A stridulatory apparatus consisting of the juga of the forewings and specialized areas of the metanotum of both sexes of Merope tuber Newman (Mecoptera: Meropeidae) is described and illustrated. The sounds produced are discussed in light of their possible role in defence and intraspecific communication. This is the first verified instance of stridulation in the Mecoptera.

Twenty Nearctic species of Myllaena are recognized. All are redescribed or newly described and illustrated. A key for their identification, and maps of their distribution are provided. The species are arranged into four groups: the Cuneata, Insomnis, Potawatomi, and Seminole. Seven species are described as new: hopi (Arizona, Mexico), hopkinton (Massachusetts), kaskaskia (eastern U.S.A.), magnolia (Florida), potawatomi (transcontinental, also in Haiti and Jamaica), serrano (California, Baja California of Mexico), and seminole (southern U.S.A. and Illinois). Newly established synonymies are (the second name of each pair being valid): abdita Casey, 1911 = audax Casey, 1911; brevivestis Casey, 1911 = ludificans Casey, 1911; dissimulons Casey, 1911 = audax Casey, 1911; immunda Casey, 1911 = arcana Casey, 1911; molesta Casey, 1911 = audax Casey, 1911; obscurata Casey, 1911 = insipiens Casey, 1911; scobinella Casey, 1911 = decréta Casey, 1911; umbra Casey, 1911 = decreta Casey, 1911; and vegeta Casey, 1911 = audax Casey, 1911.

Fourteen lectotypes are designated. A checklist of Nearctic species is added. The systematics, phylogeny, and zoogeography of the genus and' species are discussed.

Selective predation (i.e., non-random feeding) was studied in a laboratory system that allowed individual lycosid spiders, Pardosa vancouveri, to feed on prey populations consisting of one or two kinds of insects. Various combinations of male and female fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), “small” and “large” beetle larvae (Tenebrio molitor), and nymphal milkweed bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus) were used as prey. Female adult and subadult spiders were used as predators. Generally, fruit flies were selected by the spiders over mealworms or milkweed bugs, and small mealworms over large ones. No selection occurred between male and female flies. Very weak or no selection occurred between small beetle larvae and milkweed bugs. Spiders of both age classes showed similar selective tendencies. Prior feeding experiences did not alter feeding selections, but minor changes in the physical complexity of the environment did. Twelve criteria related to development, survival, growth, and fecundity were monitored for 12 groups of spiders fed either single or two-prey combinations of the five kinds of prey. The hierarchy of benefits conferred by the five kinds of prey was the same as that for selection. Male and female fruit flies equally benefited the spiders. The fruit flies yielded the most and large beetle larvae the least number of statistically superior benefits. Small beetle larvae and milkweed bugs were intermediate and about equal. There was no evidence that a mixed (i.e., two) prey diet is better than a single prey diet. It is hypothesized that selective predation by P. vancouveri involves prey sampling, memory of prey attributes, and selection of prey that possess attributes that are associated with high fitness.

Codling moth eggs were very sensitive to diflubenzuron (Dimilin), particularly when treated topically shortly after oviposition. Regression analysis showed a linear relationship between % hatch and the age at which the eggs were treated with diflubenzuron. The LC50 values for 0- to 21/2- and 3-day-old eggs were 1.1 and 17.2 ppm, respectively. Egg hatch was also inversely related to the length of time the chorion was in contact with the diflubenzuron solution. When the compound had dried on fruit or foliage, residual activity against the eggs was excellent and did not decrease markedly over a 10-day period. The surfactant, Tween 20, enhanced the contact ovicidal activity of diflubenzuron especially on older eggs. Tween 20 also improved the residual activity of diflubenzuron on foliage and immature apples but not waxy mature apples.

Diflubenzuron incorporated into artificial diet was toxic to 1st- and 2nd-instar larvae. The LC50s for the two instars were 48.2 and 8.1 ppm, respectively. When 1st instars fed on diflubenzuron + Tween 20-treated foliage for 2 days, larval entry into apples was not impaired but subsequent larval survival was reduced significantly. However, neither fruit entry nor larval survival was affected when 1st instars were reared on apples which had been dipped in 500 ppm diflubenzuron - Tween 20. Adult codling moths dipped in or fed diflubenzuron solutions showed no marked adverse effects although marginal reductions in egg viability were observed.

The biology of Endothenia daeckeana and its relationships to its host, Sarracenia p. purpurea, are described as they occurred during 1980 in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec, Canada. Around 1 July eggs are laid singly on flower bracts of S. p. purpurea and newly-hatched larvae bore into the ovary base to reach the carpels. Instar I larvae enter seeds and eat them from the inside while later instars (II–V) consume seeds from the outside. Instars IV or V overwinter and leave the ovary in September or October and tunnel down the pithy flower stalk to reach their overwintering sites. Pupation takes place in late May in special chambers that instar V larvae have constructed within the flower stalks where overwintering occurred. Adults emerge after pupae push headfirst through the remaining epidermis that covers the pre-chewed exit hole. The sex ratio (proportion females) of laboratory-emerged adults was 0.43. Twenty-five percent of E. daeckeana larvae were parasitized by Scambus spp. or Glypta sp. (Ichneumonidae) and five eggs out of about 300 examined contained the egg parasite Trichogramma ? semifumatum (Trichogrammatidae). Undamaged carpels from pitcher plant ovaries infested with E. daeckeana often had the seeds bound into a hard mass by the fungus Acremonium strictum.

Tipula paludosa spends increasing periods of time in a pharate condition with each succeeding molt. The pupa is entirely pharate since larval–pupal ecdysis coincides with pupal–adult apolysis, and the larger part of the adult instar is also spent in a pharate condition. The fact that the instar usually referred to as the pupa is actually a pharate adult should be clearly understood by physiologists, ethologists, and ecologists.

Smith (Day and Smith 1980) identified mature dipteran eggs attached to the thorax of adult females of European Rhopalum clavipes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) as Ptychoneura minuta (Fallén) (Sarcophagidae: Miltogramminae). R. clavipes is widespread in North America (introduced) but examination of previously collected specimens, a literature search, and discussions with specialists (H. K. Townes, American Entomological Institute, Ann Arbor, Michigan and G. E. Shewell, Biosystematics Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada) indicated that this behaviour had not previously been recorded in North America.

An understanding of all environmental effects resulting from control actions is important in the selection of a method of managing insect populations. Effects may extend beyond the year of treatment and can modify management decisions. In 1978, a nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) and Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (B.t.) were tested as aerial spray applications against the western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman, on Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco, near Cache Creek, British Columbia. The impact on population densities and on the incidence of NPV was measured in the treated and non-treated areas for 2 vears following the year of application, and is reported here.

This note deals with three European species of Orthotylinae now known to occur in Canada. Pilophorus confusus was discovered in 1976 in Nova Scotia and is reported for the first time from the Nearctic region. Additional distribution records are given for Orthotylus nassatus and O. viridinervis previously reported from North America by Henry (1977) and Henry and Wheeler (1979), respectively. The three species were likely introduced accidentally into this country some time ago with nursery stock importations but remained undetected until recently. They are predatory and overwinter in the egg stage. The adults of the three species are illustrated.