Six new flower fly species are described: Blera chillcotti Thompson (Nepal), Sphiximorpha mcalpinei Thompson (Mexico), Psilota shewelli Thompson (Nepal), Rhopalosyrphus teskeyi Thompson (Argentina), Parasyrphus vockerothi Thompson (United States of America and Canada), and Lycopale woodi Thompson (Mexico). Keys are provided to the species of the genera Lycopale Hull and Rhopalosyrphus Giglio-Tos, the Nearctic species of Sphiximorpha Rondani, and the Oriental species of Blera Billberg and Psilota Meigen.

The Canadian registration in 2007 of Disrupt SBW Micro-Flakes®, a pheromone-based product for control of spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), paved the way for large-scale trials to test the practicality of mating disruption as a commercial pest management strategy. We review results from field and laboratory experiments on pheromone-based mating disruption of spruce budworm conducted from 1974 to 2008. Application of pheromone from the ground or the air consistently reduced the orientation of males toward pheromone sources. Mating disruption also reduced the mating success of caged or tethered females in 15 of 16 field studies where this parameter was recorded, but had only a limited effect on the mating success of feral females. No consistent difference in the density of egg masses in control and treated plots was observed, which has often been attributed to immigration of gravid females into pheromone-treated plots. Laboratory studies suggest that false-trail following is the predominant mechanism underlying mating disruption in spruce budworm. The enhanced mating success of females with increasing population density suggests that mating disruption should target low-density emergent populations during the initial phase of an outbreak. Constraints that may limit the potential of mating disruption as a management tool include (1) difficulties associated with obtaining accurate sampling estimates at low population density to forecast the onset of outbreaks, (2) potential behavioral adaptations by which females enhance their mating success when the atmosphere is treated with pheromone, and (3) long-range dispersal of females by flight.

In recent decades, invasive phloem and wood borers have become important pests in North America. To aid tree sampling and survey efforts for the newly introduced goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), we examined spatial patterns of exit holes on the boles (trunks) of 58 coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia Née (Fagaceae), trees at five sites in San Diego County, southern California, United States of America. Agrilus auroguttatus exit hole densities were greater at the root collar than at mid-boles (6.1 m above ground). Dispersion patterns of exit holes on lower boles (≤1.52 m) were random for trees with low exit hole densities and aggregated for trees with high exit hole densities. The mean exit hole density measured from three randomly chosen quadrats (0.09 m2) provided a statistically reliable estimate of the true mean exit hole density on the lower bole, with <25% error from the true mean. For future sampling and survey efforts in southern California oak forests and woodlands, exit hole counts within a 0.09 m2 quadrat could be made at any three locations on lower Q. agrifolia boles to accurately estimate A. auroguttatus exit hole densities at the individual tree level.

The Korean species of the genus Latibulus Gistel (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) are reviewed. Two new species and a key to nine species are presented: Latibulus argiolus (Rossi), Latibulus bilacunitus Sheng and Xu, Latibulus flavopetiolus Oh and Lee new species, Latibulus fulvus Oh and Lee new species, Latibulus hokkaidensis Lee and Oh, Latibulus lautus (Tosquinet), Latibulus liaoningensis Sheng et al., Latibulus nigrinotum (Uchida), and Latibulus orientalis Horstmann. The genus is reported from Mongolia for the first time, based on the cocoon of an unidentified species. Polistes chinensis antennalis Pérez and Polistes jadwigae jadwigae Dalla Torre (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) are reported as new host species for the genus and L. nigrinotum, respectively.

Rabbitbrush, Chrysothamnus Nuttall spp. (Asteraceae), is a common perennial native shrub across the inland western United States. In the Columbia Basin growing district of Washington State, rabbitbrush is often found in close proximity to potatoes and other agronomic crops, but its value as a conservation reservoir and source of parasitoids of merit in agriculture is unknown. Here, we define the aphid parasitoids frequenting rabbitbrush, their aphid host preferences, seasonal occurrence, and linkage or association with other aphids of economic and noneconomic importance. Extensive field collections, lab-holdings, and rearings were used to explore and characterise the fauna. One new species of aphidiine parasitoid is described and illustrated: Praon cowiche Hollingbery and Pike, new species and a key to the parasitoids of rabbitbrush aphids is provided.

