Plusiotis prototelica sp.nov. from Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, is described and illustrated. A key to the prasina species group of Plusiotis, including the new species, is presented. Characters of P. prototelica that could allow it to be placed in the genus Chrysina Kirby are mentioned.

The Nearctic members of the genus Perilissus Holmgren, parasites of various species of sawflies on coniferous and deciduous trees and shrubs, were revised. There are 17 species of which 10 were described as new. These were placed in six species groups as follows: the discolor group composed of P. concavus, P. impunctatus, P. gilvus, P. triangularis, P. galbipes, P. rutilus spp.nov., and P. discolor (Cresson); the araius group comprising P. araius Burks and P. helvus sp.nov.; the coloradensis group composed of P. coloradensis (Ashmead) and P. spatulatus sp.nov.; the anatinus group consisting of P. anatinus sp.nov.; the bicolor group including P. bicolor (Cresson), P. townesi Burks, and P. cancellatus sp.nov.; and the concolor group comprising P. concolor (Cresson) and P. decoloratus (Cresson). Relationships of the genus Perilissus with other genera within the tribe Perilissini were discussed. Also, presumed relationships of the species groups and species of Perilissus were interpreted.

The mating behavior of spruce budworm [Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)] moths was studied in a wind tunnel. Of 88 contacts between male and female moths, 64 (73%) resulted in successful copulation. Failures were a result of males losing contact during courtship (11%), and females walking or flying, either when first contacted (7%) or when males attempted copulation (9%). Females showed no overt behavior other than moving away. Removal of the male labial palps had no effect on responses, which indicates that these structures have no role in courtship. Males with antennae completely removed did not respond to airborne pheromone and, therefore, none copulated. Removal of one antenna or half of both antennae of the males did not reduce the numbers of males that located females, but did result in slower responses and fewer matings. It also resulted in changes in male courtship behavior, which suggest that males depend upon their antennae to position themselves appropriately alongside the female when attempting to copulate. Analyses of male response to models of female moths constructed from glass rods with wings of male spruce budworm or male white-marked tussock moth [Orgyia leucostigma (J.E. Smith)] attached showed that males position themselves approximately halfway along me wing length of the model, with no dependance on its wing size or the length of the male’s antennae. Responses were equally high to both spruce budworm and to tussock moth wings, but no males responded to glass rods in the absence of wings.

In laboratory and field experiments involving artificial and real tree trunks, all larval instars of gypsy moth [Lymantria dispar (L.)] crawling on a horizontal surface were influenced by the diameter, height, and species of a tree. For most larval instars, black artificial tree trunks were preferred to white trunks. The influence of the diameter and height of a host on larval attraction was examined with cardboard columns. The degree of larval attraction to a column of a certain diameter and height was positively correlated with the angle at which the column was presented. Significantly more larvae were attracted to bolts of red oak (Quercus rubra L.) than to white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) or trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). The implications of these findings and their possible effects on host colonization are discussed.

The eggs of seven species of locally occurring coccinellids were reared at constant temperatures. The survival of eggs to hatching, rate, and thermal requirements for hatching were determined. The results were used to evaluate the importance of thermal adaptation of coccinellids in selecting them as biological control agents and in determining the relative species composition of locally occurring faunas of coccinellids.

Ischiolepta lama and I. barberi from North America are described as new. They, together with four other species [I. crenata (Meigen), I. denticulata (Meigen), I. intermedia Han and Kim, and I. scabra (Spuler)], are recognized as a monophyletic group. A cladogram, a key, and illustrations of male genitalia for those species are provided.

The influence of topical applications of fluorescent dyes or rubidium chloride (RbCl) solution, or both, on adult male spruce budworm longevity and attraction to and capture by pheromone-baited traps was investigated. Both marks persisted for at least 8 days in the field (duration of tests) and for at least 3 weeks in the laboratory. Recoveries of marked moths were similar to unmarked moths with respect to total recovery and timing and location (within the canopy) of recovery. The results validate the assumption implicit in previous mark–release–recapture studies on spruce budworm males that fluorescent dyes have no measurable effect on male trapping. A 0.41 M RbCl solution topically applied to laboratory-reared adult males is an efficient mass-marking technique for the spruce budworm.

