The life history and biology of Ips latidens (LeConte) were investigated using bark-sandwich and whole-log rearing methods. In contrast with other Ips spp., some females initiated galleries under conditions of female-biased sex ratios, and sometimes 2 or more males were present in a gallery. In general, however, I. latidens exhibited typical ipine characteristics. A single male usually admitted 1–3 females into a gallery. Females oviposited at a rate of 2.25 eggs/day and achieved a mean fecundity of 64.4 eggs. The larval stage comprised 80% of the generation time (egg to teneral adult) and analysis of head-capsule widths disclosed 3 larval instars. The mean survivorship within broods was 56.0% after 70 days; the reproductive success of monogamous pairs of beetles was 36.1 teneral adults. Single females constructed 3–4 egg tunnels/gallery system; hence, harem size cannot always be inferred from the number of egg tunnels in each gallery. The mean generation time in the laboratory was 2.07 × greater than for I. pini. By comparing laboratory data on I. latidens with laboratory and field data on I. pini, the generation time of I. latidens is estimated at 64–124 days in the field. In south-central British Columbia, I. latidens probably has 1 generation, and possibly 2 broods, per year.

Sperm transfer in the aphidophagous ladybird beetle, Harmonia axyridis Pallas, is by a spermatophore (unpublished data). Although the utilization of spermatophores in insects has been considered to be a more primitive method of insemination than direct sperm transfer, males of many orders produce spermatophores (Chapman 1969; Gerber 1970; Leopold 1976). The remains of the spermatophore, after the sperm has migrated to the spermatheca, is ejected by the female in some species and dissolved within the female genital tract in others (Chapman 1969; Leopold 1976). In Coccinellidae, Fisher (1959) reported on spermatophore formation of Chilocorus spp. and indicated that the female ejected the empty spermatophore 18–24 h after copulation. In this paper evidence is presented that H. uxyridis females not only eject the empty spermatophore but also feed on it.

The “new approach” to selecting biological control agents, as proposed by Hokkanen and Pimentel in 1984, through the use of new exploiter–victim associations is inappropriate for the biological control of weeds because of certain misconceptions in their method. Examples of biological control of weeds cited in their analysis were biased towards cactaceous insects, and cacti are not representative of target weeds. Several of their “new” associations were inaccurate. These inaccuracies are discussed and additional examples are provided to refute the proposed method. Contrary to the recommendation of Hokkanen and Pimentel, new exploiter-victim associations offer limited opportunities for biological control of non-cactaceous weeds with insects, and should not be used as the preferred method in selecting biotic agents for the biological control of weeds.

Annual cone abundance and insect damage to cones are highly variable in red pine seed-production areas. Cone crop size fluctuates almost unpredictably from year to year, but the number of insect-attacked cones tends to increase annually unless limited by cone abundance. Sixty-six per cent of the variation in cone damage can be associated with variations in cone abundance. This information, coupled with the fact that red pine cone insects are almost entirely dependent on red pine cones for food, implies that crop size is highly important in regulating populations of cone insects. Insects will be most devastating in areas where crop size varies little from year to year.

Females of Muscidifurax zaraptor K. & L. produce a smaller percentage of female progeny as the ratio of ovipositing females to hosts (house fly pupae) increases. Delays in oviposition are apparently responsible for the sex ratio change, because they reduce the percentage of fertilized eggs, i.e. female eggs, that the parasites lay. Delays increase in frequency as the parasite:host ratio increases, and result mostly from interference among the ovipositing females; the interference is mostly or entirely physical. Solitary females of M. zaraptor produce slightly fewer though not significantly fewer female progeny when low host densities delay oviposition; more tests would be required to confirm this effect. There is no evidence for differential survival of the male and female parasite larvae on superparasitized hosts.

The longevity, fecundity, and oviposition rates of Aphelinus semiflavus Howard were determined at densities of 20 and 60 pea aphid hosts per day. Host density had no significant effect on parasite longevity and total fecundity, but it did influence the mean daily oviposition rate (16.5 and 19.5 aphids/day at density 20 and 60, respectively) and the overall proportion of aphids parasitized (82.3% and 32.5%, respectively) during the period of maximum egg laying. The implications of a shift in the fecundity schedule to an earlier reproductive age are discussed.

