The Phyllophaga schizorhina (Bates) species group is revised, and the following new species are described from specimens collected in Mexico, Guatamala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador: P. changuenasp. nov., P. onoreanasp. nov., P. solisianasp. nov., P. schizorhinoidessp. nov., P. borucasp. nov., P. izabalanasp. nov., P. canoanasp. nov., P. chortianasp. nov., P. zarcoanasp. nov., P. chiblacanasp. nov., P. javepacuanasp. nov., P. ocozocuanasp. nov., P. chimoxtilasp. nov., P. cholanasp. nov., P. tuxtlecasp. nov., P. zaragozanasp. nov., P. matacapanasp. nov., P. catemacoanasp. nov., P. atratoidessp. nov., P. humboldtianasp. nov., P. comaltepecanasp. nov., P. dsaimanasp. nov., P. quianasp. nov., P. yoloxanasp. nov., and P. pseudoatrasp. nov.Phyllophaga schizorhina and P. nigrita are recorded for first time from Costa Rica. A key is provided for males of the 38 species. Diagnostic structures of all species are illustrated and distribution maps are provided.

The species of the Lithophanelepida Grote complex are reviewed and two new species of the genus Lithophane Hübner from western North America are described. Adults of all species are illustrated, as well as male and female genitalia (where known) and larva of L.lepida and Lithophane itata (Smith). A key to species of the L. lepida group is provided.

We examined and keyed out the subgenera of the genus Lepidocyrtus mostly created by Yoshii. Although many of these subgenera of the genus Lepidocyrtus are difficult to apply in Europe, America, and Africa, they are easily applicable in East and Southeast Asia. The species of Southeast Asia are placed in these subgenera and a key to the subgenera is provided. A new species, Lepidocyrtus (Lanocyrtus) felpei from Xinjiang, People's Republic of China, is described and the species Lepidocyrtus (Lanocyrtus) fimetarius Gisin is redescribed. Although the Lepidocyrtus fauna of the whole of East Asia differs from the Holarctic fauna, the Central and Northeast Asian fauna are similar in subgeneric make up to the North American fauna, slightly less similar to the European fauna, and totally unlike the Southeast Asian fauna.

There is increasing evidence that short-range reproductive behaviors of phytophagous pentatomid bugs are mediated by vibrational signals. These signals have not yet been examined for bugs in the genus Euschistus, which contains several species native to the Americas. Substrate-borne vibrational signals (songs) were recorded from both sexes of the Consperse stink bug, Euschistus conspersus Uhler, an economically important agricultural pest in western North America. Females produced two songs (FS-1 and FS-2), each consisting of a series of frequency-modulated pulses with a pulse duration of 352 ± 105 (mean ± SD) and 163 ± 36 ms, respectively. Males produced four distinct songs, two composed of frequency-modulated pulses (MS-1 and MS-3), one consisting of narrowband pulses (MS-2), and one composed of a series of 1–6 short pulses, many of which were fused to form distinct pulse trains (MS-4). For both males and females, songs consisting of very short, frequency-modulated pulses (FS-2 and MS-3), with a mean pulse duration <170 ms, were emitted when the other member of the pair was silent. Songs made up of longer, frequency-modulated pulses (FS-1 and MS-1) were produced spontaneously and in response to songs from conspecifics. Pulses of MS-2 were produced by a male once a duet with a female had been initiated. This song had no frequency modulation and a longer mean pulse repetition time than MS-1. The two female songs and three of the male songs (MS-1, MS-2, and MS-3) were produced during the calling phase of mating behavior. Pulse trains of MS-4 were emitted during close-range courtship. During copulation males produced intermittent pulses of MS-1, the function of which is unknown. Dominant frequencies of all songs ranged from 102 to 136 Hz, comparable with those of other pentatomid songs. Although there were superficial similarities in the song structures of E. conspersus when compared with those of other pentatomid species, the song repertoire of E. conspersus was distinct and unique.

The most relevant morphometric characteristics of six species of the genus Anuraphis Del Guercio were compared. Anuraphis shaposhnikovisp. nov. is described and its morphological differences from the closely related species Anuraphis subterranea are presented. The new species was collected in Sicily and in the central area of the Italian peninsula on Magydaris pastinacea (Lam.) Paol. (Apiaceae) and Opopanax chironium (L.) Koch (Apiaceae), which are its secondary host plants. A key to the viviparous morphs (apterae and alatae) of the seven western Palaearctic species living on secondary hosts is provided. Discriminant functions have been derived to separate both apterae and alatae of A. shaposhnikovi and A. subterranea.

