This peculiar moth, which so perplexed the older Lepidopterists at classifying, is quite common in Florida on oaks, willows, shrubs, etc.

Full accounts of its habits, with accurate figures of the moth, caterpillar, etc., will be found in Prof. Riley's “First Mo. Report,” Saunders' “Insects Injurious to Fruits,” and Dr. Lintner's “First N. Y. Report.”

Indeed, these authors quite fully, accurately and succinctly describe the habits and parasites of this pest, and it would not now be noticed by me but for the fact of my breeding from it here in Florida a Chalcid parasite new to science and unnoticed by any of the above mentioned authors.

Retinia Austriana, n. sp.—The Austrian Pine (Pinus laricio Austriaca) in the vicinity of Toronto is badly infested by the larveæ of a moth which is apparently an undescribed species of the genus Retinia. It resembles in certain particlars the form Retinia Comstockiana. This species was described in the Canadian Entomologist of Aug., 1879, by Prof. C. H. Fernald State College, Orono, Me. The specimens, however, were obtained at Ithaca, N.Y. Where they were found boring in the small branches of Pinus rigida.

A new record for the distribution and environment of Grylloblatta campodeiformis Walker has been established by the recent discovery of this insect in the dry belt of British Columbia at an altitude of 1500 feet. The occurrence of the “ice bug” at this locality is of singular interest. Supposedly an inhabitant of only the coldest regions, such as are found along the margins of glaciers and mountain streams at high altitudes, this discovery shows that Grylloblatta can exist under extremely dry and hot conditions at a relatively low altitude.

“Attacking the Solidago or Golden Rod.” “Quite common in eastern New York.” “Slender, straigh, smooth stalks of the Golden Rod quite often have one and sometimes two large, round galls or ball-like swellings upon them, an inch in diameter, when the stalk above and below is less than a quarter of an inch.” “In the winter season most of them are found to be empty, with a round hole perforated in them, the worm having completed its growth, and the winged fly having come out through this perforation the preceding autumn.

Adults of Gryllus rubens Scudder, G. firmus Scudder, and G. ovisopis Walker were collected for 4 years from plots disked annually on one of six dates and from undisturbed plots to examine effects of date of soil disturbance on field cricket populations. Adults of the two field-inhabiting species, G. rubens and G. firmus, were most numerous from plots disked in February or April and least numerous from the plots disked in October and from the undisturbed (control) plots. Adults of G. ovisopis, a species that normally inhabits forests, were most numerous from the undisturbed plots and least numerous from the plots disked in August.

Tetracanthella pacifica sp. n. from Coastal British Columbia is described and illustrated. A key to the Nearctic Tetracanthella species is given.

In 1947, while a caragana breeding improvement program was being carried out on the Forest Nursery Station, Indian Head, Saskatchewan, it was discovered that a large percentage of seed was being destroyed by an insect. This insect, the caragana seed chalcid, which interfered seriously with the plant breeding work, is apparently identical with the Russian Bruchophagus caraganae (Nik.) (Nikol'skaya, 1952).

In a recent note (1938, Canadian Entomologist, LXX, 128) I suggested that this name should be applied in a strict sense to the species the larva of which feeds on Aster and Grindelia, but hesitated to separate the Balsamorrhiza feeder as a distinct species owing to lack of material; I had, however, called attention (1936, Canadian Entomologist, LXVIII, 63) to certain differences in the setal structure of the pupal cases which warranted further investigation.

Tuberculatus spiculatus is described and illustrated. It is a Quercus-infesting aphid that is known only from Mexico.

For the purpose of determining whether foxtail midges occurred in Canada and if so their range, a survey of places where meadow foxtail grass, Alope curus pratensis L. was known to be grown was made in the spring of 1934. This survey followed a request for information upon the point by Dr. L. E. Kirk, Dominion Agrostologist, on behalf of Dr. R. O. Whyte, Chief Officer of the Imperial Bureau of Plant Genetics; Herbage Plants, Aberystwyth, Great Britain. Dr. Whyte is interested in discovering areas free from foxtail midges which might bme used for the production of meadow foxtail seed. The location of stands of the grass were secured through Dr. Kirk and co-operation in making observations was sought and readily obtained from various people living in the vicinity of these stands in Canada.

The reproductive behaviour of Camnula pellucida (Scudder) is described. This includes some general information on congregation on a field breeding site as well as detailed descriptions of courtship, copulation, and oviposition behaviour. Differences in behavioural patterns from those previously outlined for another major grasshopper species are tabulated.

