Field-acclimated Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, Québec, Canada, were examined over two years for winter survival, under the hypothesis that flies select protected overwintering microhabitats. In 2016–2017, flies trapped alive in the field or emerged from infested fruits were submitted to four winter regimes of either constant or daily fluctuating temperatures of 5 °C (2–8 °C) or 10 °C (7–13 °C). In 2017–2018, two fluctuating regimes averaging either 1 °C (–2 to 4 °C) or 3 °C (0–6 °C) were tested. Survival was modelled using Cox proportional hazard models testing probability that mortality risk varies with cold winter regime, fly sex, and fly provenance. Hazard ratios were about 1.7 times higher for males than for females. Models indicate that flies in constant and fluctuating 10 °C, in constant 5 °C, or in fluctuating 1 °C with daily exposure to –2 °C would not survive a six-month winter. Female survival extended to the next summer in fluctuating regimes averaging 5 °C or 3 °C. Estimates of 0.95 quantile survival (5%) indicate that overwintering D. suzukii experiencing such cold temperature regimes during winter, with no prolonged sub-zero temperatures, could survive until July of the following year, which is likely at the high population densities observed.

Forty-one belted kingfishers, Megaceryle alcyon (Linnaeus) (Aves: Coraciiformes: Alcedinidae), from Manitoba, Canada were examined for ectoparasites in 1995–2020. One species of chewing louse, Alcedoffula alcyonae Carriker (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae), infested 48.8% of hosts. The mean intensity of infestation was 17.1, and mean abundance was 8.5 lice per bird. Distribution of infestation was highly aggregated. Although female lice outnumbered males, the sex ratio was not significantly different from 1.0. The ratio of nymphs to females was 2.6. An unidentified species of feather mite of the genus Proterothrix Gaud (Acari: Astigmatina: Proctophyllodidae) infested three of 35 hosts (8.6%). No mites were found in the quills of primary feathers from 19 birds, and no nasal mites were collected from 32.

In this work, we used measures of diversity and biogeographic patterns to evaluate the response of dung-beetle assemblages (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) at two cattle ranches with different management systems on the southern Mexican High Plateau. The number of individuals and biomass were used as the primary diversity attributes of the assemblage. The 1D and 2D true diversity indexes of these attributes were examined, and the attributes were classified according to Halffter’s biogeographical patterns. In total, 1375 Scarabaeinae adults were collected, representing 11 species and seven genera. Site management regime did not significantly affect species richness or assemblage structure when the number of individuals was considered. However, species diversity and biomass turnover were higher in the system with holistic management than in that with semitechnified management. The proportions of Halffter’s biogeographical patterns also differed between the two production systems. In conclusion, the location under holistic management, despite having cattle production, contained a significant proportion of the Scarabaeinae species that are typical of the Mexican High Plateau. In contrast, the semitechnified system negatively impacted beetle abundance, leading to half the individuals, the dominance of species with high biomass, and the absence of groups typical of the region.

Pseudoscorpions are microarthropods that are distributed from the equator to beyond the Arctic circle. Wyochernes asiaticus (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Chernetidae) is the northernmost species of pseudoscorpion and is broadly distributed in Beringia, an Arctic and sub-Arctic region that remained unglaciated during the last glacial maximum. Wyochernes asiaticus is anoxia tolerant and has moderate cold tolerance, but nothing is known about the molecular basis of their survival in Canadian polar environments. We de novo assembled and characterised the transcriptome of W. asiaticus collected from the Yukon Territory in northwestern Canada. We assembled an approximately 62.6-million base-pair transcriptome with a mean contig length of 1277, which was 76% complete, according to a benchmark universal single copy orthologue (BUSCO) analysis. We identified 1100 transcripts encoding proteins associated with stress tolerance in these pseudoscorpions, including heat shock proteins, antioxidants, ubiquitination and proteosomal proteins, and sirtuins. We also identified transcripts encoding putative venom proteins. We highlight eight transcripts with high sequence similarity to sequences of venom proteins (ctenitoxins and agatoxins) described from other pseudoscorpions. Our study yields the first transcriptome of a Beringian arthropod, providing important sequence information that will allow future investigation of how W. asiaticus survives in Canadian polar environments.