A fossil halictine bee from Early Eocene, Okanagan Highlands deposits of Quilchena, British Columbia, Canada, is described and figured. Halictus? savenyeisp.nov. is distinguished from other Tertiary halictines as well as modern bees. The specimen is the second oldest body fossil of a bee yet discovered and the first fossil bee from Canada. The antiquity of Halictidae and of bees in general is briefly commented upon.

The seven-spotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata L., was first reported in Manitoba in 1988. The effect of this introduced species on the relative abundance of the more common native coccinellines was determined from D-Vac Insect Net® and sweepnet samples in alfalfa in 1983–2001, by sweepnet and visual sampling in field crops and other vegetation in 1989–2001, and by transect sampling of aggregations of coccinellines in spring and autumn on the shore of Lake Manitoba from 1989 to 2001. The trends of annual changes in the abundance of six species in southern Manitoba were similar, whether based on the mean density per 200 sweeps in alfalfa or on their relative abundance in alfalfa, on other vegetation, and in aggregations on the beach. Before 1988, Hippodamia tredecempunctata tibialis (Say), Coccinella transversoguttata richardsonii Brown, and Hippodamia convergens Guerin were the most abundant species, followed by Hippodamia parenthesis (Say) and Coccinella trifasciata perplexa Mulsant. By 1992, C. septempunctata had become the dominant species, but H. tredecempunctata has since been the dominant species in most collections. The relative abundance of C. transverso guttata, H. convergens, H. parenthesis, and C. trifasciata has decreased since the establishment of C. septempunctata. The decline in abundance of these species seems to be caused by their competitive displacement by C. septempunctata. Their displacement also might be a contributing factor in the slight increase in abundance of H. tredecempunctata because C. septempunctata may compete less directly with this species than with other native coccinellines.

We examined the cocoons of six species of the genera Apanteles and Dolichogenidea attacking spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens, and Microlepidoptera in the same microhabitat in an effort to overcome taxonomic and ecological problems associated with the identification of these species when adults fail to emerge from their cocoons. Neither cocoon length nor width nor ratio of length to width could be used to identify the six species, owing to considerable overlap in these attributes among the species and the effects of the source of the cocoons. Using a simple technique to examine webbing characteristics of the cocoons, however, we found that each species has a unique banding pattern, determined by the manner in which the density of the webbing varies along the length of the cocoon. This pattern can be used to reliably identify each species. We describe and illustrate the webbing characteristics of each species and provide an identification key based on these characteristics.

Probable ancestral types of courtship behavior for most sepsid flies were deduced from the behavior and morphology of a species in the relatively basal genus Themira. At least three of the five behavior patterns used by Themira minor (Haliday) males to court females prior to and during copulation are shared with other, more derived groups. During copulation the male's sternal lobes were rotated so that their brushes of long setae were fanned apart and may tap the female. The morphology of the tips of the male's genitalic surstyli and the muscles attached to them indicate that they are also moveable. This trait, which occurs in several other distantly related species, probably serves to squeeze the female during copulation. Thus, contrary to the impression from previous studies, elaborate courtship before and during copulation may be widespread among sepsids.

Wheat midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), was first detected as early as 1901 in Western Canada. The first major outbreak in Saskatchewan was recorded in 1983. In 1984, Saskatchewan wheat midge populations were found to be parasitized by the egg parasitoid Macroglenes penetrans (Kirby). Parasitism levels vary from year to year but, on average, 33% of wheat midge populations are parasitized by M. penetrans. In 1993 and 1994, Agriculture Canada and the International Institute of Biological Control in Delémont, Switzerland, collaborated to release Platygaster tuberosula Kieffer into Saskatchewan to augment biological control of wheat midge. Platygaster tuberosula individuals were recovered at low numbers in follow-up monitoring programs in each of the last 5 years. In 2001, the parasitoid population density increased fivefold at the release site and showed signs of migrating into the surrounding area.

Insect body size and fecundity are frequently reported to be correlated (e.g., Miller 1957; Dempster 1971; Beckwith 1976; Hough and Pimental 1978; Gilbert 1984; Carroll and Quiring 1993; Honek 1993; Spurgeon et al. 1995; Tammaru et al. 1996, 2002; Nylin and Gotthard 1998). The main body of evidence for this relationship stems from laboratory experiments where potential fecundity (or total egg production) is most often measured (Tammaru et al. 1996); very little evidence is available from field studies (Sopow and Quiring 1998). Realized fecundity (or total eggs laid) is affected by many extrinsic factors (e.g., Leather 1988; Carroll and Quiring 1993; Tammaru et al. 1996), suggesting that fecundity measures derived from laboratory experimentation may not be useful in nature where abiotic conditions may be highly variable (Carroll and Quiring 1993; Nylin and Gotthard 1998; Sopow and Quiring 1998).

Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann), the South American fruit fly, and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), the Mediterranean fruit fly, are the only economically important Tephritidae species present in the citrus-growing areas in the province of Corrientes, northeastern Argentina. Both fruit fly species severely limit the export of fruit because of quarantine restrictions in importing countries. In this Argentinean region, C. capitata has been reported mostly infesting cultivated Citrus species such as C. sinensis L. (Osbeck) (Rutaceae) and C. paradisi Macfadyn (Rutaceae), whereas A. fraterculus has been found almost exclusively in wild guava (Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae)), a wild host plant (Turica and Mallo 1961).

Meligethes viridescens (Fabricius), bronzed or rape blossom beetle, is a widespread and common pest of oilseed rape [Brassica napus L. and Brassica rapa L. (Brassicaceae)] in the western Palaearctic subregion. The establishment of M. viridescens in eastern North America has raised concern that its presence is a potential risk to the Canadian canola industry, especially to the prairie ecozone of western Canada where up to 4 million ha of summer canola (B. napus and B. rapa) are grown annually. Study of museum specimens indicated that M. viridescens was first recorded in Nova Scotia in 1947. Field surveys indicated that, as of 2001, M. viridescens was established as far west as Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. A CLIMEXTM model for M. viridescens in Europe was developed and validated with actual distribution records. In Canada the model predicted that once introduced, M. viridescens would readily survive in the canola-growing areas. The actual distribution of M. viridescens in eastern Canada matched the predicted distribution well. The westward dispersal to and establishment of M. viridescens in canola-growing areas of Ontario and western Canada, particularly southern Manitoba, appear to be inevitable. Establishment in these areas presents the risk of substantial production losses to canola producers.

Effects of neem formulations on the reproduction and survival of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma minutum Riley were examined to assess the compatibility of the two control strategies in integrated pest management programs. A laboratory bioassay was developed for this purpose, which could be used as a model ecotoxicological system. Eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), which had been treated with an acetone solution containing an azadirachtin-based formulation, were presented to individual T. minutum females. These eggs were held until parasitoids completed development and emerged from the eggs. Survival of T. minutum females 1 day after treatment, number of Mediterranean flour moth eggs parasitized, proportion of parasitized eggs from which adults emerged, and sex ratios of emerging adult parasitoids were determined. Two formulations of neem-seed extracts containing azadirachtin and a purified azadirachtin standard were tested at an operational dose and at 10 times the operational dose. At 50 g azadirachtin/ha (operational dose), no significant effects were observed on survival of parasitoid females. At 500 g azadirachtin/ha, female survival after 1 day was significantly reduced by Azatin EC and Neem EC. No reduction was evident with the 100% azadirachtin treatment, suggesting that other components of the formulations were in part responsible for the toxicity to females. Likewise, at 500 g azadirachtin/ha, the number of eggs parasitized was greatly reduced by Azatin EC and slightly reduced by Neem EC but was not reduced by an azadirachtin standard. These reductions in egg parasitism were probably due to the observed effects on female survival. At 500 g azadirachtin/ha, parasitoid developmental success was reduced by all treatments including the azadirachtin standard. Neem EC and Azatin EC at the lower dose also had a small but significant effect on developmental success. Sex ratio of emerging adults was not affected. These results indicate that azadirachtin is compatible with T. minutum during egg parasitism at operational dosages.

Hylastes opacus Erichson is a recently introduced bark beetle in North America (Bright and Skidmore 1997; Hoebeke 1994; Rabaglia and Cavey 1994; Wood 1992). It is widely distributed in the Palearctic region, where it usually breeds in stumps and roots of dead or dying pines (Pinus) and occasionally other conifers (Hoebeke 1994). Like many species of bark beetles, H. opacus uses host volatiles as cues to search for suitable host material for feeding and establishment of broods. Hoebeke (1994) reported the attraction of H. opacus to ethanol-baited logs of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) in New York, United States of America. In Sweden, Schroeder and Lindelöw (1989) observed H. opacus responding to (−)-α-pinene and to ethanol released separately, but a synergistic increase in response did not occur when these two compounds were released together. In later experiments, Lindelöw et al. (1993) found that traps baited with ethanol alone, ethanol + (−)-α-pinene, and spruce turpentine caught significantly more H. opacus than unbaited traps. In these experiments, (−)-α-pinene alone was not attractive, and when (−)-α-pinene was combined with spruce turpentine and ethanol, it reduced catches of H. opacus. In 2002, while investigating attractants for the pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda (L.) (TM Poland, P de Groot, S Burke, D Wakarchuk, RA Haack, and RW Nott, unpublished data), we unexpectedly found significant numbers of H. opacus in one of our experiments. Here we report that H. opacus is strongly attracted to nonanal.

