Rove beetles are useful subjects for Nearctic forest biodiversity work because they are abundant, diverse, and easily collected, and have strong habitat affinities. Excellent identification keys exist for most groups, although there is a dearth of ecological and life-history information. There is considerable variation in species composition and abundance within the active summer season and in abundance from year to year. Community composition varies among larger geographical regions and to a lesser extent among forest types in more localized areas. Within the Nearctic boreal forest there are significant differences between beetle communities from the eastern and western portions. For the most part, the same species tend to dominate rove beetle communities in the western boreal forest. At the landscape level there are differences in rove beetle communities along successional gradients. In the boreal forest the communities of younger aspen-dominated and older conifer-dominated stands are somewhat distinct, with intermediate-aged stands containing a mix of the two communities. At the ecosite and microsite level there is significant variation, which remains poorly understood. Fire is the dominant mode of disturbance in the Nearctic boreal forest. It has a profound effect on rove beetles by destroying the forest communities and resetting the successional trajectory to the earliest stages. The burn pattern results in a patchwork of different communities at various stages in the successional cycle. In contrast to fire, forest harvesting does not directly destroy the rove beetle community, but to a large extent it destroys the forest habitat. This results in a unique rove beetle community characterized by a mix of forest species and open-ground specialists, and overall high diversity in this period of flux. In the years after harvesting, the rove beetle community goes through successional changes and becomes more similar to the forest community, but it skips the early postfire stage and proceeds along the successional trajectory more rapidly than after fire. In at least one forest type in western Canada, the post-fire and post-harvest communities, though similar, have not converged after 29 years. Other less direct effects of harvesting on rove beetles are a decrease in the proportion of the land base suitable for communities associated with older successional stages; alteration of forests by post-harvest site preparations and planting of exotic tree species; edge and fragmentation effects that are detrimental to the remaining forest surrounding harvested areas; and an influx of exotic arthropod species with affinities for disturbed sites. More information is needed on the habitat affinities of individual species. It is recommended that future work explore the effects of post-harvest forestry activities, fragmentation, and edges on rove beetles in forested habitats. As well, such studies should consider the effects on beetles of riparian zones and wetlands.

In Western Canada, Melanoplus bilituratus (Wlk.) may hatch from early May to mid-July, depending on seasonal conditions. Little information is available on the relationship of time of hatching to population growth except that grasshoppers emerging too early in the spring may be destroyed by adverse weather that often occurs at this time (Shotwell, 1941). Also, it has beenassumed that grasshoppers hatching late in the summer mature too late to contribute much to general population growth.

A simple, inexpensive, permanent method for individually marking Colorado potato beetle is presented. The method consists of puncturing the elytra within the cream-colored longitudinal bands using a minuten nadeln; the wound response produces intense melanization at the point of puncture. Division of a band into three zones, each potentially receiving a dot, produces an octal digit. If all eight bands are employed, more than 16 million beetles can be uniquely marked. No significant survival effects of marking were seen in teneral, post-teneral, or post-diapause adult beetles. Propensity to fly in mid-summer beetles was generally unaffected by marking. Probabilities of mismarking and misreading are negligible if sufficient care is employed.

Leaves were collected between 28 July and 10 September from 36 (1986) and 85 (1987) apple orchards, and examined for mites. Twelve species of Phytoseiidae were found: Amblyseius fallacis (Garman), Typhlodromus longipilus Nesbitt, A. andersoni (Chant), T. caudiglans Schuster, T. pyri Scheuten, T. pomi (Parrott), Phytoseius macropilis (Banks), T. herbertae Chant, A. driggeri Specht, A. finlandicus (Oudemans), T. conspicuus (Garman), and A. pusillus (Kennett), in order of frequency. The stigmaeid mites Zetzellia mali (Ewing) and Agistemus fleschneri Summers, a complex of erythraeid mites of Balaustium spp. and Hauptmannia spp., and tydeid mites, primarily Tydeus spp., were other common predatory species. Species of Tetranychidae, Bdellidae, Eriophyidae, Winterschmidtiidae, and Tarsonemidae, also were collected.

