Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) gregsoni sp.nov. is described from adult females, nymphs, and larvae collected from the boreal forests of eastern Canada on American mink, Mustela vison Schreber, a species of weasel, Mustela sp., and American marten, Martes americana (Turton) (Carnivora: Mustelidae). Its morphological attributes, hosts, and distribution are compared with those of apparently its most closely related species, Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) texanus Banks.

Diptera caught in malaise traps set in forests of Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis (Bon.) Carrière, in the Carmanah Valley, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, included two new species of Sphaeroceridae. Minilimosina sitka Marshall sp.nov. and Phthitia squamosa Marshall sp.nov. are described for the first time and compared with related species. Fourteen other sphaerocerid species caught with these species are listed.

Two new species, Ameletus minimus sp.nov. and Ameletus quadratus sp.nov., are described and illustrated from material collected in Oregon. Diagnostic features for these two species and their relationships with other Ameletus species are discussed. An identification key to the western species of the Ameletus celer Group is also included.

Aphis martinezi sp.nov. and Aphis paravanoi sp.nov. from Argentina and Aphis roberti sp.nov. from Argentina and Chile are described. These new species live on the South American plants of the genus Mulinum Persoon, 1805, as do Aphis mulini Hille Ris Lambers and Aphis mulinicola Hille Ris Lambers, which were previously described from Argentina. A key for the apterous viviparous females of these five species is given.

The taxonomy of the genus Ceramida Baraud, 1987, some species of which are severe pests, is considered difficult because of a lack of reliable diagnostic characters. We propose a new approach to the taxonomy of this genus by studying the efficacy of morphometric characters for species discrimination employing multivariate analysis. All members of the genus were included in the analysis. The seven morphometric characters considered were all found to be diagnostic at me species level: width of clypeus at base and at mid-length, and length of clypeus, full body, antennal club and stem, and apical segment of maxillary palp. The most informative character is the length of the antennal club relative to body size. This character divides the genus into three morphological groups. The ratios traditionally employed in the taxonomy of this genus cannot be used as discrete characters because there are no gaps in their range of variation. Our discriminant analysis produced several classification functions that serve as a new taxonomic tool to distinguish between morphologically similar species. Eleven species are recognized within the genus and eight new synonymies are proposed.

Potato plants (Solanum tuberosum, cv. Russet Burbank) genetically altered to produce the CryIIIA protein from Bacillus thuringiensis var tenebrionis were tested for susceptibility to attack by the potato flea beetle, Epitrix cucumeris (Harris), on Prince Edward Island, Canada, from 1993 to 1996. Average weekly damage to the fourth terminal leaf of transgenic potato plants was 31% lower in 1993 and 20% lower in 1994 compared with nontransgenic plants. Transgenic plants had 29% fewer potato flea beetle adults when compared with nontransgenic plants in 1994, although no difference was detected between the two plant types in 1993. Recovery of potato flea beetle pupae in the soil was noticeably lower from transgenic plants expressing the CryIIIA protein in all parts of the plant (Construct No. RBBT02-10Y1) than from either the transgenic plants that expressed the CryIIIA protein primarily in the green foliage (Construct No. RBBT04-01) or the nontransgenic plants. Adult potato flea beetles, when given a choice between transgenic and nontransgenic leaf material, fed preferentially on nontransgenic material. In contrast, when adults were not given a choice, feeding damage was similar between treatments. These results suggest that the reason for reduced feeding on transgenic potato plants by the potato flea beetle is, at least in part, due to some toxicity of the plants to immature growth stages and a preference for adults to feed on nontransgenic material when it is available.

A large, previously unstudied amber deposit in British Columbia dating from the Early to Middle Eocene (50−55 Ma) provides a noteworthy new source of terrestrial invertebrates and other life forms. This deposit contains what are likely the earliest unequivocal ants (members of the family Formicidae), including extinct representatives of Technomyrmex Mayr 1872, Leptothorax Mayr 1855, and Dolichoderus Lund 1831. Discovering Technomyrmex and a corydiinid cockroach, both of which are currently restricted to tropical regions, confirms earlier evidence of warm paleoclimates and past biogeographic distributions in the early Paleogene. Chemical analysis of the amber indicates that the source tree was an araucarian belonging to or near the genus Agathis Salisbury 1807, and demonstrates that this genus survived into the Tertiary in the Northern Hemisphere, since previous records revealed Agathis as a component only of the Cretaceous forests in North America. Comparing the Hat Creek fossil assemblages in this deposit with those from the well-studied western Canadian Late Cretaceous amber deposits offers a unique opportunity to study extinction and speciation events on both sides of the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary.

