Agrilus bilineatus (Weber) is univoltine in Wisconsin. Adults were present from early June through mid-September; however, peak flight and oviposition occurred during the second half of June. Adults consumed significantly more oak foliage than foliage of hardwoods other than oak. Stressed oaks attracted significantly more adults than did uninjured controls, as measured by density of captured adults on sticky traps. Four larval instars were determined; instar IV was the overwintering stage. Fourth instar larvae generally overwintered in pupal cells in the outer bark or in sapwood if the bark was thin. Larvae, especially third and fourth instars, damaged oaks by girdling the conducting xylem and phloem. Attacked oaks had low root starch content relative to those unattacked. Tree death normally resulted after 2 or 3 years of borer infestation, yet tree death may occur in a single season. Initial attack usually began in the live crown and proceeded downward in succeeding years with no apparent reinfestation of previously killed areas. Mean adult longevity in days for adults fed red oak foliage was 28.1 at 20°, 37.8 at 24°, and 8.3 at 30 °C. Mean duration of the pupal stage in days was 11.7 at 24 °and 8.5 at 30 °C.

Each of three insecticides—lindane, carbaryl, chlorpyrifos—was tested by topical application on the western pine beetle, Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte, and two native coleopterous predators, Enoclerus lecontei (Wolc.) and Temnochila chlorodia (Mann.), to assess comparative toxicity. Lindane was more toxic to the predators than to western pine beetle, while carbaryl was relatively non-toxic to E. lecontei when compared with either T. chlorodia or western pine beetle. Chlorpyrifos was equally toxic to all three species. Results of topical application serve to estimate relative effects of insecticides on predacious associates in the western pine beetle community.

Within individual trees in an 8-year-old provenance planting of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum Engelm.) in central Nebraska, the infestation of tips by the western pine tip moth (Rhyacionia bushnelli Busck) generally decreased with increasing tree height and varied with whorl and seed source. Trees from Eastern Plains sources were taller and had fewer infestations than trees from three other geographic regions. Sampling tips on whorls 3 through 6, 4 through 6, or 4 through 7 all give an accurate estimate of damaged tips per tree in trees less than or equal to 3.0 m high.

The staphylinid tribe Myllaenini Ganglbauer is redefined, and Polypea Fauvel and Camacopalpus Motschulsky are redescribed and transferred from Myllaenini, the former to Diglottini Eichelbaum, the latter to Zyrasini Lohse. Camacopalpus flavicornis Motschulsky and C. bituberculatus Motschulsky are transferred to Drusilla Leach, and a new genus Neocamacopalpus is described to include Camacopalpus fulvus Motschulsky. Lectotypes are designated for all studied species, and their terminalia and genitalia are illustrated for the first time. A hypothetical phylogeny of Myllaenini is proposed.

Laboratory studies of the food preferences of several adult carabids showed that Amara aenea DeG., Anisodactylus sanctaecrucis F., Harpalus affinis Schr., and Stenolophus comma F. were polyphagous and readily fed on the seeds of several weeds as well as on young codling moth larvae and apple maggot pupae. H. affinis also attacked 4th and 5th instar codling moth larvae and pupae more readily than the other species. Pterostichus melanarius III. showed a strong preference for the larger prey such as 5th instar codling moth larvae, earthworms, and scarabaeid larvae. The potential of these species as predators of the codling moth and the apple maggot is discussed.

In Saskatchewan the range of Phyllotreta striolata (F.), a pest of parkland rapeseed crops, includes the open prairie in the southwest and the boreal forest in the north. The population of P. striolata on the open prairie is small, with cruciferous weeds being the major host plants. Cruciferous crops grown on the open prairie will almost certainly attract some P. striolata. The population of P. striolata in the forest is substantial, and the range extends northward into arctic regions. Although adults of P. striolata feed upon cruciferous plants growing in the forest, these plants do not appear abundant enough to constitute an adequate food supply. In addition, the identity of the major host plants of the larvae in the forest is unknown. In laboratory experiments, adults of P. striolata were attracted to and attempted to feed upon seven species of forest mosses; however, attempts to maintain a laboratory colony of P. striolata on one of the more abundant mosses were unsuccessful. Forest inhabiting P. striolata attacked rape planted in forest clearings, and therefore probably would infest rape crops grown along the forest edge or in newly cleared areas.

Three house fly, Musca domestica L., strains, two from farms near Guelph, Ontario and one from a farm near Edmonton, Alberta were cultured and tested for their resistance to insecticides as compared with a susceptible laboratory strain. The two Guelph strains were resistant to the 7 organochlorine (OC) and 11 organophosphorus (OP) insecticides tested and to nearly all of the carbamate insecticides. One Guelph strain (A) which had been subjected to minimum pyrethrins pressure and no residual pyrethroid pressure was susceptible to pyrethrins and the 8 pyrethroid insecticides tested. The other Guelph strain (B), which had been subjected to intense pyrethrins–pyrethroid pressure, was resistant to pyrethrins and to all pyrethroids tested. The Edmonton strain had a history of insecticide exposure similar to the Guelph B strain and showed a similar resistance pattern. Resistance levels at the LD50 for the Guelph B strain, as compared with a susceptible laboratory strain, for the OP insecticides tested, ranged from ×50 for malathion to ×4.5 for dichlorvos; for the carbamates, from ×13.5 for bendiocarb to ×4.1 for methomyl; and for the pyrethroids, from ×55.6 for deltamethrin to ×18.7 for fenvalerate.

Insect mines have been reported in several fossil leaf specimens (Brooks 1955; Freeman 1965; Lewis 1969; Opler 1973; Hickey and Hodges 1975; Crane and Jarzembowski 1980). These fossils represent useful records for the study of insect-host evolutionary history. Opler (1973) and Hickey and Hodges (1975) compared fossil Ieaf mines with those caused by extant insect species in homologous host species and concluded that specific insect-host associations have persisted for as long as 50 million years. We report here the presence of leaf mines in a Miocene specimen of Mahonia reticulata (MacGinitie) Brown (Berberidaceae). It is unclear whether a comparable insect species is associated with extant Nearctic Mahonia Nuttall.

The large aspen tortrix, Choristoneura conflictana Wlk., occurs throughout the range of trembling aspen, Populus trernuloides Michx., in Canada and the eastern United States (Baker 1972). Outbreaks of the insect occur over large areas, but these outbreaks generally collapse in 2 to 3 years. The principal effect of this pest is to reduce growth of aspen, but it causes little tree mortality (Batzer 1972). Prentice (1955) reviewed the history of outbreaks of C. conflictana in Canada from 1912 to 1953 and the natural control factors of the insect. He reported an extensive parasite complement. Dead and apparently diseased insects were examined, but the only pathogen noted was infection of overwintering larvae by the fungus, Beauveria bassiana (Bals .) Vuill.

Several types of pheromone-baited traps have been used for trapping males of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.). Most pheromone traps have sticky surfaces for capturing attracted moths; however, the sticky surface often becomes saturated with moths, moth scales, and debris, thus diminishing the traps' effectiveness. At high population densities, saturation may occur within a few hours after the traps are placed in the field. The Pherocon 1CP® trap found most effective by Sanders (1978) functionally saturates after about 50 spruce budworm moths are caught (Houseweart et al. 1981).