Predatory mites were present each season in all abandoned orchards and in 43–74% of the commercial orchards. Their abundance in commercial orchards was compared with the use of insecticides applied only for control of the spotted tentiform leafminer, Phyllonorycter blancardella (Fabr.). Fewer (P < 0.05) phytoseiids occurred where pyrethroids were employed than in sites without pyrethroids, but differences were not found for similar use of the carbamoyl oxime, methomyl. Fewer (P < 0.05) stigmaeids occurred in sites treated with methomyl than in sites without methomyl, whereas such differences were not found for pyrethroid use.

Differential survival, growth, and egg production were obtained for the bertha armyworm, Mamestra configurata Wlk., feeding on four natural host plants and one artificial diet. Highest survival, growth, and egg production were obtained among insects reared on the artificial diet. Foliage of potato was the only food which appeared to lack the nutritive qualities essential for adequate survival, growth, and reproduction. Larvae reared on this plant consumed significantly less food, had a poorer survival, accumulated less reserves in the form of tissue growth, developed into smaller pupae, and produced adults that were less fecund than those reared on other foods. Despite these differences, the approximate digestibility (AD), the efficiency of conversion of ingested food to body tissue (ECI), and the efficiency of conversion of digested food to body substance (ECD) obtained for insects feeding on potato, were very similar to values obtained for insects which were reared on other plants. On each diet a linear relationship was obtained between food consumption and growth.

Laboratory studies of the mean weights of initial eggs (Ei) of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), show that this value is determined by the genetic constitution of the female moth and is relatively independent of environmental control. Dietary differences experienced by the female during larval development, and originating from different hosts or from reduced nutrient levels in artificial diets, did not affect Ei values; however, depletion of nutrients sufficient to reduce fertility greatly did reduce Ei. Temperature conditions during the ultimate larval and pupal stages influence Ei values which vary inversely. Mean egg weights are strongly heritable and are readily selected for, thereby demonstrating the presence of strong genetic control.

A potent sex pheromone produced by female bertha army worm moths was isolated. A 16 carbon, unsaturated, alkenol acetate was indicated from chemical degradative and GLC retention data. The location and configuration of the double bond was determined from the antennal responses (EAG) of male moths to a series of cis and trans mono-unsaturated alken-1-ol acetates; cis-11-hexadecen-1-ol acetate elicited the greatest EAG response. GLC retention times of the purified insect sex pheromone corresponded exactly with those of authentic cis-11-hexadecen-1-ol acetate on several analytical columns. Maximum biological response in laboratory bioassays of synthetic materials was obtained from a mixture of approximately 85% cis- and 15% trans-11-hexadecen-1-ol acetates.

The behavior, reproductive capability, and longevity of Telenomus calvus Johnson, a phoretic egg parasitoid of the spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris (Say), were examined in the laboratory. Telenomus calvus females were observed at 25 different locations on hosts’ bodies; preferred sites were pronota and femora. Attachment to hosts was facilitated by greatly enlarged arolia. Parasitoids dismounted from hosts at the time of oviposition to parasitize egg masses. Production of female progeny by parasitoids in phoretic association with hosts peaked on the 1st day after adult emergence, then declined steadily until day 6; male progeny production remained relatively low and constant over the same period. The mean (± SE) number of progeny produced by T. calvus females was 22.4 ± 3.0. Such a small egg complement enabled most females not in phoretic association, and presented with a fresh egg mass daily, to oviposit all or nearly all of their eggs in the first host egg mass encountered. The intrinsic rate of natural increase for T. calvus in phoretic association was estimated as 0.149 ♀ ♀−1 day−1, resulting in a doubling time of 4.65 days. Longevity on non-ovipositing females with access to honey was 33.7 ± 1.1 days, but declined sharply to 5.7 ± 0.4 days when in phoretic association with hosts. Pre-imaginal development of T. calvus was restricted to host eggs that were ≤12h old, despite continued observed oviposition attempts in older host masses. These results are discussed with regard to the biology of T. calvus as a phoretic parasitoid and to its importance as a parasitoid of P. maculiventris in Louisiana.

