Cutworms are excellent insects for investigations on physiology, behaviour, and toxicology in the laboratory. Although they are often plentiful and easily obtained in the field during outbreaks their use as laboratory animals is dependent upon satisfactory methods of rearing. Cutworms vary in life history and feeding habits, and many species require distinctive rearing techniques.

In the areae dentiparae, which slope far downward, nearly extending to the base of coxae III, this genus resembles Coelichneumonon Thoms. The propodeal slope, however, does not curve downward abruptly as in the latter genus, but slants gradually down in an oblique plane.

Gastrocoeli quite different from those typical of the Protichneumonini: much shallower and rather small, considerably narrower than their interval.

Postpetiole not longitudinally striated, but finely and irregularly reticulated in one species, almost smooth and shining in the other. Horizontal part of propodeum densely reticula-punctate, nearly opaque, costulae absent, areae superomedia and basalis not bordered by carinae, their place in one species indicated by a polished region.

Through the kindness of Dr. R. Stace-Smith of the Canada Department of Agriculture, Plant Pathology Laboratory, Vancouver, B.C., I have been able to collect and examine specimens of a species of Amphorophora occurring on Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) in British Columbia. This species, as well as showing morphological differences which separate it from all described species, differs also from them ecologically and in its ability to transmit certain Rubus viruses. (Stace-Smith, in press). Professors M. A. Palmer and George F. Knowlton have both seen some of this material and have given it as their opinion that it cannot be placed among the known species of Amphorophora. It is therefore described here as a new species.

The following is chiefly a description of taxonomically important features of all stages of Paraclemensia acerifoliella (Fitch). Heretofore the most detailed description of the stages of an incurvariid appeared in Jensen's (1932) paper on Incurvaria koerneriella Zell.

Classification and Synonomy

The maple leaf cutter, Paraclemensia acerifoliella (Fitch), belongs to the Incurvariidae, one of the most primitive families in the suborder Frenatae (suborder Monotrysia of Börner, 1939). Asa Fitch (1856) described this species and placed it in the genus Ornix in the family Tineidae. Clemens (1860) referred it to the genus Incurvaria with the remarks that “The wing structure departs from that of the genus [Incurvaria]….”

Tetrahydrofuran (tetramethylene oxide) has been recommended as a histological dehydrating and clearing agent for use in human pathology by Dahme and Rothemund (1) and more recently by Haust (2). Dahme and Rothemund recommended its use after a search for a non-toxic reagent miscible with both water and molten paraffin wax. These authors state that the toxicity of tetrahydrofuran only approaches that of ethyl ether, whereas dioxane, with similar properties, is highly toxic. Tetrahydrofuran would appear to be as safe for routine laboratory use as toluene and xylene when similar precautions are observed. Haust (1958) gives various schedules for its use on human pathological material, and compares it with the more traditional methods. She concludes that it is simpler to use, and at least equally as efficient as the conventional dehydrating and clearing agents. In our work on insects we have extended its use to a solute for fixing solutions, and for dissolving celloidin in a double embedding technique.

The hydrogen-ion concentration of the alimentary canal of insects has been studied by many workers. In their review of this subject, Day and Waterhouse (1953) conclude that the pH of the foregut is often the same as that of the food, that of the midgut varies in different species from 3 to 10, but that of the hindgut rarely varies far from neutrality. Various methods of determining pH and their relative merits have been discussed by Waterhouse (1940). He considers that incorporating pH indicators into the food is the most accurate method with insects that are too small to enable their gut pH to be measured electrometrically.

Host-finding and host selection by entomophagous insects are influenced by the plants on which their hosts feed (Milliron, 1940; Simmonds, 1944). Some species of parasites are attracted to certain plants before they receive any stimuli from the hosts (Cushman 1926; Monteith, 1955). Picard and Rabaud (1914) found that many parasitic Hymenoptera attack larvae of species of different families, and even of different orders, provided that they feed on the same species of food plant.

Many entomological problems require the identification and observation of insects without disturbing their surroundings. Such problems are usually concerned with insects within host or pupal coverings and radiography is a method well suited to their solution. The technique is a special type of radiography in which soft X-rays (wave length longer than about 0.25A), passing through an object of low density, produce a shadow image on fine-grain film in contact with the object.