Molecular markers for identifying Peristenus spp. parasitoids to species level and preliminary molecular markers to distinguish two groups of Lygus spp. common to the Canadian prairies were developed. Peristenus species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were developed based on DNA sequence data from a 1600-bp region of the internal transcribed spacer region between the 5.8S and 18S nuclear rRNA genes (ITS2). These primers were able to distinguish Peristenus digoneutis Loan, Peristenus stygicus Loan, and Peristenus pallipes (Curtis). Their ability to identify to species-level parasites dissected from field-collected Lygus spp. nymphs was examined by analysis of DNA from 100 parasite samples. Of those samples showing positive PCR amplification with both control (ITS2) and species-specific primers, all were positive for P. pallipes; none of the samples amplified appropriately sized products with P. digoneutis specific or P. stygicus specific primers. These findings were validated using restriction enzyme digests of amplified regions of the Peristenus spp. cytochrome oxidase 1 gene. Both methods were consistent with earlier studies that showed P. pallipes to be the only species of the genus Peristenus to be associated with Lygus spp. on the Canadian prairies. PCR primers based on DNA sequence data from a 550-bp region of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene were designed to discriminate Lyguslineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) from Lygus borealis (Kelton), and Lygus elisus (Van Duzee). These PCR primers were used to identify field-collected nymphs, with most being identified as either L. borealis/L. elisus (72–82%) orL. lineolaris (14–18%). These estimates of species composition closely reflected those of subsequent adult population surveys from the same fields.

The relative importance of exploitative competition for resources on grasshopper reproductive allocation has not been fully examined. Given the large fluctuations in grasshopper densities that periodically occur in western North America, an increased understanding of how grasshopper survival and reproduction vary in response to intraspecific densities and per capita resource availability is important. I examined if exploitative resource competition could explain variation in reproductive allocation in Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabricius) in response to resource availability and grasshopper population density. I also examined whether individual differences in competitive ability resulted in increased variance in egg production with low per capita resource availability. As expected with exploitative resource competition, per capita resource availability explained a significant amount of the variation in all reproductive characteristics examined. There was no effect of per capita resource availability on survival. Residuals of the regressions of egg production and vitellogenesis versus per capita resource availability did not differ for resource or density treatments, indicating that exploitative competition for resources played a more important role than interference competition in determining reproductive allocation in M. sanguinipes. Individual differences were evident, as variation around the mean of egg production increased with resource limitation. Exploitative competition for resources was important in determining both individual and population-level reproductive responses of grasshoppers to resource availability.

New spruce beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby), adults of univoltine and semivoltine life cycles, as well as re-emerged parent beetles, were laboratory-tested for differences in reproductive capacity and brood characteristics. Parameters measured from the three groups include dry weight, lipid content, and egg production. Brood characteristics measured include egg length, development rates, and survival densities. Although there were some differences in dry weight and lipid content, females from the univoltine, semivoltine, and re-emerged parent groups did not greatly differ in egg production. Egg length was slightly smaller for eggs from univoltine parents, but other measured brood characteristics did not differ among the three parent groups, including the density of the surviving brood. In a field study, re-emerged parent beetles were determined to be flight capable. These findings imply that populations with univoltine broods will have higher growth rates than semivoltine populations. Consequently, the presence of univoltine broods, which is weather dependent, increases the risk of a beetle outbreak or can accelerate the rate of spruce mortality in an established outbreak. These results also indicate that re-emerged parent beetles can contribute substantially to brood production. Suppression strategies can be more effective if managers consider the ecological consequences of brood production from the three parent groups.

Atheta vancouveri Klimaszewski, 2002, described from Vancouver Island, is a junior synonym of Pseudota nescia Casey, 1910, described from the Queen Charlotte Islands. The combination Atheta (Pseudota) nescia (Casey, 1910) is proposed.

The stilbenes 4,4′-diaminostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid, 4-aminostilbene disulfonic acid, and dinitrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid were tested as enhancers for the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdNPV). 4-Amino nitrostilbene disulfonic acid had no effect on the activity (LC50) of LdNPV, whereas both 4,4′-diaminostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid and 4-aminostilbene disulfonic acid were inhibitory. Diethylstilbestrol, a stilbene synthetic estrogen, and two synthetic estrogens (i.e., estradiol-17-acetate, estrone acetate) had no effects on viral activity. Two stilbene dyes (i.e., direct yellow 62, brilliant yellow 6) and a stilbene optical brightener (i.e., Tinopal LPW) significantly increased the activity of LdNPV. Activity was increased by approximately 230-fold by Tinopal LPW, 26-fold by direct yellow 62, and 36-fold by brilliant yellow 6. This study demonstrates that some stilbenes can act as enhancers, whereas others do not.