Chrysops lupus, n. sp.—♀.— Length, 8–9 mm. Face shining yellowis ferruginous, callosities outside of suture, and cheeks black. Antennæ black, base of first joint fulvous. Front grayish pollinose, callesity black. Thorax black, with the usual glaucous stripes. Scutellum black. Abdomen yellow, first segment with a black spot wider anteriorly and connecting on second segment with a subquadrate spot deeply emarginate posteriorly, which does not attain the posterior margin of the segment.

Our investigation estimates time–temperature relationships and demonstrates the effect of rapid heating on mortality of Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew). Mature larvae (third instars) in water were exposed to each of seven temperatures (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50 °C) and each of five power levels (11, 27.5, 55, 88, and 122 W) in a research-quality microwave oven. Controls were immersed in water for 30 min and not exposed to microwave energy. Data were analyzed by a probit model with three explanatory variables. The variables were time to reach target temperature, power, and final temperature. Temperature needed to control the larvae increased as power increased. Of the power–temperature levels, the only combinations that resulted in > 99% mortality were the lowest power (16 W) at 49 or 50 °C and 30 W at 50 °C. Time required for > 99% mortality decreased with increased power. Thus, as power delivered to larvae increased and time needed to reach exposure temperature deceased, percent mortality decreased. We conclude that rapid heating imposes serious constraints on the use of heat-induced mortality; this result raises important questions that must be addressed because quarantine security may be jeopardized.

Recent studies in the Larentiinae revealed two new occurrences for North America, one apparently indigenous and the other introduced. A third species discussed below has stood in the American lists for over fifty years on the basis of a misdetermination, and should be removed.

Lygris populata L.

The early literature contains many references to this species in North America but it is almost certain that all such records can be attributed to the superficially similar Nearctic species, Lygris propulsata Wlk. During current investigations in the genus Dysstroma, I encountered Alaskan specimens that proved to be genuine Lygris populata. These specimens, in the collections of three different museums where they were misdetermined as, or mixed in with, material of Dysstroma glacialis Hlst., are as follows:

The Neotropical genus Acanthoscelio Ashmead is revised. We recognize eight species, found from Costa Rica south to Paraguay and southeastern Brazil. Acanthoscelio americanus Ashmead (Brazil) and A. flavipes Ashmead (Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, and Trinidad) are redescribed, and six new species are described: A. acutussp.nov. (Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil), A. latenssp.nov. (Ecuador), A. nimbosussp.nov. (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia), A. prolatussp.nov. (Colombia and Ecuador), A. punctatussp.nov. (Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador), and A. radiatussp.nov. (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and French Guiana). A key to species is provided.

On September 10, 1868, during one of our regular Monday morning excursions, I captured on a beech tree, a short distance from London, a larva which I judged to belong to the Smerinthian. genus. Its chief peculiarity, to which I wish to call attention, was its power of emitting a singing noise when handled or disturbed. The noise was similar to that produced by that pretty little beetle so common in our gardens, Lema trilineata. This is the only instance of a musical larva that I have met with, nor do I remember to have ever seen any mention in entomological books of a similar case. I should be glad to know, Mr. Editor, if you, or any of your correspondents, have ever noticed this musical power in any larva? or if you can explain the manner in which the noise is produced.

Catinathrips kainos O’Neill and Frankliniella vaccinii Morgan overwinter as adults in the soil and first appear on lowbush blueberry plants in mid- to late May. C. kainos was the predominant species on the plants in the spring in six Maine locations. The peak of nymphal abundance occurred in mid-July. It is believed that C. kainos migrates into the soil to complete development while F. vaccinii becomes an adult on the blueberry plant before migrating into the soil. F. vaccinii adults were found to be much more numerous on the plants in late July and August than C. kainos. Although only a few C. kainos males and no F. vaccinii males were noted in the spring, a 3:4 ratio of male to female F. vaccinii adults was present on the plants in August and about the same adult ratio of C. kainos was discovered in the soil in mid-August. The depth at which C. kainos winters in the soil appeared to be centered at 2.5–3.5 in.

A brief biography of a little-known Hanoverian entomologist, Johann Dietrich Herschel (1755–1827), is given. The more important events of his life, his entomological interests, and his relationships to other entomologists are covered. Included is a table of the species of beetles known to have been described from his collection by several entomologists of the late-18th and early-19th centuries.

At the meeting (of February 3rd) of the Academy of Science, of St. Louis, Mo. (President Gray in the chair), Mr. Trelease exhibited several specimens, about three feet square, of a curious silk tapestry, taken from the ceiling of a corn-storing loft in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, by Dr. Francis Eschauzier, stating that he was informed that the larger specimen had been cut from a continuous sheet over twenty yards wide and about four times as long. The specimens, of a nearly white colour, and of much the appearance and feeling of a soft tanned piece of sheepskin, were shown to be composed of myriads of fine silken threads, crossing and recrossing at every conceivable angle, and so producing a seemingly homogeneous texture.

A description of the previously unknown larva of Coenagrion interrogatum (Hagen) is presented. In addition, information on larval habitat and the flight period of the adult is documented.

