Pitch canker, caused by Fusarium subglutinans (Wollenw. and Reink.) Nelson, Toussoun, and Marasas, a pine pathogen recently identified in California, may increase the distribution and abundance of Ips spp. on Monterey pines in Santa Cruz Co., CA. In all pine stands, Ips spp. tunneled into healthy branches and boles. Ips mexicanus (Hopkins) was the most abundant engraver beetle observed, followed by I. paraconfusus Lanier; I. plastographus (LeConte) was rare. Ips mexicanus was routinely captured in traps baited with racemic I. paraconfusus pheromone. During die winter, I. mexicanus excavated mass feeding cavities in shade-suppressed branches. In uninfected stands, 3% of the trees and only 0.3% of the branches were mass-attacked. In severely infected stands, 47% of the top one-third of the trees, 3% of all branches, and 91% of the branches declining due to infection by F. subglutinans were mass-attacked by Ips spp. On pitch canker-infected trees, I. mexicanus attacked cones and stems <1 cm in diameter. Sixty percent of the attacks on logs occurred inside or within 5 cm of the area covered with pitch canker-induced resin. When confined with logs, 45% of I. paraconfusus tunneled in or near pitch canker-induced resinous areas,21% near fresh chisel wounds, and 19% near resinous material produced by the Sequoia pitch moth. Synanthedon sequoiae (Hy. Edwards).

The Pyrgomorphidae represent a distinctive family of acridoid Orthoptera comprising 127 genera and over 400 species. The systematic history of the group is outlined and its name is discussed. On the basis of external morphology and phallic structures it has been found possible to divide the family into tribes. Most of these have been recognized previously, but several new ones have been erected to accommodate anomalous genera or parts of former tribes that have proved to be heterogeneous. The genera fall into no fewer than 29 tribes and 8 subtribes, which reflect the antiquity of the group; phylogenetic relationships remain rather obscure. An extensive key to the tribes and subtribes (incorporating both external and phallic characters) is given and the genera belonging to each are listed. Diagnoses of three new genera and a new subgenus are appended. Geographical distribution is discussed. The great majority of Pyrgomorphidae are found in the Old World tropics and subtropics, but some are American and a few reach temperate latitudes both north and south. A very high degree of endemism amongst genera is shown by all regions in which the group occurs, except the Palaearctic. The African and Malagasy faunas are the richest, but the group probably originated further east. Madagascar, Australia, the Papuan subregion and C. and S. America all have their own very distinctive tribes and genera. No genera are common to Old and New Worlds. The latter was probably invaded from Asia at least twice. Pyrgomorphidae appear to be comparatively recently incursive into the Palaearctic region. A new Palaearctic fossil genus is proposed.

The temperature-dependent rate of development of the post-diapause larval and pupal stages of the spruce budworm parasitoid, Apanteles fumiferanae Vier., was estimated under controlled conditions. Parasitoid larvae required 289.0 degree-days (DD) above a threshold of 8.1 °C to complete development and the pupae required 106.2 DD above a threshold of 9.6 °C to complete development. Longevity of the adult wasp at several temperatures also was examined. Female wasps lived longer than male wasps at all temperatures. Wasps tended to mate more readily under natural than under artificial light conditions.

Newly emerged female A. fumiferanae had few, if any, mature eggs in their ovaries. The number of mature eggs increased to a peak of 40–75 eggs, 4–12 days after eclosion of the adult. The pattern in number of ovipositions was similar to this pattern of egg availability. The daily rate of oviposition, however, was only about one-quarter the number of eggs available.

These biological measurements are discussed in view of the development of a mass-rearing technique for this parasitoid.