Predators of Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae) were surveyed and their ability to suppress A. glycines population growth was determined in Harbin, northeast China (45.4°N, 126.4°E). Field surveys were conducted on 21 fixed sampling sites in 2004 and 17 in 2005. Impacts of natural enemies of A. glycines were studied using exclosure experiments. Thirteen natural enemies were found, the most abundant of which was Propylaea japonica (Thunberg), Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Chrysopa sinica Tjeder, Chrysopa phyllochroma Wesmael, Chrysopa formosa Brauer (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), Hemerobius humuli Linnaeus (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae), Orius Wolff sp. (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae), Nabis stenoferus Hsiao (Heteroptera: Reduviidae), Deraeocoris punctulatus (Fallén) (Heteroptera: Miridae), and Episyrphus balteata (De Geer) (Diptera: Syrphidae). Three exclosure treatment types were established, large-mesh cages, small-mesh cages, and no cages. In exclosures, A. glycines density in small-mesh cages peaked at numbers 3.75-fold higher than in large-mesh cages and 17.44-fold higher than on plants with no cages in 2004. In 2005, these numbers were 4.59-fold and 60.98-fold. Temperature was not a factor in exclosures, but relative humidity had significant effects. These results indicated that existing predator communities could partially suppress soybean aphid population density in soybean fields in northeast China.

Spruce budworm, Choristoneurafumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), larvae can cause extensive defoliation in balsam fir (Abies balsamea [Linnaeus] Miller) and exhibit high temporal and spatial variability in individual behaviour. We gathered field data to determine the influence of daily and hourly variation in abiotic conditions on daytime activity patterns of late-instar budworm larvae on balsam fir. In both years of our study, less than 10% of larvae were observed feeding during the daytime. Most larvae observed were either resting, spinning silk, or roaming, although the proportion of individuals engaged in each activity varied between years, with more larvae in the first year roaming (48%) and in the second year either resting (38%) or spinning silk (42%). Daily and hourly variation in abiotic conditions had a limited influence on activity patterns. Our results indicate that in nature, mid- to late-instar budworm larvae maintain fairly consistent activity patterns across a wide range of abiotic conditions. We suggest that site-specific conditions such as variation in host-plant quality and/or budworm population density may be more important than weather in determining the relative frequencies of different larval activities in space and time.

Vertical gradients in biotic and abiotic factors may create small-scale spatial variation in arthropod communities, a phenomenon that continues to be understudied. We investigated heterogeneity in the vertical distribution of spider and beetle assemblages in the canopy of sugar maples (Acer saccharum Marshall) (Aceraceae) in a deciduous forest in eastern Canada. Comparisons across four strata (understorey [UN] through upper canopy [UC] crown) documented variation in density, diversity, and species composition. Density of all common families decreased significantly with height and overall species richness of both spiders and beetles was highest in the UN and lowest in the UC crown. We observed greater spatial variation in spider assemblages compared with beetle assemblages and documented differences in spider guild structure: web-spinning spiders were most common in the UN and jumping spiders dominated the canopy. Our results suggest that arthropod assemblages are not homogeneous with respect to vertical space and that heterogeneity exists even at the scale of several metres.

Galls of Diplolepis variabilis (Bassett) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) on their host plant Rosa woodsii Lindley (Rosaceae) support a diverse community of parasitoid and inquiline wasps that exploit the gall inducer and the gall itself. Here, we studied quantitative variation in local structure of the gall community in the Okanagan Valley of southern British Columbia, Canada, from the United States border north, to test the hypothesis that dispersal limitation would generate a distance decay in gall community similarity. We also explored gall community richness in relation to latitude, as the northern range limit of the gall inducer occurs within our study area. We found that gall communities exhibited strikingly similar composition across the study region, with most of the major inquilines and parasitoids present across the gall's range. However, the increased richness of rare parasitoid taxa near the northern range limits of D. variabilis generated a marginally significant positive relationship between gall community richness and latitude. Overall, our study suggests that dispersal constraints do not influence the composition of the Diplolepis Geoffroy gall community at regional scales, and that gall communities offer useful models for studying the association between community structure and range limits.

