1. There appears to be a general similarity in the tastes of the different species with regard to various chemicals and foods; the tastes of Musca domestica and Phormia azurea, in many cases, being found to approximate most nearly. It will be interesting to discover whether there is a closer correspondence between the sense-organs of these flies than between these of other species.

2. These experiments emphasise the extreme curiosity of house-flies, and again show the catholicity of their tastes and the difficulty of finding any substances which will either attract or repel all those that come near it. The mineral and tar oils seem to be amongst the most repellent substances. With regard to poisons, good results were obtained with sodium iodate, large numbers being killed when very small amounts were used, although it did not always attract many flies. Sodium iodate has the disadvantage of being very expensive. But further experiments require to be made before any definite conclusions can be arrived at as to the importance of the iodates of sodium and other metals as poisons for general use.

3. House-flies were not found to show any colour-preference.

4. For house-flies the optimum temperature was found to be between 36°–44° C., the maximum and minimum between 55°–58° C. and 10°–13° C., respectively.

5. It appears that curiosity plays an important part in causing house-flies to come to baits and to investigate traps, etc., although the senses of smell and to a less extent that of sight are also concerned; the former, however, to a much less extent than it is with blow-flies, and it appears to be most used when the flies are close to the baits.

1. The Garden Chafer (Phyllopertha horticola) causes extensive deterioration of the fell grassland in the Lake District.

2. The flight period of the adult beetles occurs between the end of May and the latter end of June.

3. Eggs are laid in the soil at a depth of about 2½ inches, but the depth varies according to the nature of the soil. The eggs take from 27 to 30 days to hatch in the field.

In the UK, Panolis flammea (Denis & Schiffermüller) is a pest of monocultures of non-native lodgepole pine Pinus contorta Douglas, but not of the indigenous host Scots pine P. sylvestrisL. This difference in population dynamics may be due to the adaptation of P. flammea populations to the phenology, chemical composition and natural enemy complement of lodgepole pine. To ascertain if there was local adaptation of P. flammea populations to lodgepole pine, this study tested for improved performance of both larvae and adults on the host plant species from which they were sourced, compared with their performance on the alternative host plant species. No difference was found in the relative mean performance of populations sourced from Scots pine or lodgepole pine plantations, when fed on Scots or lodgepole pine foliage. Larvae grew faster on Scots pine but this difference did not translate into differences in pupal weight, female body weight or fecundity. Indeed, those insects that had fed on lodgepole pine had a longer lifespan than those that had fed on Scots pine, which, if translated into greater probability of mating or higher fecundity, could contribute to the observed outbreak dynamics in the field. The prediction that the observed outbreak dynamics of P. flammea can be explained by the existence of populations locally adapted to lodgepole pine was not supported. These results cast doubt on the use of larval growth parameters as surrogates of fitness in Lepidoptera.

Responses of adult flea beetles Longitarsus jacobaeae (Waterhouse), to signals from ragwort plants (Senecio jacobaea Linnaeus) were studied by recording their directions of movement in a wind tunnel and their colonization of host-plants in the field. Starved beetle individuals, irrespective of gender, orientated toward upwind host-plants over a distance of 60 cm in the wind tunnel, whereas satiated beetles did not. In the absence of upwind host-plants, all beetles moved randomly in all directions, regardless of whether they were starved or satiated. Starved beetle individuals did not show directed movement towards hosts when plants were downwind in the wind tunnel, nor when in the presence of host-plants when the wind was absent. Groups of starved beetles orientated to upwind host-plants in the wind tunnel, as did individual beetles. In the field, plants over 60 cm upwind of the released beetles were found and colonized by more beetles than downwind plants, in spite of the presence of background vegetation. This confirms the result of laboratory experiments that L. jacobaeae can orient to upwind host-plants.