In the laboratory, the longevity and fecundity of female Zeiraphera canadensis Mut. & Free. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) given access to a 10% sucrose solution and water was greater than that of females provided only water. The presence or absence of sucrose did not affect oviposition rate during the first 10 days post-emergence, after which most females denied sucrose died. The enhanced fecundity of sucrose-fed females was due to their increased longevity and, hence, longer oviposition period. Greater longevity, combined with a decrease in oviposition rate and egg viability with age, resulted in a lower average lifetime oviposition rate and percentage viable egg production for females provided sucrose. Although carbohydrate ingestion resulted in increased fecundity and longevity in the laboratory, its effect in nature may be minimal because Z. canadensis usually does not live more than 10 days under field conditions.

The fecundity of first-generation adult Pholetesor ornigis (Weed) increased when individuals were confined with flowers of creeping "Charlie" (Glechoma hederacea L.), dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber), and apple (Malus domesticus L.), but not with blossoms of chickweed [Stellaria media (L.) Cyrillo] or Shepherd’s purse [Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic]. Longevity of P. ornigis was little affected. The fecundity of second-generation P. ornigis increased when individuals were confined with terminal leaves of apple with honeydew of the aphid Aphis pomi DeGeer, but not when confined with terminal leaves without honeydew or with flowers of round-leaved mallow (Malva neglecta Wallr.) or red clover (Trifolium pratense L.). Longevity of P. ornigis adults also increased when they were provided with aphid honeydew. There were significant differences between the total number (oviposited and ovarian) of eggs produced by second-generation females given different food sources. Those given aphid honeydew oviposited a greater proportion of their eggs than those confined with apple leaves without honeydew or with flowers of M. neglecta or T. pratense, Adult P. ornigis fed an aqueous solution of honey (50:50, v/v) lived longest and produced more eggs than those provided with any other food source.

Individual larvae of western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman) were observed from overwintering emergence to pupation at six locations spread over a wide range of altitudes and thus climate. A weekly census of 100 lower-crown buds per plot indicated large differences in rates of bud development and larval survival among locations.

Emerging second-instar larvae attempted to mine swelling buds of Douglas-fir. If the buds were hard and tight, larvae mined 1-year-old needles until penetrable buds were available. Larvae dispersed over the crowns with only one larva becoming established in each bud; thus, many early-emerging and surplus larvae could not find suitable feeding sites and disappeared. Within the protective bud, survival was high. After buds flushed and larvae became exposed, densities dropped, probably due to increased predation and decreased food quality. Correlations indicated a close association between larval survival for the exposed period between bud flush and pupation, and overall larval survival.

Douglas-fir trees responded to initial bud removal, but not to needle removal, by inducing latent buds in the axils of needles to grow into active vegetative buds ready to develop and flush the next spring. The number of these new vegetative buds formed was greatest when the initial buds were removed early in the season before flush, and decreased thereafter. Trees with vigorous crowns had the greatest response to defoliation by inducing the largest number of latent buds into becoming active vegetative buds; these were found mainly on the 2- and 3-year-old internodes.

Two artificial pupation shelter types were compared as Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDunnough), monitoring methods in El Dorado County, CA. No difference in attraction was found; wood shelters are recommended as they are both inexpensive and durable. Shelters were compared with three-crown-level larval sampling and with pheromone trapping. Cocoon counts from shelters were significantly correlated with same-year larval density, reflecting larval sample differences between ridges and the general trend in plots along ridges. Egg masses from shelters in 1978 were significantly correlated with the next year’s larval counts, and are of potential value as an early predictor of larval population. The shelter method also provides information on adult sex ratio and pupal and egg emergence, parasitism, and predation.

We show that Lasioglossum mediterraneum (Blüthgen) (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) is a species distinct from L. laticeps (Schenck) based upon electrophoretic analysis of 39 allozyme loci for sympatric populations collected from the Dordogne region of France. The genetic identity between the two is below average for sibling species of insects: no fewer than 10 fixed allelic differences were found. In contrast, allopatric L. laticeps populations (from the Dordogne and Paris) are genetically almost identical (I = 0.998). Heterozygosity estimates for both species are low, as is often the case with Hymenoptera. Diagnostic characteristics that can be used to separate the two species are described. A phylogeny for nine species of the subgenus Evylaeus is constructed from allozyme data.

The impacts of the pyrethroid PP321 on the mite fauna in an apple orchard were studied at the Smithfield Experimental Farm of Agriculture Canada, Ontario, from 1988 to 1989. Two predacious mites, the phytoseiid Amblyseius fallacis (Garman) and the stigmaeid Zetzellia mali (Ewing), were affected by pyrethroid applications. The highest numbers of predators were found in untreated trees, and the lowest numbers were found in the trees treated with the higher rate of the pyrethroid (P < 0.05). Zetzellia mali has roughly the same susceptibility to PP321 as does A. fallacis. Two species of tetranychid phytophagous mites, the European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch), and the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, were positively associated with pyrethroid applications. Significantly higher numbers of these mites were found in the pyrethroid-treated trees than in untreated ones (P < 0.05). Another phytophagous mite, the apple rust mite, Aculus schlechtendali (Nalepa) (Eriophyidae), was strongly suppressed by PP321 applications. Lower rate applications of the pyrethroid allowed more predators to survive, and resulted in lower abundances of tetranychid mites than did the higher rate. Therefore, reduced rates of pyrethroids may prove to be compatible with integrated control of spider mites in apple orchards.

