Tinocallis khonkaenensis n. sp. from Lagerstroemia macrocarpa Wall., collected in Thailand, is described. Distinguishing characters are given to separate it from other species of the genus.

Four insecticides effectively controlled the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), but differed in their effects on other pest species and on predators. Two days after treatment, methidathion, dimethoate, and malathion reduced populations of all the pest species, but pirimicarb gave no control of the weevils Hypera postica (Gyllenhal) and Sitona scissifrons Say. Methidathion reduced populations of all predators, dimethoate reduced populations of all predators except Aeolothrips fasciatus (Linnaeus), and malathion reduced populations of all the predators except Nabis alternates Parshley. Pirimicarb reduced only the populations of syrphids. Of the insecticides tested, methidathion was the most disruptive to predators and pirimicarb the least.

Of 11 insecticides tested, nine were as effective as dimethoate for control of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), in alfalfa. None, including the systemic insecticides, provided adequate protection in growing alfalfa at 7 days after treatment. The environmental impact of these materials could be reduced if the lowest effective rates were used for control because repeat applications may be required. Because pirimicarb at 0.28 kg AI/ha had a reduced effect on Chrysopa oculata (Say), a predator of the pea aphid, it would be preferred to dimethoate for control of this aphid.

A single collection from a beaver lodge near George Lake, Alberta (53°57′ N., 114°06′ W.), in mid-May 1976 yielded 1362 female Anopheles earlei Vargas, of which 39.2% were blood-fed and 3.1% gravid. The mosquitoes could have overwintered in the lodge and fed on the beavers, but they could also have flown in from other overwintering and feeding sites earlier in the spring.

Adult emergence of Simulium verecundum S. and J. and S. decorum Walk. was reduced 58–94% by exposure of late instar larvae to 0.1 ppm Altosid or Altosid SR-10 for 1 h. Pupae were not affected by the presence of 0.1 ppm Altosid SR-10 in the rearing water. Adult emergence of S. verecundum was reduced 95% when mixed larval instars were reared in the presence of 0.001 ppm Dimilin. Last instar larvae died as a result of abnormal metamorphosis. Black fly mortality was 86–100% with 1-h exposures to 0 1–0.2 ppm Dimilin, and 100% with a 15-min exposure to 1 ppm at 22 ± 2 °C, lower temperatures giving similar results.

Release of Altosid over a 48-h period from formulated blocks gave a concentration of 0.002–0.006 ppm in a small stream. Emergence of adults was completely suppressed for 23 days 18 m downstream and 17 days 43 m downstream. Applications of 1 ppm Dimilin for 15 min to two streams resulted in the gradual elimination of black fly larvae from artificial substrates, a high reduction in adult emergence, and the formation of abnormal larvae following the tests. The maximum concentration of Dimilin detected in the water was 0.31 ppm during application; however, submerged vegetation residues as high as 18.9 ppm were found 1 h following the second application, decreasing to less than 0.05 ppm 14 days later.

Ligation experiments were conducted on freshly-ecdysed pupae of Neodiprion sertifer (Geoff.) to help identify sources of hormones which might control development of cuticle, rate of heartbeat, egg production, and uric acid depletion in adult females. Ligatures behind the head or thorax have little or no effect on apolysis of abdominal cuticle. Cuticle tanning and initiation of yolk formation are inhibited exclusively by ligatures behind the thorax. Increase in heartbeat rate and ovary weights is inhibited slightly by ligatures behind the head and almost completely by those behind the thorax. Uric acid depletion is inhibited equally by both ligations. The results are discussed in relation to current knowledge of the anatomy of endocrine organs in sawflies and insect endocrine functions in general.

The niche breadth and overlap in nesting preferences of 15 species of bumble bees were investigated in Alberta. Some of the factors that influence the distribution of nesting sites and abundance of species and permit the species to coexist in sympatry are discussed. Artificial domiciles were used as potential nesting sites. Some species were specialists in terms of nest site selection while others were generalists. The few natural nests found, the long periods spent by queens searching for nests, the high frequency of usurpation or direct interference and death of intruders, and the frequency of high niche overlap values between species are evidence that nesting sites are limited and are incompletely partitioned among the coexisting species. Usurpation also demonstrates the competition among individuals and species. Phenological differences in nest establishment influence the competition among the species. Camouflaging of tunnels presumably reduces the intensity of usurpation and protects queens and the brood from inclement weather and from social parasites (e.g., Psithyrus) and predators.

A field study was designed to compare the attractiveness of pre-aged (laboratory incubated) and fresh rabbit feces to potential arthropod colonists. Laboratory collected rabbit feces were incubated on moist peat for intervals of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 days before exposure (48 h) in one of four field sites in northwestern Pennsylvania. Greater numbers and kinds of arthropods were attracted to 0-day-old dung samples than to fecal pellets that were preincubated for 10 or more days in the laboratory. Furthermore, numbers and kinds of arthropods attracted to fecal pellets increased with increasing habitat complexity. The results indicate that loss in attractiveness of aged feces to potential arthropod colonists cannot be attributed entirely to the drying of the substrate or to prior arthropod colonization. It is suggested that microfloral activity contributes to chemical changes in the incubating feces which render them less attractive to potential early colonists.

