Glucose-U-C14 was incorporated into immature larvae of the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Nort., by vacuum-infiltration. These insects were too small to be conveniently injected and could not be easily fed on artificial diets. About half of them survived the infiltration treatment. C14O2 was produced by the organism showing that the radioactive substrate was metabolized. Of the amino acids isolated from the larvae, proline, alanine, glutamic acid, serine, aspartic acid, and glycine contained relatively large quantities of carbon-14 indicating biosynthesis, and are classed as nutritionally non-essential. In contrast, arginine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, threonine, tyrosine, and valine contained little, if any, radioactivity and are classed as nutritionally essential. The concentrations of some of the amino acids in the larval tissues are also presented.

The leaf tier or webworm, Cnephasia virgaureana Treit., was first reported in Newfoundland in 1916, but no further records were noted from that area until 1957 when it was found causing severe damage to certain crops. An infestation of this webworm was discovered in Prince Edward Island in 1955, and severe infestations were reported in areas of Bavaria and Boden, Germany, in 1954. It was assumed that importations of the pest must have been made into Canada about 1954 or 1955. The life history of the pest is discussed and the parasites found during the period of study are listed.

Records of captures of Schistocerca in Canada are listed from sources in literature and from specimens in collections. Synonymy of the species in question is given. S. americana occurs rarely in southern Ontario and S. emarginata in the southern Prairies.

Two leaf-spot- and spider-mite-resistant varieties of sugar beets, GW 674 and GW 359, exhibited resistance to the development of populations of the sugar-beet root aphid, P. betae. GW 674 is a selection of GW 359 but has higher sugar content and greater leaf-spot resistance. Nine other varieties were susceptible to root aphid infestations.

La tordeuse des bourgeons de l‘épinette, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), fait partie intégrale du complex biologique des forêts de conifères de l'Amérique du Nord. Périodiquement elle multiplie d'une façon extraordinaire et entraîne la destruction généralisée du sapin et de l'épinette. La cause principale des invasions de cet insecte, c'est la présence sur de vastes territoires de peuplements contenant un fort pourcentage de sapins rendus à maturité. Notre pays a été le théâtre de deux invasions spectaculaires de cette tordeuse depuis le début du siècle, mais on savait fort peu de choses sur celles qui ont sévi auparavant. Nous avons cherché à obtenir des renseignements à ce sujet par l'examen des anneaux de croissance, car, comme l'on sait, toute perturbation dans la croissance d'un arbre au cours d'une même saison de végétation entraîne une réduction dans l'épaisseur des couches de bois. En conséquence, la comparaison de l'accroissement en épaisseur des anneaux ligneux sur de très vieux arbres appartenant à diverses essences rencontrées dans un même site, permet de dépister les années où l'insecte a exercé ses ravages.

A unique problem involving borborid infestations in modern septic sewage-disposal tanks is described. Two species, Leptocera (Leptocera) caenosa (Rondani) and L. (Limosina) empirica (Hutton) are new to North America. A third, yet undetermined, is related to L. (Limosina) gracilipennis Spul.

Adults emerging from tanks in new schools sometimes blackened lavatory windows. Domestic septic tanks were seldom infested and chemical tanks never infested. Factors responsible, prevention and control are discussed. The main pest species, L. caenosa, was cultured. At about 72°F. the egg stage lasted about 48 hrs. and the larval and pupal stages 7 or more days each. In a humid atmosphere males survived up to 32 days and females 79 days. Fertile eggs were laid as late as 47 days after mating, with a maximum of more than 1300 eggs per female. Observations, including olfactometer tests, indicated that L. caenosa should not initiate a public health problem.

A guide to interpretation of X-rays of bark samples infested with the western pine beetle and its principal predators and parasites is presented. Illustrations of the radiographic images are given to enable analysts to gain experience more rapidly.

The labradorensis subgroup consists of three nearctic species, namely, X. labradorensis Keyserling, 1887, from the low arctic and the Rocky Mountains, X. deichmanni Soerensen, 1898, from the arid arctic, and X. rugosus new name (= X. bimaculatus Emerton, 1894 preoccupied by X. bimaculatus L. Koch 1867) from the Rocky Mountains.

This report constitutes the first mention of Chlamisus cribripennis (Lec.) in Nova Scotia and its first mention as an economically important pest of blueberries in Canada. Also included are observations on the life history, parasitism, and laboratory rearing of this species.

The exhibit shows how knowledge of food relationships and distributional patterns has aided in the recognition of sibling species, i.e., of species that lack evident distinguishing characters, in three genera of Chrysomelidae. Both adults and larvae of all species exhibited feed on leaves. All can be reared in the laboratory on their normal fool-plants with little mortality.

Insects caused serious damage to cones and seeds of white spruce during one of the five years of this study. A new seed and cone insect, Pegohylemyia sp., was recorded for the first time from Alaska. This insect destroyed an average of 50% of the seeds per cone.

Galls produced in 1961 yielded in that year G. gallaesolidaginis and the parasitic wasps Calliephialtes notandus, Eurytoma obtusiventris and Copidosoma gelechiae. Galls produced in 1961 and remaining empty but intact in 1962 were used in 1962 as shelters and egg-laying sites by spiders, lacewing flies, thrips, a beetle, a bee and an ant.

