Lygus bugs (Lygus hesperus Knight) were reared in the field on cotton and alfalfa to estimate their longevity, fecundity, and survivorship. In some tests, individuals were switched from one host plant to the other at the beginning of the adult stage.

Net reproductive rates (Ro) and innate capacities for increase (rm) were calculated for each of the three test populations and used as indices of host suitability. Females reared on alfalfa had greater Ro and rm values than those on cotton, while those switched from alfalfa to cotton at the adult molt had the lowest Ro value and an intermediate value of Rm.

A very simple model of normalized growth rates of temperate pasture legumes and grasses in response to temperature and moisture developed by Fitzpatrick and Nix for Australia was modified and used to examine the favorability of weather for the build-up of eight species of aphids in southeastern Australia. The work takes a physiological approach to describing the condition favorable for aphid population development.

Larvae, and male and female adults, of Paramideopsis susanae n. gen., n. sp. are described. The genus Paramideopsis is proposed and diagnosed based primarily upon the autapomorphic presence of 6 pairs of genital acetabula on plates flanking the gonopore in adults. Possible relationships between P. susanae and other Mideopsidae are discussed.

Fifty Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) isolates representing K-1, galleriae, K-73, thuringiensis, aizawai, dendrolimus, tolworthi, kenyae, darmstadiensis, alesti, and entomocidus crystal antigen types were bioassayed against fifth-instar spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), larvae. In addition, larvae reared on diet with and without aureomycin were tested for their susceptibility to B.t. The data indicated no significant differences in susceptibility to B.t. among insects reared on aureomycin or on aureomycin-free diet, but differences were evident in larval growth and mortality among untreated controls. None of the 50 isolates bioassayed was any more toxic to the budworm than is the strain used at present in commercial preparations of B. thuringiensis.

A new carabid species, Pterostichus (Melanius) castor, is described and characterized. The species appears to be restricted to beaver houses in eastern North America. The new species is closely related to P. ebeninus Dejean but can be distinguished from that species mainly by the form of the pronotum. Lindroth's key to Pterostichus of Canada is modified to include the new species.

Pheromone gland rinses of female maple leaf roller moths were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography and found to contain (Z)-11-tetradecenal, (E)-11-tetradecenal, tetradecanal, (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate, (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate, and tetradecyl acetate in the average ratio of 33:20:8:21:17:2 for single female analysis and 31:16:6:16:27:3 for a pooled extract of 55 females. Identity of the tetradecenals, the tetradecenyl and tetradecyl acetates was confirmed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Electroantennogram analysis indicated that (Z)-11-tetradecenal followed by (E)-11-tetradecenal were the most stimulating compounds tested. In field tests, only three components (Z)-11-tetradecenal, (E)-11-tetradecenal and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate, in the microgram ratio of 65:35:10, were necessary for optimum attraction. Another tortricid moth, Archips griseus, was attracted to some of the aldehyde mixtures.

Genetic variation among western spruce budworms from 14 sites of high-density infestation in central Idaho and western Montana was examined using electrophoresis. Relationships were assessed through cluster analysis of genetic distance values and by study of shared rare alleles. Three genetically similar groupings appeared among budworms over the 14 sites. The genetic data and analysis of historical records of outbreaks over the area indicate that dispersal may play a significant role in the spread of some infestations.

The mean weights of the initial eggs (Ei) of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), vary within and between populations. Measurements of collections from across the range of this species reveal the presence of a cline directly related to latitude and longitude of the collection source. Collection mean Ei values range from 0.219 mg in the northwest to 0.157 mg in the southeast. A similar cline, also related to latitude but negative in slope, is demonstrated for the number of eggs per unit pupal weight. This cline also finds expression in changing slope of fecundity/pupal weight regressions. The cline in egg weight appears to be an adaptation to winter conditions across the range of this insect and should be considered in population dynamics.

Yellowjacket colonies were manipulated to test for a possible pheromone emitted by the queen that suppresses worker ovarian development. When queenless and queen-right groups of yellowjacket workers were periodically switched to different sides of a vertically divided nestbox, worker reproduction was partially inhibited. It is suggested that the queen may deposit an inhibitory pheromone on the comb, and workers encounter this queen pheromone during their various colony tasks.

The genus Stomis Clairville is redefined. It includes two subgenera: Neostomis subg. nov. (type-species: Pterostichus termitiformis Van Dyke) with one Nearctic species and Stomis s. str. with 15 Palaearctic species. Eustomis Semenov, previously considered as a distinct genus, is synonymized with Stomis s. str. Description of the genus Stomis and of the two subgenera, as well as a diagnosis and comments on ranking and relationships of the genus, are provided.

The invaginated apical abdominal segments of both sexes of Vanhornia eucnemidarum Crawford are described and illustrated for the first time. Detailed illustrations of the ovipositor and phallic structures are also given. No synapomorphy was found to associate Vanhornia and the Proctotrupidae, so because of its unique structure Vanhornia is left as an independent family of Proctotrupoidea.