An equation is presented for the determination of sample sizes needed to estimate with a given precision the larval population density of spruce budworm on balsam fir and white spruce branch tips in Ontario. This equation is primarily applicable to low densities, but is valid to a density of 50 larvae/branch tip. The distribution of budworm larvae at densities below 0.1/branch tip is nearly random, and is aggregated at higher densities. Their distribution is the same on the two host species.

Group IX of North American Ips contains I. grandicollis (Eichhoff), I. confusus (Leconte), I. montanus (Eichhoff), I. cribricollis (Eichhoff) and I. lecontei Swaine. I. chagnoni Swaine is made a synonym of I. grandicollis (Eichhoff). Ips of Group IX differ from other Ips by having five spines on each side of the elytral declivity. Species are described and a key is given. They breed in various species of Pinus and most of them occur south of the boreal forest.

Microberotha macculloughigen. nov. and sp. nov. from Early Eocene Okanagan Highlands amber of Hat Creek, British Columbia, Canada, is described. This new genus and species represents one of the smallest members of the family Berothidae and the first occurrence of the family in the New World Tertiary. The systematic position of the genus Microberotha within the family is rather unclear, but the structure of the male genitalia indicates a close association with the subfamily Cyrenoberothinae. Stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the Hat Creek locality are briefly discussed.

Heinrich (1956) records four species of Dioryctria from Canada. Material in the Canadian National Collection includes eight species from Canada, two of them new. Also, one of the species recorded by Heinrich was in my opinion misidentified by him. In this paper I describe the new species, and give locality records and photographs of the other Canadian species, notes on taxonomy and host associations, and a key to the Canadian species.

Despite increasing worldwide interest in host–parasitoid food webs, the parasitoid communities of the high Arctic remain poorly explored. To allow analyses of global patterns, and to detect the effects of ongoing climate change, such data are urgently needed. In this paper, we describe a systematic effort to characterise the high-Arctic Hymenoptera and Diptera parasitoid community associated with Lepidoptera hosts of the Zackenberg Valley (74°30′N, 21°00′W), northeast Greenland. Here, we first sampled adult parasitoids by a combination of Malaise traps, pitfall traps, and, less extensively, yellow pan traps and sweep netting. We then identified the host use of individual parasitoid taxa by rearing a large number of host individuals and species across multiple years. We now describe our preliminary findings on the species diversity of the target community, on trophic links between hosts and parasitoids, and on the sampling effort and techniques needed to characterise the community. We report on 30 local parasitoid taxa representing four families, three of which are species new to Greenland. In describing the community, we make a specific effort to summarise what is known about the taxonomy, phenology, and host use of the component species, to the benefit of future research in the area.

Adult females of Chrysomelobia labidomerae Eickwort lay eggs on the upper surfaces of the hind wings of Labidomera clivicollis (Kirby). The eggs hatch in approximately 7 days and male and female larvae feed at the base of the wings and in the meso–metathoracic crevice and swell to about twice their original length. For about the second half of the approximately 7-day larval stadium, the larvae are inactive (pharate adults) and are usually cemented to the undersurfaces of the elytra. Inactive female larvae are accompanied by adult males that apparently copulate with the newly emerged adult females. The pharate adult is enclosed in a cuticular sac that may represent a calyptostatic nymphal instar. Adult females feed on the beetle’s abdominal terga and sometimes also occur on its venter where they do not feed. Females disperse from host to host when the beetles copulate. The species is arrhenotokous. Mites overwinter on the diapausing adult beetles and do not infest the immature stages of their host. Even at high population levels, the mites do not noticeably affect the longevity or fecundity of their hosts.