The preference-performance hypothesis has principally considered insect herbivores with aboveground lifecycles, although the hypothesis could be equally relevant to insects with life stages occurring both aboveground and belowground. Moreover, most studies have focussed on either laboratory or field experiments, with little attempt to relate the two. In this study, the preference-performance hypothesis was examined in an aboveground-belowground context in the laboratory using the vine weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus (F.)) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and two cultivars of red raspberry (Rubus idaeus), Glen Rosa and Glen Ample. A two-year field study (2008–2009) was also undertaken to characterise the population dynamics of adult weevils on the two raspberry cultivars. Larval performance (abundance and mass) differed significantly between Glen Rosa and Glen Ample, with Glen Rosa resulting in 26% larger but 56% fewer larvae compared to Glen Ample. Larval abundances were significantly and positively correlated with root nitrogen and magnesium concentrations, but negatively correlated with root iron. However, concentrations of these minerals were not significantly different in the two cultivars. Adult weevils did not preferentially select either of the two cultivars for egg laying (laying 3.08 and 2.80 eggs per day on Glen Ample and Glen Rosa, respectively), suggesting that there was no strong preference-performance relationship between adult vine weevils and their belowground offspring. Field populations of adult vine weevils were significantly higher on Glen Ample than Glen Rosa, which may reflect the higher larval survival on Glen Ample observed in laboratory experiments.

The following methods of technique, along with many others, applicable to entomological work have been used by the writer in the course of a number of years' experience. Since a considerable proportion of the methods does not appear to be generally known, it is thought that the present article may prove of value particularly to investigators located in parts of the Empire overseas.

The Longicorn beetles comprise numerous species that are highly injurious both to growing trees and to timber, and some excellent papers have been published dealing either with important species and the methods of preventing their damage (Brooks, 1920) or giving a survey of a particular fauna (Craighead, 1923). Nevertheless, there are some rather important features of the life-history of these beetles that seem to have attracted onlyscant attention, and which have hitherto not been subjected to a systematic analysis. The purpose of this paper is to call attention to these neglected features and to give a short survey of the meagre and scattered information that we have about them, in order tostimulate further study, which seems warranted from both a theoretical and a practical point of view.

Following crop failures due to wireworm (Agriotes spp.) attack on Little Hoos Field, Bothamsted, two experiments were made on the use of four chemicals to prevent wireworm attack on wheat. The chemicals used were BHC, technical DDT, ethylene dibromide and D-D.

Benzene hexachloride in the form of a dust containing 3·5 per cent. crude BHC was broadcast at the rate of 7·9 lb./acre crude BHC ≡ 15·2–16·0 oz. γ isomer per acre and was combine-drilled with the seed at rates ranging from 0·98–3·92 lb./acre crude BHC ≡ 1·9–8·0 oz. γ isomer per acre. It was also applied as a seed dressing at the rate of 2 oz./bushel of a dressing containing 20 per cent. technical γ isomer of BHC. DDT was drilled with the seed at 7·2 lb./acre technical DDT and ethylene dibromide and D-D were injected into the soil as soil fumigants by means of a special machine at 45·5 lb./acre and 210 lb./acre, respectively.

A field-scale study of the spatially explicit interaction between the carabid Poecilus cupreus Linnaeus, and two common aphid species (Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) and Metopolophium dirhodum (Walker)) in winter wheat was conducted. All three species showed considerable spatial pattern at the field scale. Activity-density of P. cupreus was an order of magnitude higher in the central part of the field compared to its periphery. Where P. cupreus activity-density was highest, S. avenae and M. dirhodum population peaks were delayed. Additionally, in the case of M. dirhodum, lower maximum counts were evident where P. cupreus activity-density was highest. An analysis of the movement of individual P. cupreus using release–recapture indicated that those beetles within the centre of the field exhibited reduced displacement, which may have caused the generation or maintenance of spatial pattern. Crop density was also measured throughout the field. Although crop density had no large-scale spatial pattern, its variability at the small-scale was consistent with an influence on aphid population dynamics. This study demonstrates empirically that both large-scale spatially explicit and small-scale localized processes influenced aphid population dynamics simultaneously.

Onions and related crops are attacked by the onion fly, D. antiqua (Mg.), and by the bean seed flies, D. cilicrura (Rond.), and D. trichodactyla (Rond.). The eggs, larvae and puparia of the three species are similar in form, and the only morphological difference so far observed is in the number of processes of the anterior spiracles of the larvae. In D. antiqua the anterior spiracles have 10–13 processes; in D. cilicrura and D. trichodactyla, the immature stages of which cannot yet be distinguished from each other, the anterior spiracles have 5–8 processes.

