significantly lower in the novaluron-treated adults than in the nontreated controls for up to 21 days. The novaluron residues deposited on azalea foliage aged up to 32 days significantly reduced the number of S. pyrioides nymphs compared to that of the nontreated control. There was no significant difference in the number of nymphs among the 7-, 17-, and 32-day-old novaluron treatments relative to the nontreated control.

Robinsonia Grotei, sp. nov.—Head white, posteriorly shaded with yellow. Collar white, with a central brown spot. Thorax brown, with a central white line; patagia white, larerally edged with brown. Abdomen dorsally brownish-yellow, with a subdorsal row of small white spots, and a lateral row of small black spots; underneath whitish. Primaries above white, with the margins broadly brown, except at the apex, where the white extends to the fringe; an oblique brown band, from the costal margin at a third from the base to the inner angle, separates the white into two large spaces. Secondaries white, Primaries underneath white, showing indistinctly the markings of the upper surface.

Pithanus maerkeli (H.-S.) and Actitocoris signatus Reut. are Holarctic in distribution, and the latter is recorded for the first time from North America.

The absence of sugar resources can be an important factor in limiting the success of parasitoids as biological control agents. Restoring vegetation complexity within agricultural landscapes has thus become a major focus of conservation biological control efforts, with a traditional emphasis on nectar resources. Aphid honeydew is also an important source of sugars that is infrequently considered. We carried out a laboratory experiment to examine the potential effects of honeydew from six different aphid species by crop species combinations on the longevity of Bracon cephi Gahan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), the most important biological control of the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), a major pest of wheat in the northern Great Plains of North America. The benefits of honeydew for parasitoid longevity varied significantly among different aphid and crop species, illustrating the complexity of these interactions. However, honeydew produced by four aphid species commonly found in wheat, pea, and canola crops significantly increased the longevity (by two- to threefold) of the parasitoid. The study suggests that honeydew provisioning could be an important mechanism underlying the benefits of crop diversification to support biological control that merits further research.

Characterized by the reduction of white shading on primaries, notably in the basal and median areas; in the latter section the reniform alone shows up prominently as a white half-moon; there are traces of pale filling in the t. a. and t. p. lines; s. t. line scarcely indicated. Expanse 40-45 mm.

Size, medium; form slender. Head small but prominent; face shining piceous, the area below the eyes slightly lighter in colour; the occiput uniformly dark piceous, but distinctly trifasciate in one specimen; vertex with a number of long stout black bristles; the entire head clothed with short pale-coloured hairs. Eyes small, prominent and oval. Antennae uniformly dark fuscous. Maxillary palpi dark fuscous, the two terminal joints sometimes slightly paler.

New information concerning Palaearctic species of Spalangiopelta is provided. Two new species are described and illustrated: S. alboaculeatasp. nov. (type locality: England, Cambridgeshire, Santon Downham) and S. hikosp. nov. (type locality: Japan, Kyushu, Mt. Hiko). Additional information and illustrations are provided for S. procera; the male is described and illustrated for the first time, and notes and photomicrographs of the forewing and antenna are used to augment the previous descriptions of the female. The male of S. dudichi is also described and illustrated for the first time. Notes are provided to accommodate these new species and males in the key to world species of Spalangiopelta (Darling 1991) and the phylogenetic and biogeographic implications are discussed.

Investigations have shown that several types of reproduction commonly occur in the Coccoidea. Some soecies reproduce in the usual sexual manner. some parhenogenetically, some by either of these two methods depending upon whether or not fertilization takis place; others reproduce hermaphroditically. The type of reproduction is not confined to any particular group but is found throughout the superfamily.

These observations, dealing with noctuid larvae, were made while the writer was associated with the Canadian Forest Insect and Disease Survey. Twenty-four species have been examined: 9 in the Hadeninae, 10 in the Cucullinae, 3 in the Amphipyrinae, and 2 in the Catocalinae. The arrangement of the subfamilies follows that of McDunnough (1938). This material is being published because many of these species have not been included in Crumb (1956) and new data are presented on the species considered by him. The descriptions were made from living and preserved larvae. Notes on biologies, unless otherwise indicated, refer to those made by the writer in Manitoba and Alberta during the years 1944-1954. The hosts are those on which larvae have been reared to adults by the Forest Insect and Disease Survey, except in a few cases where the host is cited from the literature. “Free-living larvae”, are those that feed openly. When the number of instars is not known the larvae are described as antepenultimate, penultimate, and ultimate. In measurements, H.W. refers to head width, B.L., to total larval length, and B.W., to greatest larval width.

Species of Balcluthini show great similarity in external appearance and many exhibit much individual variation. Examination of the male genitalia is the only certain means of identification. Baker (1896, Can. Ent. 28: 35-42) attempted to separate the species on external characters, and Davidson and DeLong (1935, Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash. 37: 97-112) revised the North American species and figured the male genitalia. Little has been published on the species occurring in Canada. Five species from Canada are represented in the Canadian National Collection. One of them is previously undescribed.