On the basis of the relative size of the spermatophore sac the subfamily Gryllinae is separated into two tribes, Gymnogryllini and Gryllini, this structure being small in the former and very large in the latter. Each tribe is further divided into two subtribes on the basis of consistent differences in the shape of the epiphallus. Six new genera are added.

The presence of styli on the epiphallus of species of Turanogryllus Tarbinski is suggested as evidence for the origin of the male genitalia from the segmental appendages. Possible homologies of the structures of the male genitalia of Grylloidea and Acridoidea are suggested.

Relationships between temperature and development rates of eggs, overwintered second-instar larvae, and all larval stages of Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.) fed on artificial diet were determined. Egg development was observed at eight constant temperatures between 7 and 32°C. It was fastest at 30°C, and showed relatively little variability. The rate of emergence of overwintered second-instar larvae was observed at 10 constant temperatures between 4 and 33°C. Maximum development rates occurred at 30°C. Variability in emergence rates was large, but unimodal. Development rates of the second to sixth larval instars were measured at 10 constant temperatures between 7 and 36°C, and maximum rates were observed, again, at 30°C. Variability in the development rates of the larvae was large, with no correlations between the development rates of the various larval instars. The results of computer simulations of the insect’s seasonal history are presented and discussed.

Folsomia candida was formerly regarded as being synonymous with F. fimetaria (Linnaeus, 1758), but according to Stach (1947) this is incorrect, F. candida being considered a good species with the following synonyms: Isotom fimetaria var. caldaria Axelson, 1905; Isotoma (Folsomia) fimetaria var. caldaria Axelson, 1905; Folsomia fimetaria var. caldaria (Axelson) Linnaniemi, 1912; Folsomia kingi Bagnall, 1939; Folsomia distincta Bagnall, 1939; Folsomia caldaria (Axels.) Bagnall, 1939.

This is the first of a danned series of pauers on the taxonomy of the cocoons and puparia, cast larval skins, and other remains of parasitic Hymenoptera and Diptera that are found in or near the remains of parasitized hosts after the parasites have emerged. The study is based. at least initially, on the host species so that the keys and descriptions may be of use to those who work on the host species as such and who wish to name parasite remains they encounter. The parasites of Diprionidae will be dealt with first, because of the economic significance of these sawflies. The present paper deals with the known Canadian parasites of the European pine sawfly, Neodiprion sertifer (Geoff.), and includes descriptions of the structures that are of taxonomic significance and of the methods used in their study; these descriptions will be in general applicable to the species to be discussed in subsequent papers.

Monochamol (2-undecyloxy-1-ethanol) is a male-produced aggregation pheromone for several Monochamus Dejean (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) species. We conducted trapping experiments in Canada, Poland, and China to test whether monochamol was attractive to additional Monochamus species and if attraction was synergised by plant volatiles and bark beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) pheromones. We provide the first evidence of attraction for M. urussovii (Fischer) and M. saltuarius (Gebler) to monochamol or monochamol+kairomones. The highest numbers of M. urussovii were captured in traps baited with monochamol+plant volatiles (Manuka oil, ethanol and (95/5±) α−pinene). Captures of M. saltuarius were highest in traps baited with monochamol, with the addition of cubeb oil tending to reduce captures. The highest numbers of M. scutellatus (Say) were captured in traps baited with monochamol+kairomones. A similar pattern in trap captures was found for M. notatus (Drury), M. marmorator Kirby, M. carolinensis (Olivier), and M. mutator LeConte. Detection rates, that is, proportion of traps capturing at least one specimen, was highest for traps baited with monochamol plus kairomones, particularly for less-common species. These results support the emerging hypothesis that pheromone compounds can attract related cerambycid species with cumulative evidence for attraction to monochamol for 12 species of Monochamus worldwide.

Scolytus ventralis females attack their host, Abies grandis, at random in the beginning of the flight period. The success of these attacks, as manifested by the length of the gallery, is determined by the rapidity of the host’s resinous response, attacking females being repelled by resin flow. Aggregation occurs on both resistant and susceptible hosts but is directly associated with the degree of gallery elongation. Resinosis occurring after brood establishment reduces survival, having its greatest impact on the early developmental stages. Mortality from resinosis is inversely related to attack density.

The bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of the Niagara Peninsula, at the eastern end of the Carolinian Zone in Ontario, Canada, is poorly known. From April to October 2003, we studied bee abundance and diversity in set-aside grasslands at Brock University and the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization Site in southern St. Catharines, Ontario. Using three sampling methods (pan traps, sweep nets, and aerial nets), we collected and identified 15 733 specimens of 124 species and morphospecies representing all bee families, except Melittidae, found in North America. Abundance-based diversity estimators suggested bee species richness to be as high as 148 species. There were three seasonal peaks in bee abundance (early spring, late spring, and mid-summer) with a lull in activity shortly after the summer solstice. Several indicators suggested substantial impacts of disturbance on the Niagara bee community, including evidence of high dominance by the most abundant species. Comparison of the sampling methods indicated considerable catch variation among taxa; Halictidae and Apidae were dominant in pan trap samples and in sweep–aerial net samples, respectively. However, bee abundances in pan traps and sweep nets were highly correlated, suggesting that both methods fairly sample local bee abundances.

The eggs of seven species of locally occurring coccinellids were reared at constant temperatures. The survival of eggs to hatching, rate, and thermal requirements for hatching were determined. The results were used to evaluate the importance of thermal adaptation of coccinellids in selecting them as biological control agents and in determining the relative species composition of locally occurring faunas of coccinellids.

The effectiveness of several commercially available sunlight screens in protecting Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (B.t.) against inactivation by solar irradiation was assessed in the laboratory and field. Spore viability and residual insecticidal activity of B.t. were rapidly reduced by solar radiation in the range of 300 to 400 nm wavelength. The addition of ultraviolet absorbers, Uvinul DS49 and Erio Acid Red, to a Thuricide spray formulation prolonged the insecticidal residual activity on coniferous trees, resulting in greater effectiveness against the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), compared with a formulation lacking these protectants.

Reproductive and survival patterns of the heteropteran predator Podisus maculiventris (Say) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) were measured under low prey inputs. A single prey, mealworm larva (Tenebrio molitor L.), of one of two sizes (120 or 30 mg), was given to predators for a 24-h period every 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 days. Additional treatments included: predators provided prey in excess of attack rates; predators given no food; and predators given green bean slices only. Results showed that predators provided with prey survived regardless of feeding interval. When given large prey, predators showed reproductive patterns that were not clearly reflective of feeding interval; only predators fed at 8- and 16-day intervals showed reduced fecundity. When given small prey, the reproductive patterns of predators clearly reflected the feeding intervals. Predators that were fed less frequently laid fewer eggs, less often, and later in life.

The biology of the mountain pine beetle was studied in 1956 and 1957 near Invermere, in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. The host tree was lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm.). The technique used permitted direct observation of mating, egg laying, and gallery construction. The sex ratio was also investigated under natural conditions and in cages. The most important previous work on the biology of this insect was done by De Leon, Bedard, and Terrell (1934).

The costs and benefits of insecticidal control and the losses attributable to flea beetle damage are estimated for oilseed rapes in Canada. Analyses of two farm surveys and reports on the efficacies of the various control practices conducted in test plots led us to calculate three sets of estimates based on different assumptions. Four-fold differences are observed between the lowest and highest estimates. The lowest estimates are adopted as the most realistic. The estimated losses were $72 million in 1979, 8% of the annual production. In 1979 growers spent about $12 million on insecticidal control which saved about $44 million worth of production. We conclude that flea beetle damage to rape causes an average annual yield loss of about 10% and is higher in Manitoba than Saskatchewan. The damage levels estimated from small test plots are higher, on average, than those in commercial fields, which accounts for most of the differences among estimates.

An outbreak of the European spruce sawfly, Diprion hercyniae (Htg.), occurring in Eastern Canada between 1930 and 1942, was controlled by a virus disease (Balch and Bird, 1944). The sawfly has been kept at a low level by the disease and by parasitic insects introduced from Europe (Bird and Elgee, 1957).

An infestation of the sawfly was discovered in 1947 near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the Forest Insect Survey Section of the Forest Biology Laboratory at Sault Ste. Marie. This infestation was about 100 miles beyond the previously known western distribution of the insect. Intensive larval sampling in 1949 showed that it was free from virus and practically free from introduced parasites. Thus, an excellent opportunity was provided to introduce the virus into a disease-free population, to study its establishment and spread, and to compare the long term effects of virus alone on population trends with the effects that virus plus introduced parasites were shown to have on population trends in New Brunswick (Bird and Elgee, 1957). The virus was introduced into the infestation in 1950 and studies were carried out each year from 1950 to 1959.