Investigations were conducted to quantify the effects of treatment of cracked wheat, Triticum aestivum L. (Gramineae), kernels with sublethal and median-lethal concentrations of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner 1915 (Eubacteriales: Bacillaceae) on the energy use by Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) 1813 and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) 1797 larvae. Cumulative food consumption and egestion during insect development and the weight and energy values of adult insects were determined and oxygen consumption was estimated. At sublethal (4 μg/g wheat for P. interpunctella, 250 μg/g wheat for T. castaneum) and median-lethal (18 μg/g wheat for P. interpunctella, 1950 μg/g wheat for T. castaneum) concentrations, food consumption during development decreased from controls by 9.1% and 47.1%, respectively, for P. interpunctella and 14.4% and 38.2%, respectively, for T. castaneum. Egestion decreased by 9.5% and 61.5% for P. interpunctella and 19.4% and 47.3% for T. castaneum at these respective concentrations. Increasing B. thuringiensis had negative effects on food consumption and energy use by the insects. Levels of B. thuringiensis lower than required for complete control may assist in protecting grain from stored-product insects.

In laboratory studies, suspensions of killed and live ice-nucleating microorganisms were used to decrease the supercooling capacity of the winter form of pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola (Foerster) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae). Dry, untreated adults supercooled extensively before they froze at −22.7 °C. Application of 1000 ppm of a preparation of the killed ice-nucleating bacterium, Pseudomonas syringae Van Hall 1902 (Pseudomonadaceae), significantly decreased the adults’ supercooling capacity causing some individuals to freeze at temperatures as high as −3.9 °C. Topical application of several live microorganisms also reduced the supercooling capacity of adults significantly; Pseudomonas putida (Trevisan 1989) was the most effective, causing more than 80% of C. pyricola adults to freeze at −15 °C or higher. Furthermore, the temperature of crystallization of adults treated with P. putida remained significantly higher than controls for at least lid post-treatment. Application of ice-nucleating microorganisms also reduced the capacity of adults to survive short-term exposure to high subzero temperatures comparable to a mild frost. Realization of this approach for biological control of pear psylla will require the development of methods for the delivery of microorganisms to overwintering adults under field conditions.

Pissodes punctatussp.nov. and Pissodes yunnanensissp.nov., reared from Pinus armandii Franchet and Pinus yunnanensis Franchet (Pinaceae) in southwestern China, are described and illustrated. Both species attack the upper portions of the stems of young trees, and larvae feed in the phloem and cambium.

The bertha armyworm, Mamestra configurata Walker, causes periodic but severe damage to canola crops in North America, particularly in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. This paper provides information on the tachinid flies (Tachinidae: Diptera) recorded from bertha armyworm in North America. A key to adults is provided for separation of the genera, and each species known from bertha armyworm is characterized with respect to recognition, biology (including hosts), and distribution. The species included are Athrycia cinerea (Coquillett), Blondelia sp., Chetogena claripennis (Macquart) species complex, Chetogena tachinomoides (Townsend) (new record), Eurithia consobrina (Meigen), Exorista mella (Walker), Lespesia archippivora (Riley), Panzeria ampelus (Walker), Phryxe pecosensis (Townsend), Phryxe vulgaris (Fallén), Spallanzania hebes (Fallén) (new record), Winthemia rufopicta (Bigot), and Winthemia quadripustulata (Fabricius). Eurithia consobrina is a Palearctic species that has been introduced into Canada for control of M. configurata but is probably not established; it is included here in the event it is introduced again and establishment is achieved.

The subfamily Agriopocorinae Miller 1954 is reduced to tribal rank, with the new status Agriopocorini Miller. The tribe Agriopocorini is redefined, and three new genera (Agriopocostella gen.nov., Agriopocoscelis gen.nov., and Agriopocodemus gen.nov.) and four new species (Agriopocoris dollingi sp.nov., Agriopocostella rugulosa sp.nov., Agriopocoscelis elongatus sp.nov., and Agriopocodemus inexspectatus sp.nov.) are described and illustrated; Agriopocoris dimorphus Stys is synonymized under Agriopocoris froggatti Miller, and Agriopocoris macilentus Miller under Agriopocoris porcellus Miller. New distributional data and trophic preferences for plants of the family Leguminosae are included. Dorsal habitus, antennal segments, head, pronotum, male genital capsule, and parameres are illustrated, and a checklist and key to the known genera and species are provided.

Oogenesis and associated ovarian development were studied from the onset of adult eclosion to oviposition in the European earwig, Forficula auricularia L., by examining histological sections of ovarioles and whole mounts of ovaries. Each pair of ovaries contains a mean of 85.4 ovarioles. Chronologically, oogenesis has been divided into four phases, adult emergence, previtellogenesis, vitellogenesis, and choriogenesis, each described here in detail. The mean size of the basal follicle increases from 15 μm at time of adult emergence to 0.9 mm at time of choriogenesis, and the oocyte to trophocyte ratio increases from 1.0 to 4, with a minimum of 0.5 at the onset of previtellogenesis. The oocyte to trophocyte ratio of 0.7 marks the onset of vitellogenesis, which lasts about three times (60 days) as long as previtellogenesis. The extended vitellogenesis is still under way when females bury themselves in the ground, in October, in the Montréal area.

