Twenty-four species of winter stonefly, 8 Taeniopterygidae, and 16 Capniidae, are known from southern Québec; three species, Allocapnia indianae Ricker, A. rickeri Frison, and Taeniopteryx maura (Pictet), are new Québec records. An analysis of the geographical distributions indicates four faunal elements: 6 ubiquitous species occurring over most of the northeastern part of the continent, 4 boreal species, 4 Appalachian species, and 10 species originating from the Mississippi Valley. Except perhaps for Capnia vernalis and C. manitoba, most seem to have survived the glaciations in eastern refugia and have migrated back into Québec along the slopes of the Appalachians. Characteristic species associations can be recognized. In small slow and eutrophic streams of the upper St. Lawrence Valley and the lower Ottawa Valley, Allocapnia granulata and A. vivipara predominate; in the small spring-fed streams of the same area, small populations of A. recta can develop. In highland water courses, a clear zonation is established: headwater streams usually harbour no species; in small streams, capniids, particularly A. illinoensis, Paracapnia angulata and the ubiquitous A. pygmaea, dominate; in larger streams, more capniids are added, such as A. minima, A. pechumani, and P. opis, together with the taeniopterygid T. burksi; in rivers, taeniopterygids abound (T. nivalis, T. parvula, and Oemopteryx glacialis), while the capniids become rarer, A. minima and A. pygmaea. In large lowland rivers, only A. minima and O. glacialis still survive. On the North Shore, boreal elements, such as C. vernalis, Utacapnia labradora, and Taenionema atlanticum, are added or substituted in midsized streams, while in the Eastern Townships, this is true of the Appalachian species A. maria, A. rickeri, and T. maura.

Eighteen piercing and sucking insects were identified as feeders on green pods of mustard crops, Brassica juncea (L.) Coss. in Saskatchewan. Of these, the false chinch bug, Nysius ericae (Shilling), Lygus spp., and the western damsel bug, Nabis alternatus Parshley, were found to carry the yeast Nematospora coryli Peglion internally. N. ericae was capable of transmitting this organism to seeds in healthy green mustard plants.

Sample concentrating chromatography is a technique designed for trace analysis of organic compounds without the conventional concentration procedures such as nitrogen blowing or vacuum distillation. This method is uniquely suited for quantification of single insect pheromone production. Depending on temperature, gypsy moth females produced from 2.4 to 4.0 μg of sex pheromone (7,8-epoxy-2-methyloctadecane) per day.

Scolytus multistriatus female adults demonstrated a distinct preference for English and Siberian elm over Chinese elm in attacking bolts and establishing egg galleries. Density of attacks appeared related to bark roughness of the exposed bolt. A ranking of elm species suitability for S. multistriatus is thus possible. Some of the females forced to attack Chinese elm died after making nuptial chambers but before establishing egg galleries. Egg production by females was unaffected by attack densities observed, elm species, or the place where the trial was conducted. In the laboratory, survival from egg to adult was lower in Chinese elm than in English or Siberian elm. Ability of the larvae to mine outer bark at high densities is believed to be a response to intraspecific competition and probably enhances survival. The first estimates of subcortical population parameters are presented for this species in North America. Adaptive value of variations in relationships between the beetle and various elm species is discussed.

Larvae of Nudomideopsis magnacetabula (Smith) are described. New distributional and host association data for this species are presented, along with remarks on the phylogenetic affinities and taxonomic status of Nudomideopsis. It is proposed that Nudomideopsis be removed from the genus Mideopsis and elevated to generic rank.