Onion flies and bean seed flies have different habits and consequently the circumstances of their attacks differ. The onion fly is a specific feeder and its attacks are likely to be serious in spring and early summer. The bean seed flies are general feeders and attack on onions in spring is unlikely because the preparation of the soil, which attracts the flies, is usually completed before they emerge from the over-wintering puparia. Bean seed fly attack on onions is likely to take place in August when onions for bunching are sown. The preparation of the seed bed attracts the flies of the third generation from the surrounding crops and the soil may become heavily infested with larvae which subsequently destroy the germinating seeds. In August and September it is unlikely that young crops will attract onion flies from the mature crops on which they are established.

Although a large variety of plant-galls are known in South Africa, only four have so far been determined to be caused by Coccids. These are of particular interest because no two of them are similar, and more remarkable still is the fact that no two of the insects belong to the same genus, nor apparently to the same sub-family. Under these circumstances it has been thought advisable to group them together without reference to their systematic position in this paper. The characters of the galls and insects may be seen from Plates iii and iv.

Pauesia juniperorum (Starý), a solitary endoparasitoid which attacks several Cinara spp. in the subgenus Cupressobium, was introduced into Africa for the control of the cypress aphid Cinara cupressivora Watson & Voegtlin (previously identified as Cinara cupressi (Buckton)) and is now established. Data on its biology including a comparison of populations from different hosts and geographical locations are presented. From the UK this consisted of populations reared from Cinara cupressivora, Cinara fresai Blanchard and Cinara juniperi De Geer, and from France, Cinara ?fresai. Between different populations, the duration of development varied within a narrow range (15.5–18.1 days) at 22°C. Data on duration of development over a range of temperatures (15–26°C) for two populations, from the UK and France ranged between 14.0–31.4 days for males and 14.7–32.8 days for females. The threshold temperature for development was 6.2°C and 4.1°C for the populations from the UK and France, respectively. The mean egg load for different populations ranged between 46.4 and 78.5 eggs. The host species had a significant effect on egg load which was directly related to size of the respective host aphids. The lowest egg load was recorded on specimens reared from C. cupressivora which was the smallest aphid. The population from the UK had a higher intrinsic rate of increase (0.232) than the one from France (0.207).

Three aerial applications of the n-butyl ester of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic m acid (2,4,5-T) in diesel oil were made at intervals of six weeks to an isolated woodland community on a peninsula in Lake Victoria, Kenya. The woodland contained two species of tsetse fly, Glossina pallidipes Aust. and G. palpalis (R.-D.) (subsp. fuscipes Newst.). The object of the treatment was to defoliate the woodland in order to ascertain whether the reduction in shade would control the tsetse fly. It was also desired to obtain further information on the effect of the spray applications on the woody plant species.

The first application, at an estimated actual dosage of 2·2 lb. 2,4,5·T per acre, resulted in a rapid defoliation of 13 out of the 15 observed leafy species, eight of, which subsequently died during the following nine months. Two succulent species of Euphorbia also died during this period. Of the remaining two species, one was fully defoliated only after the third application but recovered slowly, while the other, Lecaniodiscus vaughaniae, was but slightly affected at any time.

No significant reduction in the numbers of tsetse fly was observed during the nine-month period following the first spraying. The following factors probably account for this lack of effect: the varying rate of defoliation of the different plant species, the resistance to the spray of one locally abundant species, the persistent shade cast by the stems of the thick vegetation after defoliation and the relatively humid climate during the period of maximum defoliation. These factors allowed an environment favourable for the tsetse fly to exist in one part or another of the peninsula in spite of the severe effects on the vegetation.

Nine months after the first spraying, between a third and a half of the vegetation was destroyed during the dry season by an accidental fire. The effect on G. pallidipes was almost immediate, and two months later the population had been reduced to a fairly low level, which was maintained for the last 16 months of the experiment. The fire hardly affected the environment of G. palpalis and the main effect of defoliation was to cause this species to concentrate near the shady lake shore, where the dominant tree was Lecaniodiscus vaughaniae.

