The recent introduction of the concept of refuge areas for the management of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae), on resistant potato highlighted the existence of important gaps in our knowledge and understanding of this pest's movement within and between habitats. The objective of this review is to synthesize the information available for the benefit of crop managers and to identify subject areas in need of additional research. A traditional, somewhat encyclopedic, review of the old and recent literature on research methods, basics of flight and walking, as well as abiotic and biotic conditions for dispersal, revealed a considerable volume of information accumulated since the early 1900s. There is a consensus on the role of abiotic factors on flight and walking, but a better understanding of the biotic factors will be required before the variability of the dispersal response can be fully explained or predicted. Cybernetic models of orientation proposed in the literature were pulled together into a schematic representation of the orientation process in walking L. decemlineata. The model begins the integration of the different conditions and underlying suggested mechanisms responsible for the orientation of the walking beetle. There is remarkably little information on the orientation of potato beetles during flight. Finally, the seasonality of walking and flight dispersal is reviewed in relation to the host habitat and overwintering sites.

Three species of Telenomus Haliday are egg parasitoids of the hemlock looper, Lambdina fiscellaria (Guenée), in Canada. Telenomus coloradensis Crawford and Telenomus droozi Muesebeck are redescribed and Telenomus flavotibiaesp.nov. is described and illustrated from material collected in Quebec. Telenomus coloradensis was found to be the predominant egg parasite, followed by T. droozi. Telenomus flavotibiae was found to be an uncommon parasite of hemlock looper eggs. All three species are recorded from Newfoundland to British Columbia. Keys to species of Telenomus associated with the hemlock looper, including two closely related species previously confused in the literature, are also given.

The new genus Totoia Ocampo and two new species, Totoiasplendida Ocampo from Costa Rica and Panama and Totoiabrachycarina Ocampo from Panama and Colombia, are described. Diagnostic characters of the genus and male genitalia of both species are illustrated.

The species of the Lithophanelepida Grote complex are reviewed and two new species of the genus Lithophane Hübner from western North America are described. Adults of all species are illustrated, as well as male and female genitalia (where known) and larva of L.lepida and Lithophane itata (Smith). A key to species of the L. lepida group is provided.

A fossil halictine bee from Early Eocene, Okanagan Highlands deposits of Quilchena, British Columbia, Canada, is described and figured. Halictus? savenyeisp.nov. is distinguished from other Tertiary halictines as well as modern bees. The specimen is the second oldest body fossil of a bee yet discovered and the first fossil bee from Canada. The antiquity of Halictidae and of bees in general is briefly commented upon.

Molecular markers for identifying Peristenus spp. parasitoids to species level and preliminary molecular markers to distinguish two groups of Lygus spp. common to the Canadian prairies were developed. Peristenus species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were developed based on DNA sequence data from a 1600-bp region of the internal transcribed spacer region between the 5.8S and 18S nuclear rRNA genes (ITS2). These primers were able to distinguish Peristenus digoneutis Loan, Peristenus stygicus Loan, and Peristenus pallipes (Curtis). Their ability to identify to species-level parasites dissected from field-collected Lygus spp. nymphs was examined by analysis of DNA from 100 parasite samples. Of those samples showing positive PCR amplification with both control (ITS2) and species-specific primers, all were positive for P. pallipes; none of the samples amplified appropriately sized products with P. digoneutis specific or P. stygicus specific primers. These findings were validated using restriction enzyme digests of amplified regions of the Peristenus spp. cytochrome oxidase 1 gene. Both methods were consistent with earlier studies that showed P. pallipes to be the only species of the genus Peristenus to be associated with Lygus spp. on the Canadian prairies. PCR primers based on DNA sequence data from a 550-bp region of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene were designed to discriminate Lyguslineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) from Lygus borealis (Kelton), and Lygus elisus (Van Duzee). These PCR primers were used to identify field-collected nymphs, with most being identified as either L. borealis/L. elisus (72–82%) orL. lineolaris (14–18%). These estimates of species composition closely reflected those of subsequent adult population surveys from the same fields.

The stilbenes 4,4′-diaminostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid, 4-aminostilbene disulfonic acid, and dinitrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid were tested as enhancers for the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdNPV). 4-Amino nitrostilbene disulfonic acid had no effect on the activity (LC50) of LdNPV, whereas both 4,4′-diaminostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid and 4-aminostilbene disulfonic acid were inhibitory. Diethylstilbestrol, a stilbene synthetic estrogen, and two synthetic estrogens (i.e., estradiol-17-acetate, estrone acetate) had no effects on viral activity. Two stilbene dyes (i.e., direct yellow 62, brilliant yellow 6) and a stilbene optical brightener (i.e., Tinopal LPW) significantly increased the activity of LdNPV. Activity was increased by approximately 230-fold by Tinopal LPW, 26-fold by direct yellow 62, and 36-fold by brilliant yellow 6. This study demonstrates that some stilbenes can act as enhancers, whereas others do not.

