This Index endeavors to continue part of Patch's (1938) impressive work, “Food Plant Catalogue of the Aphids of the World,” which attempted to include all host records up to the end of 1935. Although Higuchi and Miyazaki (1969) have produced a tentative host catalogue for Aphidoidea in Japan and Sharma (1969, 1971, 1972), Smith (1972), and Szelegiewicz (1969) have produced more recent bibliographies, Patch's host catalogue has not been updated on a world-wide basis. This is an attempt to fill this need as regards original host records of species of aphids described during 1935 to 1969. The index has been arranged alphabetically by genus and species of host, or under the colloquial name for the host where this was the only information given in the description of the species. Fossils, and species where the host was not given, have been listed under Fossils and Unknown respectively.

In Aedes aegypti, the ’matrone’ substance which caused mating inhibition and stimulated oviposition in females, was present in the anterior secretory region of the male accessory glands. In the divided accessory glands of male A. triseriatus, however, it was present in the posterior glands. The posterior gland substance in A. triseriatus was not species specific. It stimulated oviposition in A. aegypti and caused mating inhibition in A. atropalpus. The secretory substance of the posteriormost region in the glands of both species of mosquitoes was mucin in nature. This mucin substance effectively glued the secretory granules of the anterior region(s).

Onymacris rugatipennis is one of several diurnal adesmiine tenebrionid beetles living in various habitats near Gobabeb in the Namib Desert, South West Africa.

Late in the active part of the female daily cycle and before they dig into the ground, females are often persistently followed by one or more males. Intruding male challenges to followers are commonplace. Following occurs during the latter phase of the morning and especially during the afternoon activity cycle. Early in these activity cycles the principle male activity is feeding. Males emerge in the morning earlier than females, and late in their activity period most males are engaged in following or attempts to dislodge other followers. Of the five diurnal adesmiine species living near Gobabeb, only the males of O. rugatipennis fight with one another and defend space. Their space is maintained above the site where a female has dug into the ground at midday or in the evening. Defense involves exclusion of other males from the immediate vicinity of the female. Alien males are immediately evicted, but on some occasions there are serious challenges. Pairs of males may engage in vigorous wrestling matches involving head butting, shoving, throwing, biting, and kicking. Evenly matched individuals may wrestle for over 30 min and for more than 20 falls. The winner of such encounters remains over the buried female. The last individual to hold the space in the evening may mate with the resident female. The observed behavior is not territorial in the sense that there are no mutually recognized frontiers. There is, however, exclusive use of space and aggressive defense of that space.

Social order is re-established daily. There are no persistent inter-individual bonds between males and females. Males may return to the general area but not the exact place where they held space the previous day. Many individuals move long distances from the place where they were active on the preceding day.

Larger males tend to win wrestling matches. However, males are on the average smaller than females. Since larval males live in the habitats occupied by females, adult male body size is apparently not limited by larval energy limits. Hence we conclude that small adult male body size conveys advantages which may outweigh the disadvantage in wrestling matches. Some of the possible selection relationships countering large male size are discussed.

Females reject most mating attempts by males when they are active on the surface. They exercise no choice in mate selection following burrowing. Hence the mating system results in mating by the most persistent male followers and aggressive individuals able to hold the space above the place where the female burrows into the ground.

Adults of the merchant grain beetle, Oryzaephilus mercator Fauvel, were found most frequently in bran, shelled sunflower seeds, rolled oats, and brown rice in a series of tests of up to 18 different household foods and oilseeds. Walnuts and flaxseed ranked next among the preferred foods. Wide fluctuations in preference occurred with bran, bread crumbs, and soda crackers. In a test of sunflower seeds, rolled oats, and bran all were equally preferred. Few beetles were found in wheat germ flakes, cornflakes, whole rapeseed, and raisins, and one or none in flour, a mixture of flour and brewers’ yeast (95:5, w/w), pancake mix, shredded coconut, and crushed or pulverized rapeseed. The same foods, in pulverized form, contained few or no beetles, indicating that food density affects insect distribution.

A brief infestation of near outbreak proportions by larvae of Hylemya extremitata Malloch occurred on bromegrass, Bromus inermis Leyss and B. pumpellianus Scribn., at Beaverlodge, Alta., in 1971–72. Larvae feeding primarily on meristematic tissue caused injury to as many as 20% of the grass tillers examined. Mature larvae overwintered within the tillers. Adults emerged in mid-June. Descriptions are given of the three larval stages of this species and of mature larvae of the first two of the following four species of Chloropidae, which were also found living within the bromegrass: Olcella provocans (Becker), Oscinella coxendix (Fitch), Oscinella incerta Becker, and Conioscinella melancholica Becker.

A sequential decision plan, based on the Poisson distribution and providing for two infestation classes, was drawn up as an aid to management of the alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyll.), on first-growth alfalfa in Ontario. It is based on counts of the oviposition punctures in three-stem bouquets of alfalfa, and, in economic situations, will provide the grower with sufficient lead time to consider alternative action strategies. An appraisal of the plan under field conditions showed that it rated the infestation status of the weevil correctly in 56 of 60 cases. Sampling time averaged 35 man-min.