There is little doubt that the destruction of the vegetation by fire was made possible by the effects of the spray applications, as the hitherto evergreen thicket would normally have been unburnable. While this suggests a possible new technique for bush clearance, further trials have indicated several factors which may make difficult a satisfactory burn following defoliation.

Details are given of the assessment of the spray droplet performance both in calibration trials and during the applications to the peninsula.

Parts of a district situated in the tropical rain-forest of the Belgian Congo in which onchocerciasis was generally endemic, were investigated to identify the vector and to ascertain its phoretic host, breeding places, habits, etc.

The vector found biting human bait (usually less than 1 metre from the ground) was Simulium neavei Eoub. Dissection of adult females revealed developmental forms of Onchocerca volvulus.

Larvae and pupae were found on crabs of the genus Potamon in fast-flowing stretches of the numerous small streams flowing into the Eiver Congo. The infested streams in the main focus of onchocerciasis were treated by DDT emulsion at a concentration of one part per 500,000 for 30 minutes, every ten days for ten applications.

The good results observed initially were partly offset by the reappearance six months later of small numbers of Simuliids apparently developing from eggs laid by females entering the disinfested area from without.

The selection of examples where the biological control method has been successful depends somewhat upon the individual viewpoint. A casual perusal of the literature would lead one to believe that predators and parasites had been unusually successful against many pests. In a recent communication from H. S. Smith it was stated : “ If you go over the old literature on this subject in California, you will find that the black scale problem was solved by the introduction of Rhizobius in 1890. It was solved again in 1900 by the introduction of Scutellista. But we still spend in excess of a million dollars a year in southern California on spraying and fumigation for this pest. The same was true in Hawaii. For many years it was stated that one of the greatest examples of successful biological control was that of the sugar-cane leafhopper by the egg parasites, Paranagrus and Ootetrastichus. Later Cyrtorhinus was introduced with success, and it was admitted that control by the two egg parasites was not satisfactory. No doubt all these introductions were valuable and represent different degrees of control, each succeeding introduction resulting in a greater degree of control than previously existed. The difficulty lies in the absence of a satisfactory criterion by which to measure and record the relative effects of the introductions.” A critical analysis of the data submitted to support the contentions for the early examples mentioned above is far from convincing. However, it should be recalled that the standards for measuring the success of biological control have undergone considerable change during the intervening period.

Soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is currently the most important insect pest of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in the United States and causes significant economic damage worldwide, but little is known about the aphid at the molecular level. Mariner-like transposable elements (MLEs) are ubiquitous within the genomes of arthropods and various other invertebrates. In this study, we report the cloning of MLEs from the soybean aphid genome using degenerate PCR primers designed to amplify conserved regions of mariner transposases. Two of the ten sequenced clones (designated as Agmar1 and Agmar2) contained partial but continuous open reading frames, which shared high levels of homology at the protein level with other mariner transposases from insects and other taxa. Phylogenetic analysis revealed Agmar1 to group within the irritans subfamily of MLEs and Agmar2 within the mellifera subfamily. Southern blot analysis and quantitative PCR analysis indicated a low copy number for Agmar1-like elements within the soybean aphid genome. These results suggest the presence of at least two different putative mariner-like transposases encoded by the soybean aphid genome. Both Agmar1 and Agmar2 could play influential roles in the architecture of the soybean aphid genome. Transposable elements are also thought to potentially mediate resistance in insects through changes in gene amplification and mutations in coding sequences. Finally, Agmar1 and Agmar2 may represent useful genetic tools and provide insights on A. glycines adaptation.

Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) is considered a serious agricultural pest worldwide. We explored the effects of artificial diets containing ten legumes, including broad beans (Shadan, Feyz, Saraziri, Barekat, and Mahta cultivars), white kidney beans (Dehghan cultivar), red kidney beans (Goli cultivar), common beans (Khomein cultivar), cowpeas (Mashhad and Arabi cultivars) on the feeding responses of H. armigera by quantifying specific primary and secondary metabolites in the studied legumes and determining larval nutritional indices and digestive enzyme activities. The results showed that the highest efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) and relative growth rate values (RGR) of whole larval instars were obtained in the Dehghan and Goli cultivars. However, the lowest values of ECD and RGR were observed in the larvae fed on the Khomein and Mahta cultivars. The highest proteolytic and amylolytic activities of larvae were found on the Dehghan and Mashhad cultivars. The highest and lowest values of standardized insect-growth index and index of plant quality were observed in larvae feeding on the Dehghan and Khomein cultivars, respectively. Additionally, significant variations in phytochemical metabolites were recorded among the studied legume cultivars. Significant negative or positive correlations were also found between feeding characteristics and enzymatic activities of H. armigera with the biochemical composition of the studied legumes. The cluster analysis results revealed that artificial diets containing Mahta and Khomein cultivars were unsuitable for H. armigera, and can be used as candidates for integrated pest management programs or for screening insect inhibitors to produce genetically modified pest-resistant plants.

