Six new aleocharine species are described and illustrated from the Yukon and Alaska: Atheta (Dimetrota) cadeti Klimaszewski and Godin, sp. nov.; Atheta (Hypatheta) pseudomet lakatlana Klimaszewski and Godin, sp. nov.; Cypha inexpectata Klimaszewski and Godin, sp. nov.; Oxypoda yukonensis Klimaszewski and Godin, sp. nov., Oxypoda pseudoconvergens Klimaszewski and Godin, sp. nov.; and Clusiota antennalis Klimaszewski and Godin, sp. nov.Atheta (Rhagocneme) subsinuata (Erichson), known from the western Palaearctic region, was discovered in the Yukon and is reported in North America for the first time as an adventive species. Amischa tersa Casey is recorded from Canada and the Yukon for the first time. Twenty-four new records of aleocharine species from the Yukon are provided in addition to species described as new to science. One hundred and fifteen digital images of external and genital structures are provided for species identification.

A new species, Chaoborus sampsera, is described from male and female adults collected from Papua Province in western New Guinea, Indonesia. Based on leg banding, wing pigmentation, and possession of a median paramere sclerite in males, the new species belongs to the Chaoborus “pallidus” group of Colless. Chaoborus sampsera is distinguished from other species of the “pallidus” group by the scimitar-shaped parameres. Although relationships among these Chaoborus species are unclear, there are morphological characters that support the “pallidus” group.

The Gulf of St. Lawrence aster, Symphyotrichum laurentianum (Fernald) G.L. Nesom (Asteraceae), a small annual halophyte endemic to disturbed and highly transient habitats in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is classified as “threatened” by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Lepidopteran larvae that are predispersal seed predators of the Gulf of St. Lawrence aster are reported for the first time from populations in Prince Edward Island National Park. DNA barcoding was used to identify the seed predators tentatively as larvae of the casebearing moth Coleophora triplicis McDunnough (Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae), which is typically associated with a related halophyte, Solidago sempervirens L. (Asteraceae). These larvae were found to consume a large proportion of seeds from one of two aster populations in Prince Edward Island National Park and may be yet another risk to the survival of this threatened species.

We tested the hypothesis that slow rewarming would improve the ability of Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (Diptera: Drosophilidae) larvae to survive acute low-temperature exposure. Four larval stages (1st, 2nd, and 3rd instars, including wandering-stage 3rd instars) of four wild-type strains were exposed to –7 °C for periods of time expected to result in 90% mortality. Larvae were then directly transferred to their rearing temperature (21 °C) or returned to this temperature either in a stepwise fashion (pausing at 0 and 15 °C) or by slow warming at 1 or 0.1 °C/min. We observed a reduced rapid cold-hardening effect and no general increase in survival of acute chilling in larvae rewarmed in a stepwise or slow fashion, and we hypothesize that slow rewarming may result in accumulation of chill injuries.

QM, a tumor-suppressor gene, plays an important role in cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. In this report, a homologue of human QM was isolated from the ant Polyrhachis vicina Roger. The full-length cDNA of P. vicina QM (PvQM) is 827 base pairs (bp) and contains a 5′-untranslated region of 91 bp and a 3′-untranslated region of 77 bp. The open reading frame of PvQM encodes a deduced 219-amino acid peptide with a predicted molecular mass of 25.1 kilodaltons. The results of sequence alignments indicate that the PvQM protein shares an overall identity of 76.7%–98.2% with other known QM homologues, and is most closely related to that of Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Real-time quantitative reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction was performed to compare PvQM mRNA expression during P. vicina development and within different castes. The data revealed that PvQM mRNA is differentially expressed during P. vicina development, with the highest expression level in embryos and the lowest in late-instar larvae and pupae. The levels of PvQM transcripts also vary among castes, with higher levels in workers and lower levels in both males and females. These results suggest that PvQM is developmentally and caste-specifically regulated at the level of transcription.

The existence of a sex pheromone of Bradysia odoriphaga Yang and Zhang was investigated prior to the possible development of a semiochemical-based monitoring system or tools for controlling this pest. In laboratory bioassays, live virgin females stimulated 91% of males to attempt to mate. Methylene dichloride washes of whole bodies and excised ovipositors of females attracted males in olfactometer assays. These results indicate the presence of a female sex pheromone in B. odoriphaga, with the ovipositor as its possible source.

Seven characters were evaluated in 146 specimens of Gomphus fraternus (Say), including both subspecies, G. f. fraternus (Say) and G. f. manitobanus Walker, to clarify their circumscription and geographic occurrence in Canada. Specimens corresponding to subspecies manitobanus were all from the Assiniboine and Red rivers and formed a discrete group in a principal components analysis, supporting their taxonomic recognition. Their distribution in Canada suggests a separation of subspecies near the boundary of the prairie ecozone in central southern Manitoba. In subspecies fraternus the extensor surfaces of the tibiae are largely black, with pale areas often lacking and rarely up to 50% of the segment length. Similarly the dorsal surface of abdominal segment 9 is largely black. If there is a pale area, it is <1 mm long. In subspecies manitobanus the extensor surfaces of the tibiae have pale markings on ≥50% of their lengths and the dorsal surface of abdominal segment 9 has a dorsal yellow spot ≥1.4 mm long. Widespread dragonflies in western North America are paler in drier climates and the increased pale colouration in the western subspecies manitobanus corresponds to this trend. Currently known only from Manitoba, subspecies manitobanus may occur in prairie habitats of the Midwestern United States, based on reports of pale individuals in that region.