Field-rearing studies of Camnula pellucida (Scudder) conducted at Saskatoon from 1960 to 1962 indicated that marked differences often occurred in rate of development, survival and fecundity because of differing weather patterns. Grasshoppers usually developed more rapidly as they hatched later in the season when temperatures were rising. In addition, striking differences occurred in growth rates of grasshoppers hatched on similar dates in different years due to sharply contrasting climatic conditions. Although survival of nymphs was generally high, mortality was consistently greatest during early nymphal life. Precipitation or excessively hot weather during this period increased mortality considerably, yet did not affect the older nymphs. Survival of adults was also generally high whether they fledged early or late in the season. They were able to endure very high temperatures during mid-summer or below freezing temperatures during late autumn. The three-year average reproductive capacity of this grasshopper was approximately eight egg-pods or 176 eggs per female. The rate of oviposition varied with temperature, reaching a maximum per female of approximately one pod every four days during mid-summer when temperatures were high and declining thereafter as temperatures dropped. The average egg-pod contained 22.13 eggs which showed a tendency to increase as adults fledged later in the season.

It is suggested that climatic conditions frequently play a decisive role in the short-term modification of grasshopper infestations as well as in the long-term cyclic rise and fall in populations; consistently favourable or unfavourable conditions throughout the grasshopper cycle could result in an explosive outbreak or in almost complete elimination of any threat to the crop.

Laboratory bioassays showed the occurrence of 8.5-fold resistance to cyhexatin and ca. 15-fold resistance to dicofol in laboratory-selected populations of European red mite (Panonychus ulmi (Koch)). Surveys, in 1984, of 45 orchards, using field-collected mites exposed to discriminating concentrations of cyhexatin or dicofol, detected resistance to cyhexatin in ca. 29% of the populations. Resistance to dicofol was identified in 2 of 45 assays.

Overwintering adult T. lineatum were collected in late April, and the females allowed to attack Douglas-fir logs in the laboratory. Frass was collected and preserved at −40°C prior to extraction in benzene and distillation. Distillate was chromatographed in a silica-gel column. An olfactometer was developed in which a positive bio-assay involved arrestment and turning reactions in a runway over a perforated area, underneath which the test substance was placed. Responses occurred to female frass and to sawdust from host logs but frass was far more potent. Peak response occurred to frass produced within 4 to 8 hours after attack. After 2 weeks, only very small amounts of weakly attractive frass were produced. Benzene extract and distillate of female frass evoked trace responses at very low concentrations, hut at 3.2 × 10−2 and 7.4 ×10−3 g-equiv of frass, for extract and distillate respectively, responses over 70% were common. Two fractions of ether eluate from the silica-gel column contained a highly attractive component which evoked responses in about 70% of the test males.

The persistence of Neodiprion sertifer nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) on Pinus contorta foliage samples collected from sawfly infested plantations located throughout Britain was studied. Sawfly density and disease epizootiology varied between localities. Results from the bioassay of branch samples, divided into bark, needle base and foliage samples, indicated that N. sertifer NPV produced during a single virus epizootic can persist for at least 2 years on the pine foliage. Bark and needle base samples were found to be contaminated with NPV more often than foliage samples, perhaps reflecting the effect of weathering on the persistence of virus on the needle surface.

Thirteen species of Coccinellidae were found to occur in adjacent red pine plantations of five different ages near Thessalon, Ont. These populations fell into two major ecological groups corresponding to the two plantation age classes. One group (the old-field species) inhabited young plantations up to 16 years old, and the other (the old-stand species) inhabited older stands. Each group was characterized by different dominant species, Coccinella transversoguttata Falder-man and Scymnus lacustris Lec. in the younger stands, and Mulsantina picta (Rand.) and Anatis mali Auct. in the older stands. Species diversity decreased as the stands aged.

As the red pines increased in size, they became less favourable for coccinellids in general because prey density decreased. As a consequence, the predator’s search area per unit prey capture increased necessitating an increased searching capacity and mobility. Coccinellid population fluctuations were synchronized with those of the woolly pine needle aphid, Schizolachnus piniradiatae (Davidson), the major food source, due to compensative movements to and from the plantations of the adult coccinellids and the dependence of the larvae on the aphid. Starvation and cannibalism during the larval stages appeared to be the major mortality factors. Inclement weather and predation were of minor direct importance to coccinellid populations and parasitism was rare.All species, with the possible exception of S. lacustris, were univoltine.

