Third-instar larvae and pupae of Macraspis aterrima Waterhouse, Macraspis rufonitida Burmeister, and Macraspis chrysis (Linné) from Mexico and Macraspis festiva Burmeister and Macraspis pseudochrysis Landin from Brazil are described. All larvae and pupae were found in rotten logs or stumps of numerous tree species. Illustrations of diagnostic structures, brief comments on the biology of each species, and a key to the seven larvae of the genus are included.

All Cardiophorus species found in Canada and the United States of America east of the Rocky Mountains are keyed and all but those with the majority of their ranges west of the Rocky Mountains are revised. Eleven species are recognized, three of which are new to science (C. catskillensissp. nov., C. destinensissp. nov., and C. panamapolissp. nov.). Cardiophorus floridae Candèze and C. angustatus Blanchard are synonymized under C. convexus (Say). All 11 are described and taxonomically important characters are presented. Distribution maps are presented for each species. The following lectotypes are designated for species that were described from more than one specimen without former holotype designation: C. angustatus, C. floridae, C. erythropus Erichson, C. gagates Erichson, C. togatus Horn, C. robustus LeConte, C. convexulus LeConte, and C. amictus Melsheimer. The following neotypes were designated to replace destroyed type specimens: C. cardisce (Say) and C. convexus.

The North American species previously treated as Xanthia togata (Esper) is shown to be a distinct species and described as new. Illustrations of adults and genitalia of X. togata and Xanthia tatago are provided.

There is increasing evidence that short-range reproductive behaviors of phytophagous pentatomid bugs are mediated by vibrational signals. These signals have not yet been examined for bugs in the genus Euschistus, which contains several species native to the Americas. Substrate-borne vibrational signals (songs) were recorded from both sexes of the Consperse stink bug, Euschistus conspersus Uhler, an economically important agricultural pest in western North America. Females produced two songs (FS-1 and FS-2), each consisting of a series of frequency-modulated pulses with a pulse duration of 352 ± 105 (mean ± SD) and 163 ± 36 ms, respectively. Males produced four distinct songs, two composed of frequency-modulated pulses (MS-1 and MS-3), one consisting of narrowband pulses (MS-2), and one composed of a series of 1–6 short pulses, many of which were fused to form distinct pulse trains (MS-4). For both males and females, songs consisting of very short, frequency-modulated pulses (FS-2 and MS-3), with a mean pulse duration <170 ms, were emitted when the other member of the pair was silent. Songs made up of longer, frequency-modulated pulses (FS-1 and MS-1) were produced spontaneously and in response to songs from conspecifics. Pulses of MS-2 were produced by a male once a duet with a female had been initiated. This song had no frequency modulation and a longer mean pulse repetition time than MS-1. The two female songs and three of the male songs (MS-1, MS-2, and MS-3) were produced during the calling phase of mating behavior. Pulse trains of MS-4 were emitted during close-range courtship. During copulation males produced intermittent pulses of MS-1, the function of which is unknown. Dominant frequencies of all songs ranged from 102 to 136 Hz, comparable with those of other pentatomid songs. Although there were superficial similarities in the song structures of E. conspersus when compared with those of other pentatomid species, the song repertoire of E. conspersus was distinct and unique.

Probable ancestral types of courtship behavior for most sepsid flies were deduced from the behavior and morphology of a species in the relatively basal genus Themira. At least three of the five behavior patterns used by Themira minor (Haliday) males to court females prior to and during copulation are shared with other, more derived groups. During copulation the male's sternal lobes were rotated so that their brushes of long setae were fanned apart and may tap the female. The morphology of the tips of the male's genitalic surstyli and the muscles attached to them indicate that they are also moveable. This trait, which occurs in several other distantly related species, probably serves to squeeze the female during copulation. Thus, contrary to the impression from previous studies, elaborate courtship before and during copulation may be widespread among sepsids.