An investigation into the abundance of spiders in a three-acre apple orchard of northeastern Wisconsin was conducted in a natural and two artificial environments (captan and DDT) from 1959 through 1961. Six families, 17 genera and 24 species were recorded, with 15 species of hunting spiders and 9 species of cobweb forms present. Most abundant were Paraphidippus marginatus (Walck.), Philodromus cespiticolis (Walk.), Philodromus sp., Araniella displicata (Hentz) and an unidentified species of Salticidae. Comparisons are made with reports from the northeastern United States and Canada. Highest numbers were in the fungicide environment which was attributed to the more abundant and lush foliage there. Extremely low counts were obtained from the insecticide environment. Captan was deemed highly recommendable for increasing the total number of predacious spiders in an apple orchard.

The genus Gryllita Hebard is redefined on the basis of the internal genitalia and external morphology. Three additional species from Haiti are described: G. bondi, G. arndti and G. uhleri. A description is given of the external morphology of Hispanogryllodes rehni.

A new anholocyclic species from the coastal region of western North America on Abies amabilis (Dougl.) Forbes and A. grandis (Dougl.) Lindl. is described. This is the first species of Pineus found on true firs.

The flight of the ambrosia beetles, Trypodendron lineatum (Oliv.), Gnathotrichus sulcatus Lec. and G. retusus Lec., revealed distinct diurnal and seasonal patterns that were influenced by environmental factors, particularly temperature, wind, and daylight. While Trypodendron flies during the entire day when the temperature is favorable, the Gnathotrichus species exhibit a peak of flight at dusk. The temperature thresholds of emergence and initiation of flight for Trypodendron and the threshold for flight of Gnathotrichus were established.

The substance responsible for mass attraction of Trypodendron, after the initial invasion of a few pioneer beetles, was found to be a species-specific sex pheromone produced by sexually mature females after entering the host. The pheromone has been concentrated from the female borings in the laboratory, and when released in the field it caused the beetles to respond. Both species of Gnathotrichus, on the other hand, responded to the borings produced by female beetles of Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins and to the extract prepared in alcohol. This fact suggests possible use of these substances in control of these ambrosia beetles.

The biological control of agricultural pests is not dependent on the specific identification of the natural enemies employed if their host relations are known. Such identification is often made after the natural enemies are imported and established in a new habitat. This is well exemplified by the genus Aphytis, a genus notable for species that consist of “host-controlling” and “non-host-controlling” races and for certain species that, after importation from South China into California and Israel, were colonized by two methods, direct and indirect. The direct method is characterized by the “screening out” of species in the field, the indirect method by the “screening out” of species in the laboratory.

Pissodes terminalis Hopping attacks the terminal leaders of jack pine and at least two of the four geographic subspecies of lodgepole pine. The development on Pinus contorta murrayana in central California is described and compared with the development on jack pine in Canada. The oviposition period is synchronized with leader elongation, early spring to mid-summer. Feeding of the first three instars is in the phloem-cambial region and the fourth (last) instar is found in the pith. Part of the population completes development in late summer; adults emerge and presumably overwinter in the ground. The balance overwinter usually as mature larvae and occasionally as pupae, completing their development in the spring.

Mortality is high and is caused by feeding of associated insects, possibly resin flow, high parasitism and other unknown factors. Seven parasite species from five families were reared.

This exhibit represents some portions of a study of the stomodaeal nervous system, neurosecretory cells, corpora allata, corpora cardiaca, and prothoracic gland cells in post-embryonic stages of Aedes aegypti (L.), the yellow fever mosquito. Some of these structures share the common property of being involved in the production of hormones.

Mosquitoes were reared under standard conditions. Larvae, pupae and adults were fixed at timed intervals in histological fixatives. Sectioned specimens were stained in Gomori's aldehyde-fuchsin, Gomori's chrome-haematoxyh-phloxin and other stains. The aldehyde-fuchsin technique, which imparted a bright purple colour to neurosecretory material, was particularly useful. Vita1 staining with methylene blue was used to trace the stomodaeal nervous system

The end of an outbreak of a sawfly, Neodiprion excitans Rohwer, on Pinus taeda L. first was observed in north-central peninsular Florida during December 1962. To aid in dating oviposition, the position of egg pockets in 1962 summer-shoot pine needles was compared with growth of 1963 summer-shoot pine needles. By this method, peaks of adult emergence and oviposition were judged to have occurred during the last half of August and first half of October 1962.

Eggs hatched in the fall when laid in growing pine needles during October 1962. Larval development was protracted during unusually cold weather and cocoons were spun as late as mid-January 1963. Adult emergence from these cocoons began in late May 1963, two months later than had been previously recorded for Florida.

In contrast, eggs overwintered in the foliage when laid after needle growth had ceased in the fall of 1962. Larval eclosion was in late February and March 1963 and cocoons were spun by mid-May.

This combination of events suggested how a new species overwintering in the egg stage (Neodiprion hetricki Ross) might have evolved in temporal isolation from an ancestral species ordinarily overwintering only in the cocoon (N. excitans).