Four ichneumonid species, Itoplectis conquisitor (Say), Pimpla pedalis Cress., Theronia atalantae (Poda), and Theronia hilaris (Say), were seen attacking the gypsy moth, Porthetria dispar (L.), in the Town of Glenville, Schenectady County, New York. These species stung and killed many more host pupae than they successfully parasitized (success here being measured by the development of an ichneumonid offspring within the host). The ratio between the total number of hosts stung by ichneumonids and the number of ichneumonid offspring emerging was different for each of the three primary ichneumonids studied, ranging from 4 to 1 for T. atalantae to more than 200 to 1 for I. conquisitor.

The sarcophagids associated with the gypsy moth, although apparently parasitic, are largely scavengers. Their attacks almost always follow those of ichneumonids. Since the sting by an ichneumonid kills the host but is not always discernible, the number of pupae containing sarcophagid larvae has been used to, indicate the true effects of ichneumonids on the host population.

Studies of 19 species of bumble bees, Bombus Latr., representing seven of the nine subgenera that occur in North America north of Mexico show that queens construct first broods in at least two ways. Queens of species belonging to the subgenera Subterraneobombus Vogt, Fervidobombus Skor., Pyrobombus D. T., Bombus., Latr., Cullumanobombus Vogt, and Bombias Robt. construct adjoining cells of pollen and lay a single egg in each. When an egg is laid, the pollen forming the wall of the cell is immediately manipulated with the mandibles to enclose the egg. Usually, an egg is laid when a cell is completed, but sometimes as many as four cells are made before any eggs are deposited. Two to three days are needed to complete the first brood mass, which usually consists of about 10 eggs. Additional pollen, on which the first-brood larvae apparently feed, is packed beneath the brood mass after all the eggs are laid and after the envelope covering the eggs in the cells has been infused with wax. The pollen is packed beneath the cells through gaps in either end of the wax-pollen envelope covering the brood. Honey is fed to the larvae by biting holes in the envelope and pumping the honey into the cells. The holes are repaired immediately after the larvae have been fed. Queens of balteatus Dahl. of the subgenus Alpinobombus Skor. deposit the full complement of first-brood eggs in a single cell built out of a rough mass of pollen. The eggs are deposited in vertical positions as are the first-brood eggs of species that lay only one egg per cell. Pollen is added to the base in the manner described above.

The wide distribution of obligate thelytoky in oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) raises the question of the mechanisms that allowed genetic diversity to be maintained or even promoted in these taxa. We tested whether or not endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia are associated with thelytoky in eight species of oribatid mites (as it is for most thelytokous parasitic Hymenoptera studied so far) by using a polymerase chain reaction assay. Our negative results in the selective amplification of Wolbachia DNA suggest that these bacteria are not responsible for the thelytokous mode of reproduction of oribatid mites. On the basis of known or suspected cytogenetic mechanisms in oribatid mites (automictic thelytoky, inverted meiosis), we discuss an alternative hypothesis for the inducement of thelytoky, and its relevance to the observed diversification of thelytokous oribatid mites over evolutionary time.

Subsociality involving provisioning for offspring has been reported for one shield bug and three burrower bug species (Hemiptera: Pentatomoidea: Parastrachiidae and Cydnidae: Sehirinae). We present the first report of subsocial behaviour in the burrower bug Adomerus variegatus (Signoret), focusing on manifestations of maternal care, specifically the production of trophic eggs, guarding of offspring, and progressive provisioning. In our study, each female produced an egg mass that included some trophic eggs. Prior to nymphal hatch, females remained in their nests and showed egg mass guarding behaviour. Mothers started provisioning behaviour a few hours after nymphal hatch. Each mother dragged a seed (larger than her body) with her proboscis to the nest as food for the nymphs. These findings suggest that A. variegatus shows maternal-care behaviours similar to those reported in some other pentatomoid species and that trophic egg production and nest provisioning have evolved as interrelated processes.