Biological studies were conducted on Ceutorhynchus trimaculatus Fabricius, a weevil imported under quarantine from Italy into the U.S.A. for evaluation of host specificity and potential for control of Carduus thistles. Females reared under day–night temperatures of 21°–10 °C and 9 h photophase oviposited an average of 211.7 eggs over 23.6 wk; the preoviposition period was 19.9 wk. Two oviposition peaks were observed each calendar year, the first from February to April and the second in November. Eggs hatched in 12.4 days with mean viability of 64.2%. There were three larval instars; the mean larval developmental period was 42 days, and the pupal stage averaged 15.5 days. Adult longevity for males was 43.9 wk and for females 43.5 wk.

Adults of Geayia ontarioensis n. sp. are described. Members of this species exhibit character states of the tibia of the pedipalp and of the legs characteristic of Geayia (s.s.), but differ from all other members of the subgenus in having 5 rather than 4 pairs of genital acetabula. A revised diagnosis of Geayia (s.s.) is presented.

Allocosa Banks, 1904, with type-species Lycosa funerea Hentz, 1844, is diagnosed on the presence of apomorphic characters in the external genitalia, and is hypothesized to represent the sister-group of the remaining North American lycosine genera. Eighteen species are found in North and Central America, namely, A. funerea (Hentz), A. mulaiki (Gertsch), comb, n., A. sublata (Montgomery), A. chamberlini (Gertsch), A. pylora Chamberlin, A. furtiva (Gertsch), comb, n., A. absoluta (Gertsch), comb, n., A. floridiana (Chamberlin), A. apora (Gertsch), A. noctuabunda (Montgomery), A. panamena Chamberlin, A. chamberlini (Gertsch), A. mokiensis (Gertsch), A. subparva sp. n., A. parva (Banks), A. veracruzana (Gertsch and Davis), A. utahana sp. n., and A. mexicana (Banks), comb. n.

The effectiveness of the phytoseiid predator Neoseiulus fallacis in controlling population growth of the spruce spider mite, Oligonychus ununguis was examined in the laboratory. Development and fecundity of N. fallacis under various relative humidity levels were also studied. Under controlled conditions, N. fallacis significantly limited population growth of O. ununguis on Fraser fir seedlings. Survival, development, and fecundity of N. fallacis were similar for all relative humidity ranges tested, except at the lowest range (60–65%), in which none of the individuals survived to maturity.

Adult Japanese beetle populations were sampled continuously during the summers of 1978 and 1979 in two agricultural stations in eastern North Carolina. Patterns in trap capture were used to develop a conceptual model of the movements of this insect in agricultural areas. A partition of land area is proposed, based on four categories of sites from the point of view of suitability to this insect's reproduction and survival: (1) intensive production sites, (2) marginal production sites, (3) migration alleys, and (4) adult feeding sites. This partition is suggested as a framework for discussion and study of the population dynamics of the insect.

Eighty-three butterfly species are credited to the fauna of the Yukon Territory, with an additional three deemed questionable. Species enumerated represent a compilation of both historic and current literature, and the records of collectors. The total includes previously unpublished records from the Canadian National Collection, but does not include unpublished records from any major museums in the United States. Approximately 30 collectors contributed field data.

Approximately 140 gynes of the paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus, were overwintered in the laboratory with their natal nest and nestmates. After a 14 day isolation period, three marked female nestmates were placed into a nesting box with three marked female nestmates from a presumably unrelated colony. Fifteen nesting boxes were constructed, each with six gynes from two different sister groups. The identities of paired gynes (spaced ≤5 cm apart) and foundresses on nests were recorded in blind observations. Sisters preferentially paired (P <.0001) prior to nesting. Of 18 foundress associations formed at newly constructed nests, 16 consisted of sister groups.

The utility of the ‘random predator equation’ of Royama (1971) and Rogers (1972) as a summary of the functional response relationship between predatory feeding behavior and prey density is questioned on the grounds that statistical assumptions in the regression analysis are not met by the linearized form of the equation. The absence of an alternative linearization that does not violate these assumptions necessitates the use of Holling's (1959) disc equation for the description of experimentally derived functional response relationships, when the comparison of parameters of different populations of predator or prey is a more important objective than a precise estimation.

The statistical validity of the traditional linearization of the disc equation is questioned. An alternative transformation is proposed, which removes the statistical problems associated with the former transformation, and which permits a higher degree of explanation of variance in the independent variable by the regression.

Two bilateral gynandromorphs, specimens of Hydrotaea meteorica (Linn.) (Muscidae) and Siphona hokkaidensis Mesnil (Tachinidae), are described and illustrated. Circumversion of male genital parts is thought to have been prevented by adjacent female genital elements. Study of essentially unrotated male genital halves of these specimens suggests that asymmetry of male sternite 6 in schizophorans results from asymmetrical development (as advocated by Emmert (1972) and Griffiths (1972)) and not as a consequence of slight rotation during circumversion (as advocated by Crampton (1942) and McAlpine (1981)). From study of genital fusion of male and female sclerites across midline, it is further suggested that sternite 6 + 7 in the above species is derived primarily from sternite 6, not from sternites 6 plus 7 as described in Calliphora vicina R.D. by Emmert (1972).