The flight habits of any scolytid beetle are an important aspect of its biology, and times of flight should be known for effective chemical protection of logs against its attacks. Consequently, during the course of biological and chemical control investigations of the ambrosia beetle, Trypodendron lineatum (Oliv.), from 1954 through 1956, much attention was directed to a study of its flight activity. This species is well known to attack early in the spring. There are other attack flights later in the season but far fewer beetles are involved then. The beetles also fly at the time they leave the brood logs to enter forest litter, where they overwinter. Several methods were used to study the influence of weather, season, and other factors on flights of Trypodendron and, to a lesser extent, of other scolytids. These methods and some of the data secured are described and discussed in this paper.

A considerable amount of literature has been published on the genus Pseudohazis and its species but there is only one brief mention of the possibility of a two-year life cycle (Dyar 1904). Several rearings of P. eglanterina form normalis Dyar, completed by the author, have provided conclusive evidence that a two-year cycle is the usual life history pattern in southwestern British Columbia. One such rearing is herein described. This two-year cycle, the first winter in the egg stage and the second winter in the pupal stage, is not in phase as mature larvae and adult moths may be found in the same area at the same time. Detailed descriptions of larval and adult stages are in Dyar 1894 and Packard 1912. Acknowledgment is due to Dr. E. G. Munroe, Unit of Systematic Entomology, Ottawa, for his assistance in reviewing literature and specimen material

Root maggots infest radish in Manitoba to a limited extent each year. As early as 1920 Norman Criddle noted damage at Treesbank. In the Brandon area the infestations have usually been less than 10 per cent but have occasionally exceeded 20 per cent. Hylemya planipalpis (Stein) is the principal species.

There is little literature on this pest. Most references to root maggots on radish refer to other species. For example, Matthewman et al. (1950) identified the cabbage maggot, H. brassicae (Bouche), as the predominant species on radish at Ottawa whereas H. cilicrura (Rond.) and H. trichodactyla (Rond.) were given secondary importance. H. brassicae has not yet been reported in AIanitoba. In California Essig (1915) stated that Phorbia planipalpis (= H. planipalpis) was present but not the cabbage maggot. Brooks (1951) reported H. planipalpis to be the major root maggot pest of radish in the Prairie Provinces of Canada.

The genus Megagrapha Melander is characterized by small size, pubescent eyes, broad thorax, large flattened scutellum, and broad wings. The wing venation is most distinctive, the basal cells being large and subequal, the crossveins confluent, the anal crossvein absent, and the anal vein curving along the caudal margin of the wing. The only other genus with these characteristics is the South American genus Austrodromia Collin, but in that genus the crossveins are distinctly basad of the apex of the subcostal vein, whereas in Megagrapha they are approximately opposite the apex.

The Entomological Society of Canada held its eighth annual meeting jointly with the ninety-fifth annual meeting of the Entomological Society of Ontario at the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, from October 29 to November 1. This was the first meeting of the national society at the headquarters of the Ontario society, which for many years served as a national society. A total of 172 members and friends attended, including 23 members and guests from the United States and 17 wives. At the beginning of the opening session, a minute's silence was observed in tribute to Dr. K. W. Neatby, Director, Science Service, Canada Department of Agriculture, who had died on October 27. Addresses of welcome were given by G. G. Dustan, President, Entomological Society of Ontario, Dr. J. D. MacLachlan, President, Ontario Agricultural College, and G. P. Holland, President, Entomological Society of Canada. At the opening session, Mr. Holland asked whether the Society was paying due attention to all its responsibilities. He considered that responsibilities to amateur entomologists might well be given more attention, possibly by providing a place for amateurs on the programs at annual meetings, by publishing handbooks, and by providing financial aid to students in entomology. He welcomed Dr. V. B. Wigglesworth, Cambridge University, England, to the meeting and also D. K. McE. Kevan, Head, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Macdonald College, to Canada.

The familiar species Pycnarmon jaguaralis (Guenée) ranges from the Himalayas to the Solomons and Queensland with comparatively little variation. Specimens from Buru, Obi, Luzon, Amboina and Waigeu seem hardly different from those from the Himalayas.