Pectinmethylesterase (PME) activity was found in the salivary glands of nymphs and adults of a leaf-footed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann. Puncture wounds in cone scales resulting from PME activity in the saliva of these bugs were seen by staining with a 0.05% aqueous solution of ruthenium red. This staining technique can be used to estimate feeding damage by L. occidentalis on cones of western white pine (Pinus monticola Dougl.), sugar pine (P. lambertiana Dougl.), and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco).

Carabid beetles found in agricultural lands in the Belleville district in 1959-62 are listed, together with notes on their habitats, relative abundance, and months of occurrence. Twelve of the 159 recorded species were sufficiently numerous to warrant investigations on their possible use as control agents for particular crop insect pests.

The mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) kills its hosts by attacking en masse and overwhelming tree defences. Young adult beetles completing development under the bark may have the opportunity to mate with siblings or with brood from adjacent galleries prior to emerging from the natal host tree. We investigated the incidence of preemergence mating among female beetles at two locations in the recently expanded range of the insect in northern Alberta, Canada. Female beetles emerging from under the bark late in the emergence period were more likely to be mated upon emergence than beetles that emerged earlier. Delaying emergence of brood adults once they were at the teneral adult stage had little effect on the incidence of preemergence mating. The frequency of preemergence mating varied from 3–12% among female beetles. This is higher than the 1–2% reported in other studies within the historic range of the mountain pine beetle. Reasons for these differences are discussed.

The percentage encapsulation of its common insect parasites by Hyphantria cunea Drury was measured in natural populations in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia over a period of 17 years, and the variables affecting encapsulation were studied in laboratory experiments. Percentage encapsulation varied with the species, stage, and activity of the parasite, and the stage and genetic strain of the host. Differences in encapsulation from area to area and particularly from year to year were closely related to short-term changes in the genetic constitution of the host population resulting from natural selection pressures. The application of these results to biological control and to population modeling is discussed briefly.

Hylastes nigrinus (Mann.) is attracted to, and breeds in, the roots of both cut and beetle-killed Douglas-fir trees; the latter are preferred. The beetles reach the roots by digging through the soil. Bark samples taken from trees of various physiological condition and placed in field olfactometers showed that the beetle prefers the bark of insect-killed trees, although bark taken from healthy Douglas-firs became attractive after some time. Among the various terpenes tested, α-pinene and β-pinene were most attractive, in addition to Douglas-fir resin itself.

Insects were sampled in a Douglas-fir forest in California to evaluate differences among inexpensive survey methods. Sampling was done with sweep nets and with window, sticky, light, suspended cone, and two kinds of yellow pan traps. Also examined were effects of trap location in the given tree and the following tree species: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Franco), canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis Liebm.), tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus Rehd.), Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii Pursh.), and big-leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum Pursh.). Relative abundance and faunistic similarity of the 9662 insects caught varied greatly by trap type and little by tree species or trap location. Family-level taxonomic richness differed among the diverse trap types, tree species, and trap locations.

The functional response of Spalangia endius Walker was described by a linear relationship between attack rate and density of house fly pupae. S. endius searched well at higher host densities and in 72 h, appeared capable of attacking more than 80 pupae per female under laboratory conditions. The response of Muscidifurax raptor G. & S. was quadratic as poor searching ability limited this parasitoid’s attack rate at high host densities. Individual parasitoid efficiency of both species was reduced by intraspecific competition when parasitoid density was increased.

Mexican bean beetles, Epilachna varivestis Mulsant, were marked with rubidium by allowing larvae and adults to feed on foliage of bean plants treated with a rubidium chloride solution. Detection of rubidium was effected by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Adults which had fed for 4 days on rubidium-chloride-treated plants then transferred to untreated plants contained elevated levels of rubidium up to 34 days. The presence of rubidium was not detectable in the progeny of treated beetles at levels significantly different from controls. Consumption of rubidium-chloride-treated foliage produced no observable detrimental effects on the beetles. The technique allowed them to acquire a relatively permanent label through their normal feeding activity.