Insect body size and fecundity are frequently reported to be correlated (e.g., Miller 1957; Dempster 1971; Beckwith 1976; Hough and Pimental 1978; Gilbert 1984; Carroll and Quiring 1993; Honek 1993; Spurgeon et al. 1995; Tammaru et al. 1996, 2002; Nylin and Gotthard 1998). The main body of evidence for this relationship stems from laboratory experiments where potential fecundity (or total egg production) is most often measured (Tammaru et al. 1996); very little evidence is available from field studies (Sopow and Quiring 1998). Realized fecundity (or total eggs laid) is affected by many extrinsic factors (e.g., Leather 1988; Carroll and Quiring 1993; Tammaru et al. 1996), suggesting that fecundity measures derived from laboratory experimentation may not be useful in nature where abiotic conditions may be highly variable (Carroll and Quiring 1993; Nylin and Gotthard 1998; Sopow and Quiring 1998).

The lily leaf beetle, Lilioceris lilii (Scopoli) (Fig. 1), was first noticed in Portage la Prairie (49°58′N, 98°20′W), about 90 km west of Winnipeg, in June and July 1999. The beetles were present on Asiatic lily varieties only, especially tiger lilies (Lilium tigrinum Ker-Gawl (Liliaceae)). Larvae and adults were observed at two locations in the northeastern section of the town. The plants that were attacked were completely defoliated.

We studied the effects of inundative releases of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma minutum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) on economic injury by grape berry moth, Endopiza viteana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Trichogramma minutum originally collected from natural host populations near North East, Pennsylvania, was mass produced in tobacco hornworm hosts and Mediterranean flour moth. We released T. minutum in border rows, where grape berry moth infestation is typically high, of experiment field station and commercial vineyards from 1996 to 1999. We recorded significant reductions in economic injury in plots where parasitoids were released. In vineyards with low to moderate grape berry moth abundance, four releases during the growing season were adequate in reducing damage at harvest to below 3%. In high-risk vineyards, T. minutum releases reduced damage to levels below 15%. The use of buckwheat as a cover crop to provide nectar in combination with parasitoid releases showed potential benefits in parasitoid activity. A biocarrier and Biosprayer™ were used in mechanized parasitoid-release operations, and no adverse effect on parasitoid emergence was recorded from parasitized eggs using this approach.

A field study was performed in southern Alberta, Canada, to assess the native wasp, Trichomalopsis sarcophagae (Gahan), as a potential biocontrol agent for house fly, Musca domestica L., and stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.). The wasp was readily reared in large numbers, which allowed for the cumulative release of an estimated 4.63 million wasps into three commercial feedlots during the 2-year study. Each of several releases predictably and repeatedly enhanced parasitism of sentinel house fly pupae, whereas parasitism remained low in three paired control feedlots where wasps were not released. Releases every 2nd week had a disproportionately greater effect than releases every 2nd month. In 1998, 1.2 million wasps were released into treatment feedlots resulting in the recovery of 3 952 T. sarcophagae from 31 500 sentinel pupae (0.13 wasps/pupa). In 1999, 3.43 million wasps were released into treatment feedlots, with the recovery of 37 763 wasps from 47 720 sentinel pupae (0.79 wasps/pupa). Hence, a 2.8-fold increase in the number of wasps released in 1999 resulted in a 6.1-fold increase in the recovery of wasps. This result supports industry recommendations of regular, repeated releases of wasps every 2nd or 4th week versus one or infrequent releases throughout the summer. There was no evidence that releases augmented overwintering populations of the wasp in subsequent years. These results provide proof-of-concept for the mass-rearing and release of T. sarcophagae as an inundative biocontrol agent for the control of pest flies in cattle confinements. Further studies will be required to assess the effect of T. sarcophagae releases on natural populations of pest flies.

Pitfall trapping is a widely used sampling method for biodiversity-related research of ground-dwelling arthropods. The trap is a container, usually with a preservative, that is sunk into the ground to collect arthropods which happen upon the trap perimeter and fall in (Lemieux and Lindgren 1999; Work et al. 2002). Two types receive the most use: deep circular pitfall traps and shallow rectangular pan traps (Marshall et al. 2001). The preserving fluid can influence trap efficacy (Deville and Wheeler 1998). Our objectives were to compare the efficiency of pitfall and pan traps with and without detergent in the preserving fluid (Marshall et al. 1994), using carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and spiders (Araneae) as focal taxa.

On page 188, the first sentence of paragraph 6 should read as “Seneciobium americanum was described from eight winged females caught in yellow water traps in Malargüe (Mendoza).”