The endemic New World eucheiloid complex is distinguished from the other complexes (thyreopteroid, eurycoleoid, somotrichoid, and pericaloid) of pericaline Lebiini by securiform labial palpomere 3, serrate-setose margins of the pronotum, and flattened stylomere 2 of the ovipositor. The geographical range of eucheiloids extends from northern Argentina to southernmost United States (Brownsville, Texas). All taxa are believed to be arboreal. A key distinguishes among the three genera and 16 species, and each taxon is characterized in terms of structural features, habitat, and geographical distribution. The genera are: Hansus, new genus (generitype—H. reichardti, new species); Inna Putzeys (generitype—Inna punctata Putzeys = Polystichus boyeri (Solier)); and Eucheila Dejean (generitype—Euchyla flavilabris (Dejean)). Seven new species and one new subspecies are described: Hansus reichardti (type locality—Guyana, EssequiboR.. Morrabali Ck.); Inna palpalis, I. atrata arbor, and I. inpa (type locality—Brazil, Amazonas, near Manaus); I. purpurea (type locality—Brazil, Amazonas, 60 km n. Manaus); I. splendens (type locality—Venezuela, Aragua, Rancho Grande); Eucheila adisi (type locality—Brazil, Amazonas, 60 km n. Manaus); and E. cordova (type locality—México, Veracruz, Cordova). The following new synonymies of specific names are proposed (valid names listed first): Inna costulata Chaudoir, 1872 = I. granulata Chaudoir, 1872; Inna boyeri (Solier, 1835) = I. punctata Putzeys, 1863, and I. texana Schaeffer, 1910. A reconstructed phylogeny of the eucheiloids, based on analysis of 60 character states included in 33 characters, shows that Hansus is sister group of the ancestral stock of Inna + Eucheila. Evolutionary modifications have affected principally body size, head and mouthparts (feeding and associated adaptations), reproductive structures, and features of the body surface thought to be associated with avoidance of predators (concealment and flash coloration). Diversification may also have involved differentiation by habitat (type of forest occupied). The principal theater of evolution has been tropical South America, with incursions both southward and northward. Middle America has been invaded by five lineages, probably during Cenozoic time, from Middle Tertiary to the Quaternary. Of these lineages, three are represented in Middle America by endemic species: E. cordova, I. planipennis Bates, and I. nevermanni Liebke. Two lineages are represented by species whose ranges extend northward from South America: I. costulata Chaudoir and I. boyeri (Solier).

Thiodicarb and sulprophos were applied to western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman, which were infesting small Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco. An aerial spray simulator was used for this application at three dosages. At 105 and 160 g a.i./ha, thiodicarb reduced the number of larvae/100 buds by at least 90%. Sulprophos failed to achieve the target mortality level of 90% or better, even at the highest dosage tested—at 380 g a.i./ha sulprophos reduced the number of larvae/100 buds by 74%. Thiodicarb appears to be the better candidate for future large-scale aerial tests.

Ten new synonyms are noted in the genera Epistrophe and Syrphus. Lectotypes are designated for Didea alneti (Fallén) and for five species described in Syrphus and now referred, as valid species or as junior synonyms, to Epistrophe or Syrphus. Two new species of Syrphus, intricatus and sonorensis, are described from western North America. Keys to the Nearctic species of Didea, Epistrophe (Epistrophe), and Syrphus, and summaries of species distribution, are presented. Syrphus sexmaculatus (Zetterstedt) is recorded from North America for the first time.

Along the Continental Divide in Alberta, British Columbia, and Montana three species of Capniidae were common at some lakes (Capnia confusa Claassen, Isocapnia integra Hanson, and Utacapnia trava (Nebeker and Gaufin)). Females of all three species had substantial reduction in wing length at least at one lake, while most lentic populations had slightly shorter wings than a macropterous river population of the same species. For females of all three species there was a weak positive relationship between functional wing length and lake elevation. Furthermore, there was also a significant negative relationship between functional wing length and the approximate year of Wisconsin deglaciation for C. confusa and U. trava. Suitable data were not available to test the significance of this relationship for I. integra. However, the relationships between wing length and elevation, and between wing length and Wisconsin deglaciation, suggest that wing length of these three capniid species is related to lake age. Present day wing length might be explained by selection for brachypterism over recent millennia.

Population density and parasitism of larch casebearer, Coleophora laricella (Hübner), were monitored for 10 years before parasites introduced for biological control became abundant. Overwintering densities remained fairly stable at about 100 larvae per 100 buds. The factor most closely correlated with population change was something, as yet unknown, other than the native parasites, which tended to be inversely density-dependent. The data will serve as the “before” period in a before and after evaluation of the biological control program.

Coloration of larval, pupal, and adult progeny of Choristoneura spp. collected from Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco and Abies concolor (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl. in south-central Oregon depended on the temperature at which the insects were reared. Sex and genetic background were also major sources of variation in coloration. Many of the characters which varied with temperature were thought to be of value in distinguishing C. occidentalis Freeman from C. retiniana (Walsingham). The association between a combination of larval characters and a combination of adult forewing maculations, though weak, allows a calculation of the probability that an adult belongs to a certain lineage defined by larval features. Individuals from mixed families were particularly difficult to categorize because of the variation encountered and the sensitivity of their appearance to rearing temperature. The biological significance of this variation and its implications to pest management are discussed.

Fenvalerate applied at field rates (3.4–13.7 g AI/100 L) to pear foliage in early season remained highly active to the predatory mite Typhlodromus occidentalis Nesbitt for several months until leaf drop. According to leaf disc assays, fresh deposits of fenvalerate caused considerable direct mortality but most of the later mortality was apparently caused by repellency of the residue and subsequent mite departures. Fenvalerate applied to the bark lost its contact activity more quickly than on foliage. In contrast, adult female Tetranychus urticae Koch suffered no mortality when exposed to leaf deposits, but at high dosages of fenvalerate egg laying was temporarily reduced. In slide-dip tests fenvalerate was about 5 times more toxic to T. occidentalis than to T. urticae (LC50's of 1.21 and 6.74 g AI/100 L, respectively). Our data suggest that because of the persistence of fenvalerate and the high sensitivity of T. occidentalis to this compound this predatory mite would not be able to reestablish after foliar fenvalerate applications and provide biological control of phytophagous mites.