Several Canadian workers have reported various results in the control of the onion maggot, Hylemya antiqua (Meig.), with chemicals applied to the soil surface (Dustan, 1938; Matthewman et al., 1942; McLeod, 1946; Perron et al., 1953; Finlayson and Handford, 1954). In these tests, the date of the first application of insecticide coincided with early oviposition of the insect, the second and third applications following at weekly or ten-day intervals. Satisfactory control was therefore dependent to a great extent on the grower's ability to recognize the beginning of oviposition by the pest in the field. However, many growers find this recognition difficult and poor control often results from the three-application program.

The cabbage maggot, Hylemya brassicae (Bouché), is one of the main factors limiting the production of high-quality rutabagas, Brassica napobrassica Mill., in the irrigated districts of southern Alberta. This crop is damaged late in its growing season; there is little damage to cruciferous crops in early spring except that occasionally early-transplanted cauliflowers are killed. This suggested the possibility of some change in the cropping practice if the flight and oviposition periods, recorded herein, were accurately known.

In an earlier paper (Syme and Davies, 1958), three new species in the hirtipes-complex (Prosimulium fuscum Syme and Davies, P. mixtum Syme and Davies and P. fontanum Syme and Davies) were described, compared with related species in other parts of the world, and their known distribution in northeastern North America indicated. In this paper are presented observations on the manner and dates of oviposition, on incubation, on the larval feeding, on the rate of larval growth during the fall and winter in a spring-fed stream, and on differences in habitat and seasonal emergence of the three new species.

That insect parasites regulate and, in the case of newly introduced species, sometimes reduce the average density of insect pests has led to an exmination of the properties of parasites in general. Consideration has been given to the manner in which parasites select hosts for oviposition and to the physiological and psychological basis of this selection. The distribution of parasite progeny among suitable hosts has been analysed in many cases, for the fewer the hostS that are superparasitized for any given number of parasite eggs laid the greater the efficiency of the parasite in reducing host density. It is obvious that before the factors of host selection and superparasitism become important in host-parasite interaction the parasite must find the host individuals. When the hosts are confined to a relatively small area the potential oviposition of the parasite, subject to discrimination among hosts and restraint in oviposition, often determines the level of parasitism. As distance between individuals of the host population becomes greater, however, it is necessary for the parasite to search the environment more extensively. Therefore, the ability of the parasite to find hosts is a factor of prime importance in determining its influence on the density of its host. The success with which a parasite discovers hosts in relation to host density is determined, of course, by several characteristics of the parasite species and by the modification of these characteristics through variations in the physical environment.

A portable suction-type fly-collecting apparatus has been developed and used extensively in connection with diarrheal disease studies in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. It was designed to facilitate rapid collection of domestic flies from interiors of inhabited dwellings. Conventional or special bait traps (Coffey 1948, Anon. 1952, Schoof 1952) would cause abnormal attraction of flies from extramural sources and create possible nuisances. Many sampled buildings were without electrical power to operate suction-type collecting equipment and use of cone or sweep nets (Maier and Dow 1949) was not practical because of the possibility of damage to household furnishings.

The seed-corn maggot, Hylemya cilicrura (Rond.), is a cosmopolitan pest and feeds on a wide range of hosts. The maggots cause extensive damage to seeds and seedlings of beans, soybeans, peas, corn, and cucurbits. Hitherto laboratory investigations have been hampered because the maggot has been very difficult to rear continuously.

Biological studies have indicated that such diverse diets as soybeans (Harukawa et al., 1934), cottonseed meal and fish meal (Reid, 1940), and potato (Leach, 1926) serve to rear the maggot to the adult stage. However, it has been difficult to maintain an adult colony for the time required for mating and oviposition. Reid (1940) used field-collected flies as a source of eggs in his experiments, but failed to get a second generation. Successive generations were reared by Ristich (1950), who provided a high protein diet for adults held in glass cages; in attempts to follow this method at Chatham, only one complete generation could be reared. A more satisfactory method of rearing the species continuously is described in this paper.