Dissochaetus cubensissp.nov. is described from Cuba. New forest and cave records are given for the previously poorly known species Proptomaphaginus apodemus Szymczakowski and Proptomaphaginus darlingtoni (Jeannel) from Cuba and Proptomaphaginus hispaniolensis Peck from the Dominican Republic on the West Indian island of Hispaniola.

Descriptions, a key to species, and distribution maps are presented for the three species of Dissochaetus Reitter 1884 known from America north of Mexico. A lectotype is designated for Dissochaetus oblitus LeConte, which occurs in the eastern deciduous forest biome of the eastern United States and southern Ontario. Dissochaetus arizonensis Hatch occurs in mountain forests from Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas north to Wyoming. Dissochaetus mexicanus Jeannel is reported for the first time in the United States from montane forests in Big Bend, Texas. All are carrion scavengers. Each species represents a separate northwards colonization from Neotropical ancestors.

Development of resistance to organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides by the Oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta (Busck), has caused great concern regarding the sustainability of peach production in Ontario, Canada. Thus, a resistance management program was implemented and a procedure was developed to monitor for resistance to insecticides in adult moths. Diagnostic concentrations needed to distinguish susceptible genotypes from resistant individuals were determined to be carbofuran (0.1 μg per vial), carbaryl (1.0 μg per vial), malathion (0.5 μg per vial), and cypermethrin (2.5 μg per vial). Significant survival of field-collected moths to diagnostic concentrations of cypermethrin suggested that resistance to pyrethroids might be widespread. The seasonal patterns of resistance of several Oriental fruit moth populations from the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario indicated a decrease in frequencies of resistance to all insecticides tested from 1996 through 1998. Resistance levels were unstable, thus suggesting that resistance could be successfully managed. Our data confirmed the usefulness of the vial test to monitor for resistance to insecticides in the adult Oriental fruit moth, and provided the basis for the development of a resistance management strategy designed to extend the efficacy of all classes of insecticides used for control.

Auridius Oman is revised, and eight new species are described: aurigineus (California), cosmeticus (Montana), melinus (California), safra (Idaho–Oregon), sandaraca (Alberta–Ontario), sulphureus (New Mexico), thapsinus (Arizona–Nevada), and vitellinus (Oregon). Auridius gilvus Hamilton & Ross, 1972 is synonymized with A. auratus (Gillette and Baker 1895). The 12 known species are illustrated and keyed, with notes on host associations, phenology, wing polymorphism, and two new subspecies: A. ordinatus amarillo (southwestern Colorado – New Mexico) and A. ordinatus crocatus (British Columbia – Oregon).

The spruce budworm Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.) is the most damaging insect of the balsam fir Abies balsema (L.) Mill. (Pinaceae) and the white spruce Picea glauca (Moench) Voss (Pinaceae) throughout eastern North America. In outbreak conditions, close to 100% tree mortality can occur in untreated mature fir stands (MacLean 1980). Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Bacillaceae) is currently used to reduce spruce budworm damage (Van Frankenhuyzen and Payne 1993). Other possible biological control agents, such as baculoviruses, are also investigated to complement the use of B. thuringiensis. Baculoviruses are advantageous because they occur naturally in several insect species and are generally host specific (Federici 1993).

South American Trichogrammatidae are poorly known. In this paper we describe a new species of Trichogramma and two new species of Uscana from Chile. The Trichogramma species belongs to the perkinsi group and parasitizes the eggs of Rhyacionia buoliana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). One Uscana species belongs to the senex group (new name proposed for the B group) and parasitizes eggs of Pseudopachymerina spinipes (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), and the other Uscana species belongs to the fumipennis group (new name proposed for the C group) and parasitizes eggs of Bruchus pisorum (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). These new species might be useful in biological control, especially against R. buoliana and B. pisorum, important pests of pines and peas, respectively, in Chile.

Growth, number of fusions, and polyploidy of ovarian trophocytes were studied in the European earwig, Forficula auricularia L., from the imaginal moult to oviposition, by examining sections of ovarioles and whole mounts of ovaries. During a reproductive cycle, the nucleus of the basal trophocyte enlarges its mean diameter from 5 to 170 ± 33 μm, successively absorbing the trophocyte nuclei of both adjacent follicles and undergoing seven endoreplications. The nucleus thus increased its DNA content 192 times, which is 66.7% more than in the artioploid type of polyploidy. However, vitellogenesis lasted about three times longer than previtellogenesis. This type of polyploidy accelerates oogenesis, allows an earlier oviposition, and may constitute an adaptation specific for the Montréal population of earwigs.