The following notes report the occurrence in Nova Scotia of Sthereus ptinoides (Germ.) and indicate the distribution in North America of 35 species introduced there from the Old World. Of the Old World species, ten are reported from America for the first time; previous records of two others are probably erroneous. Two, which were named and described in Rhyssemus Muls. and Scolytus Geoff. as species native to America, are considered introduced, and new synonymy is proposed for them. Confusion of introduced with native species is noted in Stethorus Weise and Rhinoncus Schön. The material recordedfrom Newfoundland was collected in the Northern Insect Survey, which is a co-operative project of the Canada Department of Agriculture and the Defence Research Board, Canada Department of National Defence.

The New World species of the staphylinid subfamily Micropeplinae are revised. Three genera are recognized: Kalissus Leconte with 1 species, Micropeplus Latreille with 11 species, and Peplomicrus Bernhauer with 3 species. Of the three previously recognized subgenera of Micropeplus, Arrhenopeplus Koch is placed in synonymy with Micropeplus, and Peplomicrus is elevated to generic status. New species are: M. durangoensis from Mexico, M. neotomae from California and Oregon, M. browni from eastern Canada and the United States, M. robustus from California and Oregon, M. lecontei from southern California, and P. dybasi from Costa Rica and Panama. Micropeplus obliquus Leconte is placed in synonymy with M. sculptus Leconte, and M. oregonensis Hatch is placed in synonymy with M. punctatus Leconte. The genus Micropeplus is divided into six species groups based on an examination of both Old and New World species. A checklist of the species of Micropeplinae places all the described species in the proposed classification. Two African species, M. africanus Cameron and M. carayoni Jarrige, and one Central American species, M. acumen Sharp, are transferred to the genus Peplomicrus.

Comparative tests were made in Oregon and Idaho employing sticky traps with three synthetic pheromones of Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins, frontalin, 3-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one, and trans-verbenol, and the host attractants Douglas-fir resin, alpha-pinene, and camphene. The attractiveness of frontalin combined with host volatiles reported earlier from Idaho was confirmed. The combination of trans-verbenol with frontalin plus camphene in Oregon brought the highest response among synthetic treatments, but the addition of trans-verbenol to other treatments with frontalin sometimes decreased beetle response.3-Methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one almost nullified the attractiveness of all baits tested. The practical use of such a compound to prevent beetle aggregation and protect susceptible Douglas-fir trees as well as to regulate the "spillover" from attractive baits is considered as a possible new method of protection against bark beetles.

Data on daily fecundity and survival are presented for the apterous and alate virginoparous morphs of Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) reared on broadbean, Vicia faba (var. Exhibition Longpod), at 20 ± 1 °C. Alatae began to reproduce later, and produced fewer young over a longer period than did apterae, but lived no longer.

Reproductive patterns of A. pisum apterae from a number of other clones are compared, and the patterns of some other species are discussed in relation to A. pisum apterae and alatae.

The daily patterns of activity of females of the orange wheat blossom midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin), were observed in controlled laboratory conditions and in field conditions in eastern Saskatchewan in mid-July 1986 and 1987. In the field, during the daytime, females rested on stems of wheat plants within 30 cm of the ground and, at approximately 2000 hours CST, flew up to wheat heads. Most oviposition took place between 2000 and 2145 hours (or 75 min before, to 30 min after, sunset). Toward the end of the oviposition period, females were frequently seen drinking dew from wheat heads. On some evenings, females migrated down from the heads following oviposition, but on more than half of the evenings they remained on the heads until early morning. However, they never moved down to the low level they occupied during the day until the next morning, when the migration was usually complete by 0900–1000 hours. Light intensity appeared to regulate the vertical migration of females. Cloudy conditions may allow an earlier onset of oviposition. Flight was limited to air temperatures above 14–15 °C and oviposition to temperatures above 10–11 °C. Wind speeds of 10 km per h or more and rain occasionally limited activity. In the laboratory, oviposition activity occurred almost exclusively during the scotophase, mainly in the first 2 h. Mean total fecundity was 83.6 ± 10.9 (±SE) eggs, and mean longevity was 6.6 ± 0.6 days. No oviposition took place on the 1st night, and the greatest mean daily fecundity occurred on the 3rd night.