Our knowledge of the phylogenetic relationships of Diptera advanced through the 20th century at an unprecedented rate; the two crowning achievements of the century were Hennig's magnum opus – the Handbuch der Zoologie treatment of the order and Volume 3 of the Manual of Nearctic Diptera series, edited by McAlpine and Wood. The Manual is outstanding because of its scope and rigorous, consistent approach, treating the relationships of the entire order at family level using Hennigian argumentation. Synapomorphic characters from all life stages were identified using outgroup comparison and monophyletic taxa were established using synapomorphies mapped onto nodes. The Manual chapters energized a generation of students to publish rigorous, quantitative cladistic phylogenetic treatments of many dipteran groups. The chapters also acted as an authoritative scaffold for the development of dipteran molecular systematics in the 1990s. No other megadiverse insect order has had such an influential phylogenetic springboard into the 21st century.

Pareuthychaeta Hennig was previously known only from two described species in Eocene Baltic amber (Lutetian, ca. 42 Ma), Pareuthychaeta electrica Hennig and Pareuthychaeta minuta (Meunier), some details of which are revised based on new specimens. A third Baltic species is described, Pareuthychaeta mcalpinei Grimaldi, sp. nov. Another species, Pareuthychaeta eoindica Grimaldi, sp. nov., is described in earliest Eocene (Ypresian-aged, ca. 50–52 Ma) amber from Gujarat, western India. Comments are provided on the relationships of Pareuthychaeta to Recent genera of Diastatidae sensu lato (including Campichoetinae), and implications of this extinct genus are discussed regarding biogeography and the early Paleogene Schizophora radiations.

Euthera Loew is a small but cosmopolitan genus of Tachinidae with distinctive smoky black cross bands on the wings. There are three described species in North America, Euthera bicolor Coquillett, Euthera setifacies Brooks, and Euthera tentatrix Loew. A new species from California and New Mexico is described as Euthera woodisp. nov. in honour of dipterist D. Monty Wood. A key and digital images are provided for the identification of the four species, and the three previously described species are diagnosed. Oebalus mexicana (Sailer) and Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) are new host records for E. bicolor and E. tentatrix, respectively.

Agricultural practices affect the biotic and abiotic conditions that determine food and shelter for carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). We hypothesised that carabid communities would respond differently to 18 years of contrasted cropping practices in cereal-based rotations. We measured the effects of tillage (MP: moldboard plough; CP: chisel plough; NT: no-till) and previous crop sequence (cereal monoculture versus cereal–forage/cereal–oilseed rotation) on carabid beetle activity density, diversity, and community structure in corn (Zea mays Linnaeus, Poaceae) at La Pocatière, Québec, Canada. Carabid beetles were sampled monthly from May to September 2006, using pitfall traps. Although 19 carabid species were observed, assemblages were dominated by Harpalus rufipes (De Geer), particularly in the second half of the season. Multivariate analyses indicated a strong affinity of carabid species for the NT treatment throughout the season. Crop sequence and tillage had no effect on diversity (Shannon's H′ ≤ 1.3) and evenness of carabid assemblage, but species richness and activity density were greater in NT than in tilled systems. Peak activity density of dominant species occurred at different times during the season, generally in accordance with preferred breeding season. Many species had greater activity density in NT than in tilled treatments. Because of their granivorous feeding habit, carabid populations such as that of H. rufipes could be an important asset to NT, given the limited weed management options available for this system.

A survey of muscid flies from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, in 2007 yielded 155 species. Some components of species richness and composition of this contemporary assemblage were compared with those of a historical (pre-1965) assemblage, and the contribution of the three collecting methods used in the 2007 survey protocol was evaluated. Estimates of species richness indicated that Malaise traps yielded more species than did pan traps or sweep netting, and that species composition did not differ significantly between Malaise trap and pan trap catches. These results suggest that Malaise traps and sweep netting are adequate methods to survey northern Muscidae. We report little difference in estimated species richness and composition between time periods for material collected by sweep netting. When all material from the 2007 survey was pooled, 87% of the pre-1965 species were collected again in 2007. Most nonoverlapping species between time periods were rare in samples and (or) collected by different methods, suggesting a failure to detect as the most likely explanation for their absence in one assemblage. Nevertheless, the proportion of aquatic and semiaquatic species of Spilogona Schnabl was more than twice as high in the list of species not recovered in 2007 than in the pre-1965 assemblage.

