Framinghamia Strand, 1920: 160. Monotype: [Pionea helvalis Walker=] Framinghamia botys Strand.

The common species helvalis Walker has ordinarily been placed in Phlyctaenia Hübner; this arrangement is unnatural even on the old definition of the genus. The third joint of the labial palpus is exposed and the species runs to Archernis in Hampson's (1898) key. The species of that genus, however, are of much stouter build and have radically different genitalia; there is accordingly, I think, no direct relationship. Framinghamia helvalis (Walker), new combination, like the species of Archernis, belongs to the group of Pyraustinae that has lost the frenulum hook. Framinghamia may be differentiated from Udea by the different configuration of the palpi (Fig. 12), as well as by genitalic characters (Fig. 8). Among the more striking features of the male genitalia are the absence of the uncus, the conspicuous fringe of long, heavily pigmented scales along the costa of the valve, the broad transtilla, the minute, furcate juxta, and the twisted, ribbon-like coremata, with simple scent tufts.

The Effect of DDT on the Mid-Gut of the Bee

The mid-gut from twelve bees poisoned with the pure para isomer of DDT was studied. Of these, five contained the large bubble of gas described on page 48: their histological appearance was almost identical but it differed in some ways from those which contained no bubble.

In 1937-38 the Argentine Department of Agriculture initiated an exchange of grasshopper parasite material with the Canadian Department of Agriculture which was engaged in a study of the natural control of grasshoppers in various provinces of Canada. By 1942 it was considered desirable to introduce exotic species of parasites into Canada on as wide a scale as possible, and the temperate regions of South America were selected as being the most promising for a survey. The parts of the temperate zone of South America to which preferential attention was to be given included the countries of Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile. The well known grasslands of the Rio de la Plata area have been partially transformed into one of the world centres for cereal production and as in other parts of the world increased grasshopper populations constitute a major problem in the agriculture of the region. Here species of the genus Dichroplus are frequently pests in the way in which members of the closely related Melanoplus are in North America.

The following are notes on the taxonomies and synonymies, and on the distributions in Canada, of the Nearctic species of leafhoppers of the genus Oncopsis Burmeister. Twenty-one species referable to this genus have been described from the Nearctic region. Seventeen were listed as valid species by Oman (1949), under Oncopsis, Macropsis, and Zinneca. One is probably not a Nearctic species. In the present paper 14 names are considered to be synonyms. This reduces the number of Nearctic species to seven, including one new species described below. Wagner (1949) discussed six species found in Germany. Of these, two were new and the remaining four had been described under a total of 14 names.

The majority of specimens on which the following descriptions are based were collected as larvae and reared to maturity in British Columbia in the Forest Insect Survey, Forest Insect Investigations. Though this procedure has certain definite advantages, it presents some difficulties in description, the adults often being darker in colour and smaller in size than those captured in flight. It was also observed that the structures of the genitalia are sometimes more delicate in reared specimens, so that single adults were, at times, difficult to associate with the descriptions and with genitalia mounts in the Canadian National Collection. Five new species, a new subspecies, and the previously unknown female of a sixth species are described in this paper. Brief notes on the biology, the distribution, and host plants of some previously recorded species have also been included.

This study of the genus Paradejeania Brauer and Bergenstamm was originally undertaken to determine the status to be accorded the western North American representative of this genus. It has been concluded that the single North American species of this genus–rutilioides–is polytypic, so that a new subspecies is proposed for the western North American form. An undescribed species from Colombia has also been available for study, through the kindness of Dr. C. Howard Curran, and is herein described, thus establishing the occurrence of the genus Paradejeania in South America.

The embryonic development of the bertha armyworm is traced from the time of oviposition until blastokinesis. The following are described: the egg; fertilization and cleavage; formation of blastoderm, serosa, and amnion; the germ band; formation and differentiation of the lower layer; germ layers and derivatives; blastokinesis.

The larvae of the genus Zale, unlike typical phalaenid larvae, are long and slender, and taper anteriorly and posterioriy. The anterior pairs of abdominal prolegs are reduced in size, and the anal prolegs are usually extended behind the body. The species are closely related to those of the genus Cntocala, with which they should not be confused.

The nomenclature of the conifer-feeding species is that used by McDunnough (1943) in his revision of the obliqua-metatata group, and the species lineosa (Walker) is the species to which Morrison's names galbanata and penna are referable (Franklemont, 1950).

One of the objects of the investigations on the European spruce sawfly, Gilpinia hercyniae (Htg.), in Eastern Canada was to discover and evaluate the factors of natural control affecting this introduced species in its new environment. Small mammal predators were found to be the most important factor affecting the sawfly cocoons, which were spun in the moss or litter of the forest floor (4, 5). These predators chewed large openings in the cocoons and pulled out the contents. Cocoons were also found with smaller openings made by the entry of insect predators, and occasionally such a cocoon was found with a larva of the family Elateridae partly inside (Fig. 1).

A great number of papers and notes have been written on the root maggots attacking cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, and radish in Canada and the United States during the past 75 years. These deal chiefly with the occurrence, life-history, and control of the cabbage maggot, Hylemya brassicae (Bouché), or species which have been misidentified as that species. The Canadian work has followed the lead of Gibson and Treherne (1916), but in spite of the accumulation of information on the life-history of the species, on cultivation methods, and on insecticides, the pests of these cruciferous plants remain as noxious as ever.