In the summer of 1958 a virus disease of larvae of Neodiprion swainei Midd., a serious defoliator of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), was investigated. The experiments were carried out near St. David de Falardeau in the Lake St. John region, Quebec, where the forest is largely composed of 15- to 20-year-old jack pine. The infestation was three years old, and judging by the production of eggs, had reached serious proportions in some places.

An abdominal tip extract of female bertha armyworm moths, Mamestra configurata (Walker), was found to contain two sex pheromone components. One corresponded to (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol acetate, previously identified from this source, and the other to a tetradecen-1-ol acetate, identified by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry. Data obtained from the EAG profile of isomeric tetradecen-1-ol acetates indicated the active component to be (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-ol acetate. Neither of these two acetates was by itself attractive to males in field tests; however, mixtures were attractive, with the best attraction occurring with a C16:C14 acetate ratio of about 19:1.

The senior author conducted this investigation during 1937 and 1938 in the Sandilands Forest Reserve, Manitoba. The results were presented in an unpublished report (Rablrin, 1938). Owing to the current importance of this insect in Manitoba and the Lake States of the United States, it was considered advisable to publish those aspects of the work relating to life history and dispersal. This was undertaken by the junior author.

Rapid and recent lineage radiations pose challenges to systematists. Using members of the highly diverse Simulium arcticum Malloch complex, we tested whether the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcoding gene can differentiate black fly sibling species. Members of the S. arcticum complex were monophyletic in relation to two morphospecies and two cryptic species of the Simulium malyschevi Dorogostaisky et al. and Simulium noelleri Friederichs species-groups, respectively. Of five S. arcticum sibling species analysed, only Simulium negativum Adler et al. was monophyletic. No other members of the complex could be distinguished using COI barcodes. The inability to resolve S. arcticum sibling species resulted because (1) haplotypes were shared between species and (2) the distribution of interspecific genetic distances completely overlapped the range of variation within species. Potential sources of incongruence between barcode data and species boundaries include imperfect taxonomy, inadequate genetic information, incomplete lineage sorting, and/or introgressive hybridization. We ruled out imperfect taxonomy because chromosomal, ecological, and distributional evidence support the validity of S. arcticum sibling species. Therefore, current nomenclature should be maintained pending further study. We conclude that one or more of the latter three sources of incongruence could be responsible for the lack of reciprocal monophyly among species of the S. arcticum complex.

The distribution, spread, and adaptations of the 81 alien heteropterous species recorded in Canada are summarized. Sixty-nine species had eastern introductions and 47 had western introductions; 35 were introduced separately on both coasts. Most of the alien species are mirids of European origin. Several of these alien mirids have adapted and become pests of fruit and other agricultural crops, and some have become useful predators. Only 3 have adapted and spread across the whole country.

To discover measurable parameters for detecting quality differences (with respect to reproduction) in insect populations, variations in temperature were utilized to obtain manifestation of quality at different levels. Rates of reproductive and associated processes such as yolk deposition, gallery excavation, and oviposition were measured in Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby) at four temperatures. Information presented here allows an estimation of D. rufipennis reproduction as affected by temperature. Among the various parameters measured the length of initial egg-free gallery and the number of eggs/unit productive gallery length and yolk deposition rate could be used to discriminate bark-beetle population quality. Rates of yolk deposition appeared most useful and widely applicable for this purpose.

Habitats and life cycles of five species of water striders were compared in south-central British Columbia. Three species of Gerris were bivoltine; both Limnoporus species were univoltine. Generation timing varied markedly among lakes and periods of maximum abundance for all species overlapped. Each species showed distinct association with a single type of habitat defined by vegetation structure. These associations separate most species among lakes and suggest that habitat is the most important resource axis for ecological separation of gerrid species on the Fraser Plateau.

Surveys of parasites of species of Hylemya that attack cruciferous crops were made in Canada as part of a biological control program against these insects. The most important species are Hylemya brassicae (Bouché), H. floralis (Fall.), and H. planipalpis (Stein.). Though not of primary importance on crucifers, H. cilicrura (Rond.) was often associated with the other species. The geographical distributions of these species in Canada were described by Brooks (1951).