Crop cultivar can affect the ability of natural enemies to control pest populations. Peas, Pisum sativum L. (Fabaceae), with a reduced epicuticular wax bloom have reduced pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), populations in the field than peas with a normal-wax bloom. In this paper we use the functional response to examine predation by Hippodamia convergens Guérin de Méneville (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) larvae foraging on pea plants with a normal- and a reduced-wax bloom. We found that Hippodamia convergens shows a Type II functional response on both phenotypes of peas. Hippodamia convergens consumed significantly more pea aphids on reduced-wax plants than on normal-wax plants. The instantaneous search rate, a, was higher for predators on reduced-wax plants, but the handling time, Th, was similar for predators on both wax phenotypes. In addition, we tested the ability of H. convergens larvae to attach to the surface of normal-wax and reduced-wax pea leaves. We found that H. convergens larvae attach more strongly to reduced-wax peas than to normal-wax peas. These results suggest that predation of pea aphid by H. convergens is enhanced on reduced-wax peas due to increased ability of predators to attach to these plants, and as a result, search for and find aphids.

Laricobius nigrinus Fender, native to the Pacific Northwest, is being evaluated as a potential biological control agent of the hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand, in the eastern United States. Members of the genus Laricobius feed exclusively on adelgids. Adelges tsugae is found on hemlocks (Tsuga sp.) in North America and Asia, but is considered only a pest of eastern [Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière] and Carolina (Tsuga caroliniana Engelmann) hemlocks in eastern North America. This is the first detailed study of the life history of L. nigrinus and its interaction with A. tsugae. Results of a 2-year field study conducted in a seed orchard in British Columbia on the seasonal abundance of L. nigrinus and its prey, A. tsugae, revealed that (i) the sistens generation of A. tsugae matures 2-3 months earlier than previously reported in Virginia and Connecticut, (ii) no A. tsugae sexuparae were observed, which differs from findings in Virginia and Connecticut, (iii) L. nigrinus adults undergo an aestival diapause that coincides with diapausing first instar A. tsugae sistens, and (iv) oviposition and subsequent larval development of L. nigrinus coincides with oviposition by the A. tsugae sistens adults, indicating good synchrony between L. nigrinus and suitable prey stages of A. tsugae.

Populations of fruittree leafroller, Archips argyrospila (Walker), and European leafroller, Archips rosana L., were obtained from eight sites in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, and assayed for their responses to five insecticides using a leaf-disk bioassay and neonate larvae. Lethal concentration ratios (LCR values) were calculated for all populations compared with the most susceptible strain, and significant variation was detected in both species. LCR values ranged from 1.04 to 9.06 for azinphosmethyl, from 1.29 to 53.15 for tebufenozide (Confirm®), from 1.85 to 24.69 for methoxyfenozide (Intrepid®), from 1.59 to 2291.4 for indoxacarb (Avaunt®), and from 1.92 to 1.98 for spinosad (Success®). Methoxy fenozide was approximately 100-fold more toxic to neonate leafrollers than was tebufenozide, and spinosad was the most toxic of all materials tested. Correlation analysis indicated that there was cross-resistance between azinphosmethyl and tebufenozide. At the LC50 level, the responses of the two species were not significantly different for each insecticide. Analysis of equivalency and parallelism of dose-response lines revealed that A. argyrospila and A. rosana had equivalent responses to azinphosmethyl. LC50 values for the response of A. argyrospila to azinphosmethyl were not different from values obtained almost 20 years earlier. Cross-resistance between azinphosmethyl and tebufenozide suggests that resistance management for these two species of univoltine leafrollers should not include rotation of azinphosmethyl and benzoylhydrazine insect-growth regulators. The high level of resistance to indoxacarb found in one population indicates that baseline tolerance screening is desirable before indoxacarb is introduced for use in Canadian orchards.

The effect of plant nutrition on the expression of abdominal discoloration in Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot was investigated. Phytoseiulus persimilis were fed spider mites, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), that were reared on bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L. (Fabaceae), plants treated with distilled water or one of three concentrations of 20–20–20 fertilizer (0.6, 2.4, and 3.8 g/L). Symptoms observed in P. persimilis included white stripes along the sides of the body in the region of the Malpighian tubules, white coloration of the rectum, or a combination of these symptoms. The proportion of observations of white symptoms in P. persimilis increased in an asymptotic curvilinear fashion as fertilizer concentration increased. There was no significant difference in life-history characteristics of P. persimilis from the four treatments, including total fecundity, mean daily oviposition, oviposition period, post-oviposition period, or adult survival. Peak oviposition for mites from all treatments (4.9 eggs per female per day) occurred 2–3 days following mating. Thereafter, mean fecundity was greater than 4 eggs per female per day until day 11, and greater than 3 eggs per female per day until day 15, followed by a sharp decline. Following death, individual mites were examined for microsporidia, but none were detected. Results suggest that the expression of white abdominal discoloration in P. persimilis is related, at least in part, to plant nutrition; symptoms are an expression of normal excretory function in P. persimilis; and white abdominal discoloration does not necessarily affect predator performance.