All known bird fleas are believed to have been derived from species that originally infested mammals. Circumstances evidently have occurred whereby representatives of species that were ordinarily the parasites of mammals became associated with buds, and were successful in establishing themselves on these hosts. These circumstances must have included some provision for isolation whereby the newly transferred colonies of fleas were not given the opportunity of becoming reassociated with the original hosts, and also were not contaminated by subsequent introductions of others of their species. Thus they were able to become adapted to an existence on the bodies and in the nests of avian hosts. The adaptations were physical as well as physiological, many bird fleas exhibiting morphological characteristics which, though not yet properly understood, apparently bear some relationship to their specialized environment.

The influence of varietal differences in plants on infestation by aphids has received considerable attention in control studies. Painter (14), in 1941, concluded that the composition of the available food in the host plant plays possibly the most important role in determining the relative resistance to aphid attacks. In biological studies on Aphis rumicis L., Davidson (8) found that factors that influence the physiological activity of the plant affect also the progress of aphid infestation. The same author (6) also pointed out that aphids exhibit a wide range of fecundity on different hosts. “The sap of certain varieties of beans”, writes Davidson, “appears to have a direct inhibiting effect upon the reproductive capacity of the aphids, whereas that of other varieties seems to have the opposite effect.”

At the time of my retirement on December 31, 1950, a number of notes on synonymy and generic transfers had accumulated. Many of these are thought worthy of publication and this paper is made up of a number of them. Those included notes which deal with Nearctic forms will clarify the treatment of certlin genera and species in the catalog of North American Hymenoptera, now in process of publication by the U.S. Department of Agiculture, the Chalcidoidea section of which catalog has assembled and edited by O. Peck of the Canadian Department of Agriculture but which is based in great part upon the classification and arrangement of the collection in the United States National Museum. The catalog will probably appear in print before this paper does. Several notes dealing with forms not known to occur in the Nearctic region, hence not appearing in the catalog, are also included.

Study of the series placed in the Canadian National Collection as Nymphula badiusalis (Walker) revealed that it consisted of specimens of two closely similar species. The original descriptions are sufficiently detailed to indicate that one of these is N. badiusalis and that the other is N. curviferalis (Walker), which has been considered a synonym of N. badiusalis. The following brief descriptions will permit separation of the species.

In order to expedite the study of the effects of various biologically active chemicals upon the blood cells of insects a rapid clinical type method was needed that would allow preparations to be made with small (1 microliter or less) samples of blood which could be drawn without sacrificing the insect, and could be fixed and stained quickly for examination. A method meeting these requirements for the study of the blood cells of the American and German cockroaches has been developed.

As many Canadian entomologists are still not clear about the relationship between the recently formed Entomological Society of Canada and the regional entomological societies in Canada, I shall attempt to clarify it.

The national society will serve not as the parent of but simply as the link between the Acadian Entomological Society, the Entomological Society of Quebec, the Entomological Society of Ontario, the Entomological Society of Manitoba, the Entomological Society of British Columbia, and any others that may be established.

The arctic species Dasyuris polata, described by Duponchel (1830: 402; Pl. 199, Fig. 4) from northern Europe, has been known from America since early times. The species is notoriously variable; until recently, however, it has not been possible to assess the geographic components of its variation.

There are now, largely as a product of the Northern Insect Survey, excellent series of D. polata in the Canadian National Collection. Through the kindness of correspondents I have been able to supplement these series by borrowing material of certain non-Canadian forms, and it has become evident that D. polata has striking geographic variation in North America.

There are many types of commercial photo copying machines designed to make paper negatives or direct paper positives without the aid of a camera. These range from the costly rotary printers used in industry to the cylindrical type used in offices. Most of these produce excellent copies of single sheets; but with many of them there is considerable difficulty in making copies from books, the printing usually being blurred and the copy unevenly shaded. The physical pressure required to make perfect contact during exposure often damages larger books.

The Presidential Address given by C. P. Clausen to the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Association of Economic Entomologists and recently published in the Journal of Economic Entomology (1) contains much food for thought for workers in the field of biological control. The thesis developed by Clausen in his address is, briefly, that any introduced parasite or predator that is destined to produce full commercial corkrol wiIl do so within three generations or at most within three years. If it does not produce full commercial control within this period it is safe to say that it will never do so. Species that prove ineffective after three generations or three years from the period of introduction should therefore be dropped and efforts directed toward the introduction of other species.

This paper offers a taxonomic treatment of the American species belonging to the genus properly known as Phratora but designated as Phyllodecta Kby. by recent authors. Phyllodecta was described by Kirby in 1837 (p. 216); the month of publication is given as October by Sherborn (1929, p. 4931), and, according to Westwood (1837). Kirby's volume was presented on November 6 to the monthly meeting of the Entomological Society of London. Phratora has been attributed to Redtenbacher, because he was the first to publish the name with a description of generic characters, and has been dated 1845 (p. 116) or 1849 (p. 554). Phratora Redt., lacking priority, has been considered a synonym of Phyllodecta Kby. However, in 1837 both Chevrolat (p. 405 or 429) and Faldermann (p. 363) used Phratora in ways that would validate the name; Chevrolat's usage, and possibly that of Faldermann, antedates Kirby's description of Phyllodecta. Chevrolat listed previously described species Phratora, and his usage, as shown by Barber and Bridwell (1940, p. 4), was published between March 1 and July 5, 1837. Faldermann, without comment on the genus, described a new species in Phratora, but the exact date of his publication is unknown. The species considered by all these authors are congeneric. A consideration of genotypes is impractical at this time, but such is not required to show that the genus should be known as Phratora and that Phyllodecta is a synonym.