16a Spharagemon collare, Scudd., race Wyomingianum, Thomas.

Oedipoda Wyomingianum, Thom. Ann. Rep. U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr., V. 462 (1872).

Spharagemon oculatum. Scudd. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., XVII., 470 (1875).

Spharagemon oculatum. Morse. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat, Hist., XXVI., 232 (1894).

Spharagemon collare, race Wyomingianum, Morse. Psyche, VII., 298 (1895).

In September, 1899, I found this species fairly plentiful on sand dunes, in Rondeau Provincial Park, Kent Co., on the shore of Lake Erie. The sand dunes occupy a considerable area there, and in some places near the lake shore are thinly wooded with red cedar (Juniperus virginianus).

While at the University of Toronto in the spring of 1934, the author had the privilege of examining the Plecoptera of the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology. It soon became apparent that a number of undescribed species were represented therein, and the present paper describes three of the most interesting of them. It is the interest and assistance of Dr. E. M. Walker and Dr. F. P. Ide that has made possible the descriptions appearing in this and in subsequent papers.

Plant bugs, species of the genus Lygus Kelton (Hemiptera: Miridae), damage many crops in western Canada (Kelton 1980; Wise and Lamb 1998; Wise et al. 2000). Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), L. borealis (Kelton), and L. elisus Van Duzee are the most common species in the eastern prairie of Canada (Schwartz and Foottit 1992). Manitoba is the leading producer of buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (Polygonaceae), in North America, growing about 15 000 ha annually (Canada Grains Council 1999). Plant bug adults are known to oviposit (Painter 1927) and feed on buckwheat (Bugg and Ellis 1990), but little is known about their ability to develop on this crop. The objectives of the study were to determine (i) the species of plant bugs on buckwheat, (ii) their ability to develop on buckwheat, and (iii) the distribution of plant bugs within commercial fields of buckwheat in Manitoba.

The objective of this study was to assess the similarities and differences between selected bioindicator groups within tallgrass prairie and adjacent aspen forest. Based on pitfall trapping from 1998 to 2000, species richness and abundance of ground beetles and spiders were examined across a tallgrass prairie – aspen forest ecotone located near Winnipeg, Manitoba. The abundance of spiders and ground beetles was higher in the forested portion of the transect than in the prairie section. There were 639 specimens of ground beetles collected, representing 53 species; 19 species were found only on the prairie, 19 species were found only in the forest, and 15 species were found in both habitats, although the abundance of most species was too low to confidently assign them to either habitat type. Excluding single records in any sampling year yielded 9 prairie species, 5 forest species, and 10 species found in both aspen forest and tallgrass prairie. The five most abundant species of ground beetles were Agonum placidum (Say), Pterostichus caudicalis (Say), P. femoralis (Kirby), P. melanarius (Illiger), and Synuchus impunctatus (Say). There were 4499 specimens of spiders collected, representing 92 species; 25 species were found only in the prairie, 15 species were unique to the aspen forest, and 52 species were found in both habitats. Excluding single records in any sampling year yielded 26 prairie species, 15 forest species, and 22 species found in both habitats. The five most abundant species of spiders were Pardosa moesta Banks, P. distincta (Blackwall), Agroeca ornata Banks, Centromerus sylvaticus (Blackwall), and Alopecosa aculeata (Clerck). Our study concurs with other studies in demonstrating that there are distinct assemblages of both groups of predators in each of the two habitat types.

This is the first of a series of papers which will consider the systematics of the Canadian and Alaskan Fulgoromorpha. The aim is to produce eventually a work on the Fulgoromorpha similar to that on the Cicadellidae of the same area by Beirne (1 956).

The two Delphacid genera Achrotile Fieber and Laccocera Van Duzee can be recognized by the presence of distinct pits on the frons, notum and abdominal dorsum. The frons in Achrotile has two median parallel carinae whilst only one is present in Laccocera.

The following new genera and species are described: Alatuncusiodes n. gen., type-species A. korytkowskii n. sp., Peru; Argyrarcha n. gen., type-species Boeotarcha margarita Warren, of which Hyaloplaga ankarampotsyalis Viette is a synonym; Mecynarcha n. gen., type-species Mecyna apicalis Hampson; Cymbopteryx pseudobelialis n. sp., Bolivia; Cymbopteryx diffusa n. sp., Mexico; Noctueliopsis decolorata n. sp., Baja California, Mexico; Noctueliopsis grandis n. sp., Baja California, Mexico. Scybalista subductalis Walker is transferred to Alatuncusia Amsel; Thelcteria ysticalis Dyar is transferred to Schacontia Dyar; Edia extralinea Dyar is transferred provisionally to Cymbopteryx Munroe.

In the last isse of the Can. Ent. Mr. Howard, with a commendable solictiude for my entomological reputation, and under a heavy discharge of deadly parllel columns, seeks to evade the question at issue between i. e., who has priority in the use of the generic term Rileya; and not-withstanding the opportunity the was afforded him to rechristen his interesting genus, he seems loath to do so, and again, by a misrepresentation, makes a claim of priority in publication.