Female mountain pine beetles, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, were exposed to papers soaked in outer bark extracts of lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta Douglas var. latifolia Engelmann. Both benzene and methanol–water extracts elicited greater feeding activity than did controls. Non-polar host compounds exhibited greater incitant (initiation of feeding) properties, while polar compounds were more powerful stimulants (continuation of feeding). No differences were detected in feeding on extracts from resistant or susceptible trees. Repellency appears to be associated with beetle responses to active host metabolism.

The identities of the 12 previously described species of Neosilba McAlpine, seven of which are represented among the syntypes of pendula (Bezzi), are established: batesi (Curran), certa (Walker), dimidiata (Curran), fuscipennis (Curran), glaberrima (Wiedemann), longicerata (Hennig), major (Malloch) [(= magna (Hennig), new synonymy], parva (Hennig), pendula (Bezzi), perezi (Romero S. and Ruppel), and pseudopendula (Korytkowski and Ojeda). Three new species, also represented among the syntypes of pendula, are described: oaxacana and peltae from Mexico, and zadolicha from Colombia and Brazil. Lectotypes are designated for magna, parva, pendula, and perezi. “Carpolonchaea” devions Hennig is placed in Silba Macquart, and “Carpolonchaea” intermedia Hennig is transferred to Lonchaea Fallen (new combination). New keys to the world genera of Lonchaeidae and to all described species of Neosilba are provided. Fifty-four illustrations, mostly of male and female terminalia, are given.

Frurtienta nundinella (Zeller), a moth attacking horsenettle (Solanum carolinense L.) in southwest Virginia, has two generations per year. Overwintering adults oviposited on tips of emerging horsenettle shoots in late May. First generation larvae fed on terminal growth points in mid-June; each was enclosed in a characteristic tight hollow chamber formed from leaves. Pupation occurred in mid-June through July and adults emerged from late June to early August. Larvae of the second generation attacked fruits. A single larva was capable of destroying all the seeds within a berry. Second generation larvae pupated inside the berries, emerging as adults between late August and late September. Early stages of infestation of berries were not easily detected until the larvae had reached 4th instar when the infested berries had a characteristic appearance. Just before the full grown larvae pupated, they formed exit holes covered only by thin membrane in the berries. Although damage to the plants resulted from both modes of. feeding, the infestation rate was low as infested plants were frequently in small isolated patches. Life cycle of the moth from egg to adult was about 50 days per generation.

Tests of intertrap variability in catches of moths of the clover cutworm, Scotogramma trifolii (Rottenberg), were conducted by placing two traps baited with an artifical sex attractant at 1 mi (1.6 km) intervals to form a grid covering 25 mi2 (64 km2) near Domain, Manitoba. The 50 traps (2/location) placed near the intersects of the grid were baited with a blend of Z-11-hexadecen-1-yl acetate and Z-11-hexadecen-1-ol. This blend was 98.6% species-specific for S. trifolii. Moth catches varied between traps and flights, but the ranking of the traps by catch was consistent during any given flight period. Up to 35 traps would be required within an area of 64 km2 (1 trap/1.8 km2) to give a population estimate within 20% of the true mean. Temperature influenced both the initiation of the flights and the number of moths caught at any given time, but there were no correlations between flights and precipitation or wind. Crop type influenced catches of S. trifolii only when moth populations were large. The catch of second generation moths averaged 9.8× the catch of first generation moths. The consistency of this relationship indicates that the annual differences in population density are controlled by variations in winter survival. The latter was linked to the induction of diapause which is governed by daylength during the larval development of the second generation.

Mindarus abietinus Koch causes leaf-curl and shoot-stunting of the new foliage of Fraser fir in North Carolina. Although this injury usually has a minimal impact on the trees' health and vigor, the injury can reduce the aesthetic quality and hence the marketability of Christmas trees. The overwintering egg gives rise to the fundatrix in late March. In May and June the fundatriginia and sexuparae appear. In June the sexuales are produced and by late June oviposition has occurred. The egg remains dormant until the following spring. The within-crown distribution of the various life stages is presented. Most of the injury can be minimized by maintaining vigorous growth, and timing necessary insecticide applications. Under most circumstances chemical control should only be considered during the last year or two before harvest. Dimethoate, pirimicarb, acephate, or chlorpyrifos will provide adequate control after egg hatch but before bud break.

Study of the Nearctic members of Brillia showed that one species, Brillia par (Coquillett), belonged to an undescribed genus. To establish a name for use in other publications brief descriptions of all stages of this new genus, Xylotopus, are given. Detailed descriptions will be presented later. The identity of the immature stages have been established by rearing. Terminology follows that of Saether (1980).

Plagiognathus ribesi n. sp. is described from British Columbia and Colorado. Psallus salicellus (Herrich-Schaeffer), an introduced European species earlier reported from Nova Scotia, has also been found to occur in Prince Edward Island and British Columbia.

Larvae of Cucujus clavipes (Fabricius) and Dendroides canadensis (Latreille) are frequently found under bark of decaying hardwood logs and those of Pytho depressus (Linnaeus) under that of dead conifers, especially pine (Pinus spp.) (Anderson and Nilssen 1978). Larvae of all three species have a dorsoventrally depressed, orthosomatic body and are well adapted for activity in the cambial layer. In dead trees, this area contains partially decomposed wood and bark resulting from the activity of phytophagous insects and other small invertebrates. According to textbooks of general entomology and other entomological literature, species within the genera Cucujus, Dendroides, and Pytho are predacious on other insects found in the cambial layer (Arnett 1968; Borrer et al. 1976; Borror and White 1970; Essig 1926; Peterson 1951; Swan and Papp 1972). However, no specific references to original studies demonstrating this type of feeding behaviour could be found. The purpose of this study was to determine the type of food consumed by larvae of these species and to determine if the structure of their mandibles and other mouthparts were indicative of such food consumption.