Studies of the mountain pine beetle by DeLeon (1934), Evenden et al. (1943), Hopping and Mathers (1945), have shown that females frequently establish more than one egg gallery each season, Recent studies by the author indicate that females commonly leave their first egg galleries after a period of 2-3 weeks and fly to another tree where the second egg galleries are established.

I examined the relative feeding preferences of five carabid beetle species for terrestrial gastropod prey. Scaphinotus marginatus Fischer, thought to be a snail specialist, discriminated among seven species of potential prey by size and species, with the slug Deroceras reticulatum (Müller) being the most preferred. Scaphinotus marginatus appears to use its elongated and narrowed mouthparts, head, and thorax to prey upon terrestrial snails without having to crush their shells. The relative feeding preferences of four pterostichine generalist predators (Pterostichus adstrictus Eschscholtz, P. pensylvanicus LeConte, P. protractus LeConte, and P. surgens LeConte) for two species of small snails [Discus cronkhitei (Newcomb) and Euconulus fulvus (Müller)] also were examined. Although all four carabids ate E. fulvus in varying proportions, only P. protractus consumed D. cronkhitei. I suggest that snail shell thickness and differing feeding preferences affect which snail species are eaten by these pterostichines.

The possibility of imperfect coincidence between the appropriate stages of Neodiprion sertifer (Geoff.) and two of its important parasites was demonstrated. One of the parasites, the indigenous ichneumonid Exenterus canadensis Prov., which attacks late-stage larvae, has good spatial coincidence; but some members of each generation suffer from imperfect temporal coincidence, or asynchrony, caused by the interaction of temperature influence on parasite development rate and temperature variability between development sites in the litter. The second parasite, Pleolophus basizonus (Grav.), is an introduced, multivoltine ichneumonid cocoon parasite. It may be imperfectly synchronized in its first generation each year and may show imperfect spatial coincidence in all generations through its inability to attack host cocoons beneath approximately 1 in. or more of litter.The intricate relations between parasite and host density, time, attack, and coincidence were investigated using the basic functional response submodel developed by Holling, a submodel that describes changes in oviposition behaviour with time, and a submodel that predicts the number of hosts attacked, given the number of eggs laid and data on the distribution of eggs among hosts. In the two species studied, the effect of asynchrony in one generation cannot be considered without considering the influence of superparasitism. At low host densities, superparasitism largely buffers the effects of decreased synchrony. This buffering effect decreases as host density increases until when each parasite is attacking all the hosts it can, it is almost eliminated. Imperfect spatial coincidence in one generation merely lowers the usable host density. Thus its effect can be seen in the functional response of the parasite to host density. When host–parasite interactions over 25 to 35 host generations were simulated, using initial conditions resembling those ensuing when small numbers of both host and parasite invade a previously unattacked stand, populations became stable after passing through one or more oscillations. Decreasing temporal or spatial coincidence increased host and parasite densities at the peaks of oscillations and increased the ultimate steady density of host and parasite, until coincidence was reduced to nearly half. At this level, the host escaped the regulating ability of both species of parasites.

Larvae of the wheat midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin), feed on developing seeds of common and durum wheats, Triticum aestivum L. and Triticum durum L. (Graminae). The trophic relationships between insect and plant were quantified as biomass gains or losses using plants infested artificially in the laboratory and naturally in plots and commercial fields. The biomass of seeds from different parts of a wheat spike varied, but seeds in all parts of a spike were infested, independently of their potential biomass. Most infested seeds had 1–3 larvae, but at least 11 larvae could mature on a single seed without reducing larval biomass. When larvae finished feeding and seeds attained about one third of their biomass, specific impact varied from 4.1 to 8.5 mg of seed biomass lost for each milligram of biomass gained by a larva, with the impact declining as the number of larvae per seed increased. Specific impact rose to 100 mg/mg as seeds of T. aestivum and a primitive wheat, Triticum monococcum L., matured, and higher still for T. durum. Wheat plants did not compensate for wheat midge damage, and no indirect damage to uninfested seeds was detected. The distribution of biomass for infested seeds was bimodal, with over 40% less than 8 mg when hand harvested, whereas infested seeds harvested mechanically had a unimodal distribution, with nearly all of the most severely damaged seeds removed during harvest. A visual rating system of six damage categories was related to the biomass of the seeds. The germination and early growth rate of infested seeds were reduced compared with those of uninfested seeds. Based on the biomass relationships for the insect–plant interaction and the visual rating of damage, high-protein number 1 grade common and durum wheat and number 1 grade durum wheat can tolerate up to 6% of the seeds being infested by larvae, before downgrading is likely. For other grades, the economic threshold is 10% of the seeds infested, based on yield loss. Seed growers can adopt the threshold for number 1 wheat (6% infestation) to prevent downgrading, which would also reduce the effects of infestation on seed germination to an acceptable level.