In the Report of the Entomologist and Botanist to the Dominion Experimental Farms for 1905, at pages 179 and 180, considerable space is given to a discussion of an outbreak of a large noctuid caterpillar, which appeared in considerable numbers in Canada during 1905. Complaints of injury by this insect were received from a wide area, extending from Nova Scotia as far west as Lake Superior. During July many kinds of plants in gardens were attacked by smooth cutworm-like caterpillas, which when small were greenish in colour, having the body divided into two equal areas above and below the spiracles by a wide black stigmatal band.

Rev. Cyrus Thomas, in his Acrididæ of North America, page 132, says: “There are no permanent characters by which to distinguish alcoholic specimens of Œdipoda corallipes, Haldemanii, paradoxa and rugosa from each other.” He therefore considers them the same. Probably Œ. discoidea might be considered as another as another variety of the same. This much named grasshopper is abundant in Nebraska from the middle of June to about the middle of August.

Sexupara production in the pear root aphid, Eriosoma pyricola Baker & Davidson, was closely associated with the cessation of shoot growth of its host in the field in irrigated and non-irrigated plots in two successive, but phenologically different years. Neither the environment nor the host plant were unfavorable at the time the sexuparae were formed, indicating that the aphid uses the host plant as a source of seasonal information.

The nature of synchronization between active development of univoltine insects and trees is discussed. It is concluded that the initiation of dormancy in trees and diapause in insects is not likely to be synchronized by a common set of environmental factors. Either regulation of insect diapause by host trees is more common than is currently recognized, or environmental and age differences in tree growth have favored selection for obligate diapause.

A dead lyside sulphur (Kricogonia lyside (Godart, 1819): Lepidoptera: Pieridae) was found in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, on 4 April 2011. DNA barcode analysis indicates it likely originated in Texas, United States of America or northern Mexico. The occurrence of this specimen coincided with a very strong weather system extending from southern Texas into eastern Canada on 3–4 April 2011. All possible means of it reaching Ontario are unlikely: natural dispersal, natural transportation on the jet stream, transportation on a vehicle, importation of a pupa on produce, and direct human transport. Unfortunately, there was no way to differentiate between these possibilities.

General color light brown. Upper part of pronotum and hind femora with a reddish tinge. Face sometimes mottled. Antennæ light brown infuscated apically. The usual black band behind the eye broad and distinct, and reaching last division of pronotum, bounded below by a narrower white stripe. A broad white stripe from base of elytra connects with a white stripe at insertion of posterior femora, forming a right angle. Outside of hind femora is crossed by two indistinct dusky bands that extend upon upper edge. Lorver sulcation reddish. Knees black. Hind tibiæ blue. Elytra light brown with very small black spots in the disk.

A 2-year field study was carried out to determine densities and stage-specific survival of eggs, second- and third-instar larvae, prepupae, pupae, and adults of Strobilomyia appalachensis Michelsen in a black spruce, Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P. (Pinaceae), seed orchard located in New Brunswick, Canada. Trends in stage-specific survival were similar for both years. Most individuals died during the second-instar stage, we suspect mostly because of failure to establish. The lowest stage survival occurred during the prepupal and pupal stages, due primarily to predation by ground-dwelling invertebrates.

Hemocytes of Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria (Guen.) were examined as suspended cells or as slides from a culot. Five types of hemocytes were identified: prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, granular hemocytes, spherule cells, and oenocytoids. The low numbers of prohemocytes and oenocytoids, the significant decrease in the number of plasmatocytes in last larval stages, and the corresponding increase in granular and spherule cells have been compared with existent literature. Total hemocyte counts were also made.

An investigation was made of the impact of a series of environmental catastrophes upon herbivore population regulation through density-dependent genetic feedback interactions with simulated plants. Mean density and amplitude of fluctuation of the herbivore in the control system (only susceptible alleles in the plant population) were higher than in the genetic feedback system (3 resistant alleles and 3 susceptible alleles in the plant population). Mean density and amplitude of fluctuation of the herbivores in the catastrophic system (only susceptible alleles in the plant population and the herbivore population subject to a series of environmental catastrophes) were lower than in the control and genetic feedback systems, but both mean density and amplitude of fluctuation were higher than in the genetic feedback and catastrophic system (3 resistant and 3 susceptible alleles in the plant population and the herbivore population subject to a series of environmental catastrophes). The results of this experiment suggest that genetic feedback can exert a controlling influence in population dynamics even in systems where environmental catastrophes are a common occurrence.