Previous studies have shown that annual crops have different spider (Araneae) assemblages than adjacent relatively natural habitats, suggesting that spider recolonization of crops occurs via long-distance ballooning and that spider species in crops are mainly agrobionts. However, in perennial crops, e.g., apple (Malus domestica Borkhausen (Rosaceae)), which are subject to less physical disturbance than annual crops, overlap in spider species has been observed between tree foliage and adjacent habitats, suggesting that spiders colonize orchards from adjacent vegetation. The objective of this study was to compare the species composition of assemblages of foliage-dwelling spiders in apple orchards with that in adjacent deciduous forest and to determine whether spider assemblages in orchards are dominated by agrobiont species. Spiders were collected from four apple orchards and adjacent deciduous forest in southern Quebec from May until August 2004. The similarity of assemblages between the orchard and forest habitats was evaluated using nonmetric multidimensional scaling and multiresponse permutation procedures and spider species richness in the two habitat types was compared using rarefaction. Although spider species richness was higher in the forest than in the orchards, the composition of the spider assemblages in apple orchards was not significantly different from that in adjacent deciduous forest at three of the four sites. Therefore, adjacent deciduous forest, which is similar to orchards in vegetation structure and frequency of structural disturbance, is likely the main source of spiders found in apple orchards.

We studied the abundance, diversity, and dispersion patterns of managed and wild bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) populations in commercial highbush blueberry and cranberry (Ericaceae: Vaccinium corymbosum L., Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) fields in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, and assessed their potential as pollinators of these crops by determining which groups of bees had the greatest impact on percent yield and mass of berries. Bumble bees were evenly distributed within both crops. Other wild bee species were well distributed in blueberry fields but generally remained at edges of cranberry fields. Percent berry yield was not related to bee abundance for any group of bees, nor was species diversity correlated with berry mass. Blueberry mass and cranberry mass were related to abundance of bumble bees but not to that of honey bees or other wild bees. Bumble bees are recommended as potential alternative pollinators of these crops.

Three major lineages of mites (Arachnida: Acari) are parasitic in the nasal passages of birds: Rhinonyssidae (Mesostigmata), Ereynetidae (Prostigmata), Cytoditidae, and Turbinoptidae (Astigmata). The most diverse group of avian nasal mites is the Rhinonyssidae, which are obligate endoparasites of non-ratite birds worldwide. Prior to this study, there were only four published and three unpublished records of nasal mites from birds in Canada. In Alberta, 15% of 450 birds (154 species) examined during 2003–2007 were infested with nasal mites; in Manitoba, 16% of 2447 birds (196 species) examined during 1996–2006 were infested. We have expanded the known records of host – nasal mite species in Canada from 7 to 102, a 14-fold increase. There are now 50 species of Rhinonyssidae, 7 species of Ereynetidae, and 1 species of Turbinoptidae known from birds in Alberta and Manitoba. We predict that at least 70 species of rhinonyssid mites can be found in Canada.

Growth patterns of Rheumatobates crassifemur crassifemur Esaki and R. bonariensis (Berg) were compared in a multivariate framework. Study of allometric coefficients in R. bonariensis showed sexual differences biased towards males in antennal and foreleg segments and biased towards females in body length and middle-leg segments. Multivariate allometric analysis of female growth patterns detected variation among species in those characters that are strongly modified in males of R. c. crassifemur. We show that sexual morphology diverges as of nymph V in R. c. crassifemur but only in the adults of R. bonariensis.

The aphid Acyrthosiphon svalbardicum Heikinheimo, which is endemic to Svalbard and feeds exclusively on eightpetal mountain-avens, Dryas octopetala L. (Rosaceae), has developed a series of adaptive traits to cope with the harsh conditions of the High Arctic. Prior to this study, only a single specimen of the winged morph of A. svalbardicum had been found, suggesting extremely low dispersal potential. In 2006 we collected many winged females in several places at Kongsfjorden, Spitsbergen. Although winged individuals were generally found in high-density populations, no significant relationship existed between aphid abundance and wing development. We discuss whether this sudden increase in winged-morph production by A. svalbardicum is related to a warmer than usual summer in Svalbard.

Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) tridentatum tridentatum Packard (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) is a spider-hunting wasp in mesic and xeric habitats in the arid Baja California peninsula of Mexico. Spider (Araneae) prey were collected every 2 weeks from wasp trap nests. Individuals of the family Araneidae were the most abundant prey (60.9%), followed by Theridiidae and Mimetidae. Dictynidae, Anyphaenidae, Salticidae, Uloboridae, Tetragnathidae, Miturgidae, and Philodromidae were captured only in the mesic habitat. An unidentified species of Eriophora Simon (Araneidae) was the most frequently collected spider in the xeric habitat (29.0%), followed by Theridion submissum Gertsch and Davis (Theridiidae) (24.0%), which was the commonest prey species in the mesic habitat (21.1%), and Metepeira crassipes Chamberlin and Ivie (Araneidae) (16.5%). Nineteen species and three families are newly recorded as prey. The araneids Araneus lineatipes (O.P.-Cambridge) and Kaira alba (Hentz) and the uloborids Philoponella arizonica (Gertsch) and Uloborus segregatus Gertsch are new records for Baja California.