The fauna of introduced rove beetles (Staphylinidae) in the Maritime Provinces of Canada is surveyed. Seventy-nine species have now been recorded. Of these, 73 have been found in Nova Scotia, 29 on Prince Edward Island, and 54 in New Brunswick. Twenty-five species are newly recorded in Nova Scotia, 16 on Prince Edward Island, and 10 in New Brunswick, for a total of 51 new provincial records. Of these, 15 species, Tachinus corticinus Gravenhorst, Mycetoporus lepidus (Gravenhorst), Habrocerus capillaricornis (Gravenhorst), Aleochara (Xenochara) lanuginosa Gravenhorst, Gnypeta caerulea (C.R. Sahlberg), Atheta (Microdota) amicula (Stephens), Cordalia obscura (Gravenhorst), Drusilla canaliculata (Fabricius), Deleaster dichrous (Gravenhorst), Coprophilus striatulus (Fabricius), Carpelimus subtilis (Erichson), Leptacinus intermedius Donisthorpe, Tasgius (Rayacheila) melanarius (Heer), Neobisnius villosulus (Stephens), and Philonthus discoideus (Gravenhorst), are newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces. Two of these, Atheta (Microdota) amicula and Carpelimus subtilis, are newly recorded in Canada. Leptacinus intermedius is removed from the faunal list of New Brunswick and Philhygra botanicarum Muona, a Holarctic species previously regarded as introduced in North America, is recorded for the first time in the Maritime Provinces. An examination of when species were first detected in the region reveals that, on average, it was substantially later than comparable dates for other, better known families of Coleoptera — an apparent indication of the comparative lack of attention this family has received. Some introduced species appear to be associated with the dry-ballast mechanism of introduction to the continent, while others are synanthropic and may have been inadvertently introduced in connection with agriculture, horticulture, or other processes associated with human activities. A substantial number are now established and well distributed, seemingly indicative of an early introduction into the region, the ability to successfully colonize a habitat and disperse within it, or a combination of these factors. Other species appear to be local in distribution, perhaps indicative of more recent introductions, more restricted ecological tolerances, a lesser ability to disperse, or a combination of these factors. These recent discoveries are discussed briefly in the context of the importance of taxonomic research and ongoing monitoring in order to detect and identify exotic species and monitor for new introductions and changes in existing native or introduced populations — all important in terms of assessing the risk of introductions to, and their impact on, native faunas and habitats.

Very little work has been done on the life history or habits of Mallophaga. Only two papers have heen published since 1913 which give even a general discussion of the life history of these parasites. The number of instars through which the insects pass was not determined in either case. For the experiments reported in this paper, the pigeon louse (Columbicola columbae [Linnaeus]) was chosen because of the ease of obtaining and handling the common host, Columba livia Linn.

The cabbage seedpod weevil, Ceutorhynchus obstrictus (Marsham), was discovered infesting canola [Brassica napus L. and Brassica rapa L. (Brassicaceae)] in southern Alberta in 1995, and by 1999 its populations had reached outbreak densities. The weevil has dispersed rapidly through cropland in the southern prairies, prompting this study to assess its potential for establishment in Canada's primary region of canola production in the Moist Mixed Grassland and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. In this study, both short- (24 h) and long-term (4 years) distribution patterns of cabbage seedpod weevil were examined, and these data were combined with previously published ecological findings and meteorological data in CLIMEX™ software to predict regions of western Canada where economically important infestations are likely to occur. Adult temporal distributions over 24 h on canola in bud and flower remained restricted primarily to the inflorescence rather than on stems and leaves regardless of time of day. Surveys conducted in commercial canola fields from 1997 to 2000 recorded rapid dispersal of the species to the north and east from the region of southern Alberta where it was initially found. Dispersal occurred at a rate of approximately 55 km/year, and in 2000 C. obstrictus populations were found in Saskatchewan for the first time. The CLIMEX™ model predicts that the distribution of C. obstrictus will eventually encompass the entire region of canola production in western Canada.