Female Grapholita molesta (Busck) release a pheromone blend composed of two stereoisomeric acetates (Z8-12:Ac and E8-12:Ac), which in a 100:6 ratio stimulate maximum conspecific male approach. Z8-12:OH is described as a third pheromone component that increases responses to the acetate blend. Departures from the optimal pheromone blend ratio, or too high or low pheromone doses of the optimal blend ratio, result in lower male response. In a previous study, we show that plant volatiles synergize male response to a suboptimal-low pheromone concentration. In the present study, we show that the plant blend does not synergize male response to a suboptimal-high pheromone dose. The plant blend, however, synergized male response to pheromone blends containing unnatural Z:E-acetate isomer ratios. We revisited the role of alcohols in the pheromone response of G. molesta by replacing Z8-12:OH with conspecific and heterospecific pheromone alcohols or with plant odors. Codlemone, the alcohol sex pheromone of Cydia pomonella L., E8, E10-12:OH, did supplant the role of Z8-12:OH, and so did the plant volatile blend. Dodecenol (12:OH), which has been described as a fourth pheromone component of G. molesta, also increased responses, but not as much as Z8-12:OH, codlemone or the plant blend. Our results reveal new functions for plant volatiles on moth sex pheromone response under laboratory conditions, and shed new light on the role of alcohol ingredients in the pheromone blend of G. molesta.

Brief notes are given on five species of boring insects that attack date palms in Iraq and between them cause considerable damage, based on observations in 1957–62. They comprise the Pyralid Arenipses sabella Hmps., the larva of which mines the spathes and fruit stalks, preventing fruit maturation; the Cerambycid Pseudophilus testaceus Gah., the larva of which mines the frond bases and stem;the Dynastid Oryctes elegans Prell, of which the adult makes a surface mine in the frond mid-rib or fruit stalk and the larva develops, usually, inside the stem of dead or moribund palms; the Bostrychid Phonapate frontalis (Fhs.), which mines in the frond mid-rib; and the termite Microcerotermes diversus Silv., which makes covered galleries up the outside of the stem and mines within the stems and frond bases of weakly palms.

Fifty-two standardised weekly collections of female mosquitos were made by human catchers at ground-level in lake-side forest near Entebbe, Uganda. The numbers of nullipars and pars in each sample were recorded, in order to determine whether the capacity of these mosquito populations to transmit virus varied seasonally. Methods are described for handling large catches for the purpose of identifying and age-grading. The total sample comprised 31,978 mosquitos belonging to 37 or more species. Results for 15 species are presented in detail.

The nulliparous rate (i.e., the number of nullipars as a percentage of total females) differs markedly between species, but relatively little within species. Certain species of Mansonia (Coquillettidia), mainly swamp breeders, have the highest nulliparous rate, and species of Aedes and Eretmapodites, which breed in small containers, have the lowest. In some species, biting females show a lower nulliparous rate than those caught resting.

Culex annulioris Theo. and species of Mansonia, which are swamp breeders, have a main peak of abundance between May and July, during the main rains and when lake-level is highest. Species of Aedes (Stegomyia), which are tree-hole or small-container breeders, show small, irregular, short-term fluctuations in numbers.

The number of pars, an epidemiologically important parameter, is absolutely highest at or soon after the time of greatest abundance. For certain bird-biting mosquitos, namely, Culex annulioris and species of Mansonia (Coquillettidia), most pars are found during the main rains, when susceptible hosts are also most numerous. Implications of these findings on virus-isolation programmes are briefly discussed.