Detailed generic descriptions are given for all stages of Brillia Kieffer. Keys are presented to separate them from those of allied genera, Eurycnemus Wulp, Euryhapsis Oliver, and Xylotopus Oliver. The known stages of five Nearctic species, including one new species Brillia laculata, are described. Two species-groups, the flavifrons group and the modesta group, are defined.

Mosquito eggs were hatched by artificially flooding dry pond beds and estimates of population size were made through larval development for one population of Aedes spencerii, two of A. cataphylla, and three of A. vexans. Overall daily mortality rates were between 8 and 21% and survival to the pupal stage was generally less than 20%, even though water levels were maintained. Mortality appeared to be higher in early larval stages than in later larval stages. Predation was unimportant and survival rate may have depended on food supply or temperature or an interaction between the two. In normal ponds populations often suffer heavy mortality when ponds dry up before development is complete. A. cataphylla, a spring species, developed faster than A. vexans, a summer species, at low temperatures but more slowly at high temperatures.

Pycnoglypta aptera, a new species of omaliine staphylinid, is described and compared with the Holarctic species Pycnoglypta lurida (Gyllenhal). Scanning electron photomicrographs, line drawings, and a key are provided to distinguish the species.

Diplopods of the genus Polyxenus are reported for the first time from Japan, and are described as new species.

Male and female adults of Cowichania interstitialis n. gen., n. sp. are described, and Cowichaniinae n. subfam. is proposed for members of this genus and species. Adults of the new species are autapomorphic among Hydryphantidae in having an entire, uniformly sclerotized dorsal shield, the dorsoglandularia displaced laterally, the genital field located well posteriorly on the idiosoma, and unique sclerotized plates surrounding the coxal plates laterally and posteriorly, and are unusual in having slightly stalked genital acetabula and sexually dimorphic chaetotaxy on the tibiae of the pedipalps. Provisional remarks on phylogeny and higher classification of Hydryphantidae are also presented.

The adults of many Lepidoptera augment carbohydrate and protein reserves accumulated during larval life by feeding on nectar or sap flows. However, the adults of other species have non-functional mouthparts. The feeding behaviour of the species in a particular family or subfamily tends to be stereotyped. Thus in some taxa nearly all of the species have functional mouthparts in the adult stage, while in other taxa the mouth-parts are aborted. In those taxa whose adults feed, eggs are nearly always laid singly or in pairs. By contrast a significant proportion of the species whose adults fail to feed lay their eggs in clusters. This shift in egg laying behaviour can be explained by recognizing that an increased proportion of the energy reserves stored during larval life can be directed towards egg production if females engage in limited flight.

Tuberculatus (Toltecallis) subg. nov. is characterized by the spiculation of the dorsal hairs of nymphs and by the basal pigmentation of the tibiae which differs from that of T. (Pacificallis). Three species are classified in the subgenus: T. (T.) mexicanus sp. n. (type of subgenus), distinguished by its long processus terminalis, T. (T.) garciamartelli sp. n. with spinal processes restricted to the two first abdominal segments and with short and thin spinal hairs on the embryo, and T. (T.) spiculatus Richards with processes on tergites I–IV and very long spinal setae on the embryo; the subspecies rebecae subsp. nov. of the last species has siphunculi and apical rostral segment longer and narrower at the base than in spiculatus s. str.

The viviparous winged form, the embryo, and the alatoid nymph are described. The sexual forms are unknown. All the species live on Quercus in the central part of Mexico between an elevation of 2200 and 2700 m.

The food intake of fourth, fifth, and sixth instar spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens, was investigated by feeding larvae for 24 h artificial diet incorporating amaranth dye. Amaranth was selected because it followed Beer's law over a wide concentration range, mixed well with the meridic diet, could be extracted in ice-cold water, was not absorbed by larval tissue, had minimal feeding deterrence as well as marginal adverse chronic effects on the larvae, and finally had negligible effect on ingestion rate over a 24 h period. The results indicated that 6th instars consumed 20 times and 5th instars 3 times as much as 4th instars, but when compared on a body weight basis the ingestion rate was similar in all three instars. Temperature and photoperiod influenced the rate of food intake. The application of these findings in assessing defoliation to the forests as well as estimating dosage of pesticides for control of this species are discussed.