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a significant destructive force in the pine forests of western Canada and has the capacity to spread east into a novel host tree species, jack pine (Pinaceae). New populations have been documented in central Alberta, Canada, but the source populations for these outbreaks have yet to be identified. In this study, we use genetic data to identify parent populations for recent outbreak sites near Slave Lake, Lac La Biche, and Hinton, Alberta. We found the northern population cluster that entered Alberta near Grande Prairie was the source of the most eastern established population near Lac La Biche, and the range expansion to this leading-edge population has been too rapid to establish evidence of population structure. However, some dispersal from a population in the Jasper and Hinton area has been detected as far north and east as Slave Lake, Alberta. We also identified two potential source populations for the current outbreak in Hinton: most beetles appear to be from Jasper National Park, Alberta, but some also originated from the northern population cluster. These findings demonstrate the dynamic dispersal capabilities of mountain pine beetle across the Alberta landscape and the potential hazard of increased dispersal to newly established leading-edge populations.

Neonicotinoid insecticides are used to reduce crop damage caused by insect pests, but sublethal levels could affect development and reproduction in nontarget insects, such as monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). To investigate the impact of field-realistic concentrations of the neonicotinoid clothianidin on monarch butterflies, we grew swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) (Apocynaceae) in either low (15 ng/g of soil) or high (25 ng/g of soil) levels of clothianidin, or in a control (0 ng/g), then raised monarchs on the milkweed. Morphological traits of monarch caterpillars were measured during development and, once they eclosed, were mated as adults to quantify egg size and mass and the number of eggs laid. Although the effects of the treatment had complex effects on caterpillar length, width and volume of late-instar caterpillars were negatively affected. Fifth-instar caterpillars from the high-dose insecticide treatment had lower mass than other groups. Adult monarch butterflies raised on treated milkweed were larger than controls, but clothianidin exposure did not affect the number of eggs laid or egg size. Although the magnitude of the effect depends on clothianidin concentration, our results suggest that exposure to clothianidin during early life can impact monarch caterpillar development but is unlikely to reduce female reproductive output.

The current interpretation of two common European species, Mordellistena minima Costa, 1854 and M. pseudorhenana Ermisch, 1977, is based on misidentification. The confusion regarding the identity of the species is fixed based on the revised type material. Here, the species are redescribed, and diagnostic characters are provided. Mordellistena pseudorhenana is revalidated. Mordellistena emeryi Schilsky, 1895 is recognised as a new synonym of M. minima. Mordellistena sajoi Ermisch, 1977 is recognised as a new synonym of M. pseudorhenana. Lectotype and paralectotypes of M. emeryi are designated. Mordellistena pseudorhenana is reported for the first time from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, and Switzerland. Two morphotypes of M. pseudorhenana differing in size and shape of the parameres are recognised. Morphological differences are quantified and displayed using principal component analysis. In addition, DNA barcodes have been used for the first time in family Mordellidae to examine the divergences between the species and to interpret the morphological variability observed in M. pseudorhenana. Low genetic divergences did not provide the evidence for considering the morphotypes as separate species. The discrepancy between the morphological and molecular evidence raises questions about the efficiency of the CO1 gene for Mordellidae identification and the stability of morphological traits conventionally used for species separation.

Molecular analyses of DNA samples necessitate careful attention to experimental protocols to prevent contamination of samples during the specimen collection and DNA extraction, amplification, and visualisation stages. When these studies involve insects that are collected in the field, standard procedures require samples to be individually sorted and stored in single tubes to prevent cross-contamination of DNA between specimens. This additional step can be time consuming and impractical when the survey population is large. The focus of our study was to experimentally determine if this assumed contamination risk is valid and if it varies with storage conditions. To test this, we co-stored a single intact fruit fly (Drosophilia melanogaster) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) known to be infected with the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia (Anaplasmataceae) with uninfected flies in tubes for three-hour, 24-hour, and one-week durations. For each treatment time, replicates of five tubes contained one infected fly and either one or five uninfected flies (1:1 and 1:5 ratios). Overall, eight of 30 tubes had contamination regardless of storage duration, and storing samples in crowded (1:5 ratio) conditions significantly increased the risk of Wolbachia DNA transference. Our results suggest that researchers should make efforts to sample and store specimens individually if cross-contamination is a concern in molecular analyses.

Spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a destructive defoliator found throughout the Nearctic boreal forest. This pest has a broad geographic range and shows regional variation in key life history traits. These population differences may represent important adaptations to local environmental conditions and reflect underlying genetic diversity. Existing laboratory colonies of spruce budworm do not capture this regional variation, so we established five new spruce budworm colonies from across its range to explore regional adaptations among spruce budworm populations within common garden experiments. We present methods for establishing new spruce budworm laboratory colonies from wild populations. We describe the process of flushing, rearing, and disease screening used on these new populations to produce healthy disease-free laboratory stocks.