Newly emerged honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus; Hymenoptera: Apidae) of four strains were placed into observation hives and observed for guarding behaviour. Significant differences were found between strains for guarding propensity. The proportion of introduced bees observed guarding was significantly higher in all strains (41% of bees that were alive at the time of observations) than proportions reported in earlier studies. This discrepancy is likely due to methodological differences and also to the fact that in this study, living bees were counted when calculating proportions, whereas other studies have used the total number of introduced bees. Further studies on the proportion of honey bees performing guarding behaviour are warranted.

The population stability of Baizongia pistaciae (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on its primary host, the tree Pistacia palaestina Boissier (Anachardiaceae), was investigated using 17–20 years of data from a study of gall abundance on individual trees in Israel. Abundance varied by at least an order of magnitude among adjacent trees, among locations, and among years. Stability was quantified for the alternate-year cohorts as population variability (PV) and persistence, at three spatial scales. PV (a proportion between 0 and 1) was similar between cohorts and declined with population scale – subpopulation (a tree): 0.676 ± 0.092 (±1 SD, n = 40); population: 0.581 ± 0.098 (±1 SD, n = 6); region: 0.424 (0.345 and 0.503, n = 2). Persistence (proportion of years that galls were present) was usually near 0.9, but 0.1 for some subpopulations, and 1.0 at the population and regional scales. Although protected within large galls on long-lived trees, the PV of B. pistaciae was similar to that of native, free-living aphid species on more ephemeral herbaceous hosts, but lower than for introduced aphid species. Persistence of B. pistaciae decreased as abundance decreased but not as PV increased. PV did not increase with the length of the study period; and declined with increasing population scale, because abundance was not synchronised among subpopulations or populations. PV was similar among populations, suggesting this parameter is characteristic of the species, although positive correlations between cohorts on a tree showed that PV was affected by the site-specific tree–grass habitats in which this species lives.

Synchrony between herbivore and host phenology can be an important factor in herbivore fitness. The survival of first-instar forest tent caterpillar (FTC) (Malacosoma disstria Hübner; Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) larvae and performance of surviving larvae are reduced when egg hatch and host budbreak are asynchronous. Budbreak in trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michaux; Salicaceae) and largetooth aspen (Populus grandidentata Michaux; Salicaceae), two preferred hosts of FTC, differ by ∼14 days. We examined the phenological requirements of FTC egg hatch to see if an inherent difference exists between FTC egg masses on the two hosts, and if the difference would promote synchrony with each host. Egg masses from a haphazard selection of clones of each host were collected in a mixed stand of trembling and largetooth aspen in New Brunswick, Canada. Egg masses were subjected to controlled temperature regimes in the laboratory, and hatch was monitored daily. Despite the differences in host phenologies and the obvious benefits of being synchronised with host phenology, egg masses collected from trembling aspen began hatching only 3 days earlier, and completed hatching only 2 days earlier, than egg masses collected from largetooth aspen. Bet hedging is discussed as a possible strategy to explain the absence of host-specific synchrony between egg hatch of FTC and the hosts it selects for oviposition.

Pinacocerus Van Duzee and Yumbera Bickel are reviewed. Pinacocerus is found in Chile and Argentina and comprises two species, Pinacocerus nodicornis Van Duzee and Pinacocerus candiptorumsp. nov. from Chile. Yumbera comprises six species, five from eastern mainland Australia and Yumbera trisignatasp. nov. from Tasmania. The two genera show remarkable parallel evolution in modification of the male antenna.

We tested the hypothesis that the conophagous Douglas-fir cone gall midge, Contarinia oregonensis Foote (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), responds to infrared (IR) radiation and other electromagnetic wavelengths associated with cones of Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco (Pinaceae). Early-season (March–April) thermographic images showed that cone orientation (upright, horizontal, pendant) and cone colour (green, purple, green/purple) did not affect apparent cone temperature (inferred from thermographic images). Tree components significantly differed in apparent temperature with foliage being coolest and branches warmest. There was no significant difference in the number of larvae in cones of different colours, and adult midges were equally attracted to traps painted green or purple, suggesting that cone colour does not affect oviposition decisions by gravid females. Adult midges were more strongly attracted to warm traps with IR frequency emissions higher than the background than to cold traps with IR frequency emissions lower than the background. They were also more strongly attracted to warm branch-shaped traps than to warm can-shaped traps. Collectively, these data indicate that the shape and IR attributes of Douglas-fir branches may serve as foraging cues for C. oregonensis.