Oviposition and post-oviposition behavior of Telenomus fariai Costa Lima, when parasitizing the eggs of Triatoma phillosoma pallidipennis Stål, is described. Like other egg parasites T. fariai marks hosts by rubbing the ovipositor against the host and transferring a water soluble pheromone (chemical nature unknown) to its surface. Females that had never parasitized largely ignored the mark. Females that had parasitized generally did not oviposit on a marked host. The mark was fully effective for at least 3 days after being applied. The function of egg marking by T. fariai is discussed.

This paper is an account of the distributions of the Anthocoridae of the Pacific Northwest (British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho), with notes on the life histories of the more common species. It brings together the published and unpublished data on the family in that area. Seven species listed were previously unrecorded there and five others are new species recently described (Kelton and Anderson, 1962). In 1956 and 1957 intensive collecting was done in southern British Columbia and some material was collected in the Willamette Valley and east of the Cascade Range in Oregon. Specimens were examined in the important museum collections of the area and in some private collections.

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is a destructive invasive pest that threatens North American ash (Fraxinus (Oleaceae)) and inflicts substantial aesthetic, ecological, and economic damage in urban forests and rural woodlands. Understanding adult EAB dispersal and spread of infestations is critical to effectively manage and mitigate its potential impact in North America and elsewhere. Challenges of quantifying short-distance and long-distance movement of adult EAB in the field remain exceptionally difficult. Here we review our current understanding of EAB spread. Research to date suggests natural spread of EAB populations is variable and influenced by local environmental conditions, but limited to only a few km per year. In contrast, long-distance spread resulting from anthropogenic movement of infested ash material, such as nursery trees or firewood, can greatly increase local and regional rate of spread through the formation of satellite populations. Key areas in need of future research are highlighted.

Detailed studies on the population dynamics of the imported cabbageworm, Pieris rapae (L.), have been carried out at Merivale, Ontario, since 1959. A method for preparing life tables is described and a mean life table is presented for 18 generations of the species on cabbage. Population data for the preadult period show that there are three age intervals during which extensive mortality may occur: (1) between hatching and the second moult, (2) instars three to five, and (3) during the pupal stage. The analysis of successive age-interval survivals in relation to generation survival showed that the latter is largely determined by the survival rate for (2). Examination of the life tables revealed that a granulosis of the larvae caused by a capsule virus is the key factor in generation survival. Major mortality factors include rainfall and parasites.

Though they may hatch on any part of a housefly (Musca domestica L.) pupa, most larvae of Nasonia vitripennis (Walk.) and Muscidifurax raptor G. & S. (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) move to the host’s ventral abdominal area, and those of Spalangia cameroni Perk. (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) to the dorsal side of the abdomen, before feeding extensively. As many as 25 larvae of N. vitripennis can mature on a medium-sized housefly pupa; if more are present initially, those that hatch last usually die from starvation after the host has been consumed. In contrast, usually only one larva of M. raptor or S. cameroni matures on a host; this is often the larva that hatches first, because it attacks all parasite eggs that it encounters while moving over the fly pupa soon after hatching. Larval crowding in M. raptor or S. cameroni, unlike that in N. vitripennis, does not affect the sex ratio of the survivors.

A method is described for partitioning normal plant fruit shedding losses from those caused by the pest Lygus hesperus Knight. The relationship between age of bug and its damaged rate per day degree was determined, and used to assess the impact of various lygus population levels on crop development and yield. A simulation model for lygus phenology and population dynamics is reported.