Actinocephalus sp., a eugregarine protozoan, is reported from June beetles, Phyllophaga Harris, in southern Quebec. It is the first record of a protozoan infecting scarab beetles in Canada. The gregarine was found in 4.52% of the 16 930 Phyllophaga grubs collected from 45 localities during a 3-year study. The infection was endemic to the grub stage of the scarab beetle and sub-enzootic in grub populations throughout the survey area, never reaching epizootic proportions. Infection rates for other stages of the life cycle of Phyllophaga were insignificant. The study showed that the gregarine had a negligible impact on the population of the host insect.

In the course of a systematic survey from 1979 to 1982 in southern Quebec and eastern Ontario, 11 genera of mites, representing five families and 15 species, were found associated with Phyllophaga anxia (LeConte). The rate of infestation in each growth stage of the host ranged from 0 (eggs and prepupae) to 54.6% (third-instar grubs). Although it was not possible to determine with certainty the ecological roles of the mite taxa, and thus to assess the real impact of the species involved, it is likely that the Macrochelidae, Parasitidae, and possibly Eviphididae were partially regulating local P. anxia populations. The Acaridae and Histiostomidae (Anoetidae) probably had a harmless phoretic or saprotrophic relation with their hosts. Most of the mite species reported here were found associated with Phyllophaga Harris in Canada for the first time.

Hypogastrura (Mucrella) arborea sp.nov. is described from a mature sitka spruce forest on Vancouver Island. Specimens occurred both in ground litter and in epiphytic moss in the canopy. The new species differs from the four other species of the subgenus by the absence of anal spines and the presence of 2-3-2 clavate tibiotarsal hairs.

We investigated the effects of synthetic honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) queen mandibular gland pheromone on colony foraging and brood rearing. Colonies newly established in the spring showed a significant, dose-dependent increase in the number of foragers gathering pollen, and individual pollen foragers returned to the nest with larger pollen loads. These two effects combined resulted in a doubling of the amount of pollen brought into colonies by foraging bees. Brood rearing also increased, but not significantly. In contrast, large, established colonies showed no effects at their summer population peak. We conclude that queen mandibular pheromone can significantly affect foraging, but its effects depend on colony conditions and environmental factors.

Metaltella simoni (Keyserling, 1878), an amaurobiid spider species precinctive to Argentina and Uruguay, and probably southern Brazil, is well established in the southeastern coastal regions of the United States (Leech 1972: 107). It was brought to North America by commercial and trade activities, hence the apparent distribution disjunction. The first Nearctic record is 23–30 July 1944, from Harahan, Louisiana (Leech 1972: 107).

Members of the Holarctic genus Sperchon Kramer are among the most common and widespread water mites in lotic habitats. Approximately 225 species and subspecies of Sperchon have been described worldwide (Viets 1987), and about 25 of them have been reported from North America (Habeeb 1967). Smith and Cook (1991) estimate that over 100 species, mostly undescribed, occur in the Nearctic region. Adults and deutonymphs of this genus are free-living predators (Smith and Oliver 1986; Proctor and Pritchard 1989). Larval Sperchon are typically parasites of adult nematocerous Diptera, especially Chironomidae (Smith 1982; Smith and Oliver 1976, 1986) and Simuliidae (Davies 1959; Smith and Oliver 1986), but have also been reported to use certain Trichoptera as hosts (Smith and Oliver 1986). Larvae of Sperchon are initially aquatic, and actively crawl or swim to locate the prepupae or pupae of appropriate hosts. They transfer to host adults during ecdysis, embed their chelicerae in host tissue, and engorge rapidly, often within a few hours, on fluids before dropping off the host and into the water where the life cycle continues. Larvae preferentially select attachment sites on the thorax of hosts, but can utilize sites on the anterior segments of the abdomen when thoracic sites are already occupied. Most larval Sperchon are evidently specialized to parasitize hosts whose immature stages inhabit stenothermal, lotic habitats. We report here on the first records of larval Sperchon parasitic on mountain midges.