The three species of Iphitrachelus in America north of Mexico are reviewed. I. canadensis n. sp, is described from Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland. A key to all known species is given. The world distribution of Iphitrachelus is discussed.

Parasitism of Hyphantria cunea Drury was measured over a 17-year period in a series of permanent study areas in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The percentage of colonies attacked by parasites was independent of both plant host and colony size, but the percentage of larvae attacked within colonies decreased in the larger colonies. For most parasite species the percentage of larvae attacked per colony was relatively constant, regardless of the percentage of the colonies attacked in any area or year. Thus the colonial habit of H. cunea imposes a limit on the overall degree of parasitism that can be achieved by most of the parasite species.

The eggs of several species of cutworms of the subgenera Chorizagrotis, Crassivesica, Longivesica, Orosagrotis, and Pleonectopoda in the genus Euxoa Hübner are described. Within the genus eggs are of two main types, those with smooth chorions and those with ridged chorions, but all have the same basic chorionic design. Variations in the degree of ridging and in the detail of the design make the egg useful for species determination, and a key to some species is provided. However, the egg is of little value in distinguishing the subgenera as they are currently constituted.

The aequalis group of the genus Euxoa Hübner is defined on the basis of the genitalia. The species in the group are: aequalis (Harvey), acornis (Smith) with two subspecies acornis acornis (Smith) and acornis alko (Strecker), conjuncta (Smith), cona (Strecker), and luctuosa new species. Adults and genitalia are illustrated and a synopsis is given for each species. A key to species and subspecies is included.

The life history and the immature stages, especially the ultimate larval instar, of Enargia decolor (Walker), are described and illustrated. This insect has only one generation a year in northern Alberta. It overwinters in the egg stage. The first two larval instars roll leaves and feed on the mesophyll. The last four larval instars feed on the edge of the leaves, and construct flat cases by webbing two leaves together. Pupation occurs in the soil during July. Adults emerge from late July until late August; the eggs are laid in August. Fifteen species of parasites and one species of hyperparasite were reared from larvae of E. decolor. Five of the parasites are known to have issued from other lepidopterous species feeding on aspen.

The addition of copper to an artificial diet greatly improves growth of the house cricket, Acheta domesticus (L.). Adding zinc improves growth in the presence of added copper, but not in its absence, indicating an interaction between the two trace elements. Reproduction is always ’normal’ with added copper in the diet. Zinc added at a low level will support ’normal’ reproduction, but not at high levels. Survival is poor without added copper in the diet. It is suggested that the minimum growth requirements for zinc and copper are a total of 23 μg/g diet and 14 μg/g diet respectively.

A key is given to species of Aphis L. on Umbelliferae in Manitoba: A. spiraecola Patch, A. heraclella Davis, A. decepta Hottes and Frison, A. thaspii Oestlund, and A. saniculae Williams. A. signatis Hottes and Frison is considered to be a synonym of A. thaspii, and A. luridis Hottes and Frison a synonym of A. saniculae.

The date of oviposition of eggs of Melanoplus bivittatus (Say) had a major effect on the stage of embryonic development at freeze-up, and subsequently on the sequence of hatching and hatchability the following spring. The later eggs were laid during summer and autumn, with generally declining temperatures, the greater the retardation in development, and in turn the greater the delay of hatching the following spring and the reduction in percentage hatch. Seasonal and diumal emergence of the hatchlings is described in relation to weather conditions.

Mean fecundity of hemlock sawfly females emerging from cocoons collected on heavily defoliated western hemlock trees was significantly less than fecundity of females collected from lightly defoliated trees. Fecundity was highly correlated with female cocoon diameter and female forewing length, but was most highly correlated with both variables combined. Time-saving double sampling techniques are discussed for determining mean fecundities of new samples when mean cocoon diameter and forewing length are known.

The effectiveness of bait traps to capture adult Glischrochilus quadrisignatus (Say) was evaluated for 5 years. Traps comprised of 2.85-1. cans baited with ripe bananas, an insecticide, and a small amount of water captured from 21000 to 58000 beetles/trap when placed around the periphery of tomato fields at a density of 5 traps/ha from spring to fall. The largest numbers were trapped during the 5-week interval from mid-July to mid-August when newly developed adults emerged from the soil.

The shape of plasmatocytes in heat-fixed blood of sixth instar larvae of E. rockburnei was compared with that of the same cells in the two other species of the "declarata group", E. campestris and E. declarata. The data show that the shape, represented as the length/width ratio of mature, fusiform plasmatocytes, can serve to distinguish between populations of all three species. It suggests too that E. rockburnei is more closely related to E. declarata than to E. campestris.

Caterpillar dispersal among food plants is difficult to measure directly in field populations. However, the tendency of fifth instar cinnabar moth caterpillars to drop from plants when disturbed is correlated to measured larval dispersal in experimental populations. This easily executed behavioural test can therefore be used as an indirect indicator of dispersal in different populations. The degree of response of first and fifth instar cinnabar moth larvae to disturbance is correlated for eight populations tested, possibly indicating a common agent selecting for the falling reaction among larvae in these different stages of development.

Many insects drop from their food plants in response to disturbance and we suggest that this behaviour might provide a useful tool to elucidate relationships between insect dispersal and resource exploitation.