Survivorship of the citrus blackfly was greatest at 25.6 °C and decreased in either direction from this temperature. A series of linear equations were derived to describe stadium length in thermal units for each development stage of the citrus blackfly and for the complete life cycle. There was no significant difference between the calculated stadium lengths and those observed in the field using linear thermal units.

Adults of Camisia labradorica, n. sp., from Labrador are described. They are closely similar to those of C. lapponica (Trägårdh, 1910), but are distinguished by the shape of notogastral setae and number of genital setae.

Arthrolytus (Anadolytus) oezbeki n. subgen., n, sp. is described from Western North America. Some biological aspects of the species are discussed.

Croesia holmiana (L.) was the most common of nine species of tortricids found in 1977 in a survey of the apple leafrollers of the Vancouver, British Columbia, district. It is an European species not recorded previously from North America. Specimens from British Columbia were identified by Dr. A. Mutuura, Biosystematics Research Institute, Canada Agriculture, Ottawa.

In February 1976, first instar nymphs of a mealybug were found overwintering in bark crevices of cherry trees at Penticton, B.C. As these were much smaller than and distinctive from overwintering second and third instar nymphs of the apple mealybug, Phenacoccus aceris Signoret, which were present in large numbers, they were collected and reared to the adult stage on small cherry trees in a greenhouse. Mature fernales were identified by Dr. W. R. Richards, Biosystematics Research Institute, Ottawa as the Comstock mealybug, Pseudococcus comstocki (Kuwana).

The first larval collection of Dasylophia thyatiroides (Walker) by the Ontario Forest Insect and Disease Survey was made in 1975 on St. Joseph Island, southeast of Sault Ste. Marie. Previous Canadian records of this species are from Nova Scotia (Ferguson 1963) and there are a few adult specimens in the Canadian National Collection from Ontario and Quebec.

When new laid eggs of the house cricket are treated with a potassium biphthalate buffer (0.05 M) at pH 4.01 for 1 h, followed by a Na2CO3 solution at pH 11.0 for 22 h at room temperature, the chorion lifts off the surface of the egg; by cutting off the end of the stretched chorion, the dechorionated egg may be pushed out of the shell. Dechorionated eggs behave in a different manner towards sucrose and salt solutions than do intact eggs. These and other experimental results are discussed in relation to the physiology of water absorption.

An expanding outbreak of hardwood-defoliating geometrid larvae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) has existed on southern Vancouver Island, B.C., since at least 1972. By 1977 the outbreak had become severe over an estimated 120 km2 in the Victoria and Saanich land districts and a light infestation was present on the Saanich Peninsula.

Growth rate, diapause incidence, and diapause intensity were different in two strains of corn borers found in southwestern Ontario. Crosses between these two strains demonstrated that growth rate was female sex linked while diapause incidence was male sex linked. The effect of these two characteristics on hybridization is discussed.

In the past, several species of tortricid moths have been introduced in British Columbia and adjacent areas, for example: Ditula (Batodes) angustiorana (Haworth) at Victoria in 1924 (Clarke 1929: 13; Freeman 1958: 55; Powell 1964: 243); Cnephasia longana (Haworth) in Oregon in 1929 (Powell 1964: 124); Archippus oporanus (Linnaeus) at Vancouver in 1937 (Freeman 1958: 16); and Acleris comariana (Zeller) at Richmond near Vancouver in 1972 (Cram 1973: 17). These species are all of European or Eurasian origin.

In field trials conducted at Guelph, Ont., methoprene (Altosid® SR-10) at 0.028 kg AI/ha (0.025 lb AI/ac) effectively controlled spring Aedes species following treatment of third- and fourth-instar larvae. However, when treated in the first to third instar, only partial control was obtained. The formulation remained active in the pools for 13 days during which time the average temperature was < 20°C. Methoprene also effectively controlled early-summer Aedes vexans (Meigen) after treatment of fourth-instar larvae. Diflubenzuron (Dimilin® 25% WP) at 0.022 kg AI/ha and 0.045 kg AI/ha (0.02 and 0.04 lb AI/ac) was effective against spring Aedes species following treatment of third-instar larvae.

Studies of the internal reproductive glands of male Elateridae are rare since only the external genitalia (basal sclerite, aedeagus, and parameres) are used for species determination (cf. Quate and Thompson 1967; Brooks 1960). Knowledge of the internal organs of the female is much more advanced and variations in these organs form the basis for species determination of females (Becker 1958; Dajoz 1964; Quate and Thompson 1967). However, the few cases where the internal glands of the male have been examined have indicated considerable variation in structure among genera and species (Levtshuk 1930; Zacharuk 1958).