Protein-rich pea flour and its extract are toxic to stored-product beetles and, at a concentration of 0.1%, can control these insects in a granary. To reduce the concentration of protein-rich pea flour needed to control stored-product beetles, natural products or currently used grain protectants (diatomaceous earth, neem, Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner), malathion, and pyrethrum) were mixed with protein-rich pea flour in wheat. Mixtures were tested against the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), and the rusty grain beetle, Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens) (Coleoptera: Cucujidae). Neem and protein-rich pea flour acted synergistically against T. castaneum. Malathion and protein-rich pea flour acted synergistically against S. oryzae. Protein-rich pea flour combined with diatomaceous earth or pyrethrum acted additively against S. oryzae. All other combinations acted antagonistically. An extract from protein-rich pea flour reduced feeding of S. oryzae, and three enzyme inhibitors, piperonyl butoxide, profenofos, and diethyl maleate, were tested for their possible synergistic effects on feeding deterrence and mortality. Piperonyl butoxide and pea extract had additive effects, and diethyl maleate had no effect on the feeding and mortality of insects. Profenofos alone killed all insects in 3 days. The flour consumption of S. oryzae was positively correlated with LT50 (time to 50% mortality) in flour disks treated with pea extract.

Hymenopterous parasitoids of filth flies (Diptera: Muscidae) were surveyed during 2 years on dairy farms in Ontario and Quebec near Ottawa, Ontario, using freeze-killed sentinel house fly (Musca domestica L.) pupae and naturally occurring fly pupae collected on site. Musca domestica and Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (stable fly) represented 98.3% of the natural fly hosts from which parasitoids emerged. Muscidifurax raptor Girault et Saunders, Nasonia vitripennis Walker, Pachycrepoideus vindemiae (Rondani), Spalangia cameroni Perkins, S. nigra Latreille, Trichomalopsis viridescens (Walsh), and Urolepis rufipes (Ashmead) (Pteromalidae) were recovered from both sentinel and natural fly pupae. Another eight species, S. drosophilae Ashmead, S. endius Walker, S. haematobiae Ashmead, S. nigroaenea Curtis, S. subpunctata Förster, Trichomalopsis dubia (Ashmead) (Pteromalidae), Aphaereta pallipes (Say) (Braconidae), and Phygadeuon ?fumator Gravenhörst (Ichneumonidae), were recovered only from natural pupae. Over the 2 years, M. raptor comprised 90.7% of emerged parasitoids from sentinel pupae but only 17.0% of emerged parasitoids from natural pupae. From natural pupae, S. cameroni, S. nigra, and S. nigroaenea collectively comprised 60.3% of emerged parasitoids; P. ?fumator comprised 13.5% and the remaining nine species 9.2%. The recoveries of S. endius and S. nigroaenea represent new distribution records for Canada, and several new host records are identified based on structure of the host fly puparium. The parasitoid fauna is compared with that known for western Canada, and recommendations are made for both regions concerning potential natural enemy enhancement for filth fly control.

On the basis of colour of the legs and structural details of the pronotum and male genitalia, Pterostichus commutabilis (Motschulsky) auct. is shown to be composite, consisting of P. commutabilis and Pterostichus praetermissus (Chaudoir), the latter name therefore being removed from synonymy with the former name. Dot maps show that the geographical ranges of these two species overlap extensively in northeastern North America, but the range of P. commutabilis extends farther north and west (to eastern British Columbia and eastern California), whereas the range of P. praetermissus extends farther south (to northern Florida). A third species of the Holarctic subgenus Argutor Dejean living in North America is the Palaearctic Pterostichus vernalis (Panzer), whose Nearctic range is confined to southern Quebec and northermost Vermont. This taxonomic treatment includes a key distinguishing adults of these three species, and each species is characterized morphologically, geographically, and ecologically (in terms of habitat).

The first fully documented North American records of the Palearctic Ceutorhynchinae weevil species Amalorrhynchus melanarius (Stephens, 1831), Microplontus campestris (Gyllenhal, 1837), Pelenomus waltoni (Boheman, 1843), and Rhinoncus perpendicularis (Reiche, 1797) are presented. Characters providing for their recognition, as well as keys and habitus photographs facilitating their identification, are provided. It is likely that all four species have recently been introduced unintentionally by human activities.

Morphology, distribution, and habitat data are presented for three species of the oribatid mite genus Gymnodampia Jacot occurring in North America. A revised generic diagnosis is given and the type species Gymnodampia setata (Berlese) is redescribed based on topotypic material from Missouri. Immatures of G. setata are described and aspects of their biology are presented. Two new species from North America, G. jacotisp. nov. and G. lindquistisp. nov., are proposed and described on the basis of adults, and a key is given for North American species of Gymnodampia. The ameroid genera Cristamerus Hammer, from Pakistan and China, and Defectamerus Aoki, from Japan, Korea, and China, are considered junior synonyms of Gymnodampia, and G. conformis (Fujikawa) is considered a junior synonym of G. fusca (Fujikawa). Immatures of G. setata are apheredermous, but with a circular line of dehiscence, whereas known immatures of the superfamily Ameroidea are eupheredermous. Nonetheless, without convincing apomorphic traits linking Gymnodampia to any known apheredermous family of Brachypylina, we hypothesize that Gymnodampia has lost the eupheredermy characteristic of Ameroidea, and we place it in the family Ameridae on the basis of adult similarities.

In past field studies, the greatest response of western balsam bark beetles, Dryocoetes confusus Swaine, to traps was obtained with blends of (+)-exo-brevicomin and (+)- or (±)-endo-brevicomin, which imitate the natural male-produced aggregation pheromone. We conducted a trapping experiment comparing low-release enanti ospecific blends (9:1 (+)-exo-brevicomin:(+)-endo-brevicomin or 9:2 (+)-exo-brevicomin:(±)-endo-brevicomin released at 0.3, 0.1, or 0.03 mg per day) with the standard commercial (±)-exo-brevicomin bait released at 1.2 mg per day. Multiple-funnel traps baited with the experimental blends caught more D. confusus than the unbaited traps, but only traps with the 9:2 (+):(±) blend released at 0.3 and 0.03 mg per day caught significantly more male and female beetles than those baited with the standard bait. Thus, trap sensitivity can be improved with the addition of (±)-endo-brevicomin. The sympatric bark beetle D. autographus Ratzeburg was captured in significant numbers in traps baited with (±)-exo-brevicomin. A subsequent trapping experiment showed that D. autographus responded to (+)- or (±)-exo-brevicomin, but not to (−)-exo-brevicomin, suggesting that (+)-exo-brevicomin is the principal aggregation pheromone component in this species.

Strongygaster (= Hyalomyodes) triangulifera (Loew) (Diptera: Tachinidae) is a small parasitic fly that is widely distributed in North America. It is most frequently reported as a parasitoid of adult Coleoptera, but there are scattered reports of parasitism within the Dermaptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and Lepidoptera (Arnaud 1978; Purrington et al. 1990). Within the Coleoptera, species in the families Alleculidae, Bruchidae, Chrysomelidae, Cleridae, Coccinellidae, Curculionidae, Lampyridae, Meloidae, Nitidulidae, and Scarabaeidae have been reported as hosts (Gerding and Figueroa 1989; Purrington et al. 1990; Nalepa et al. 1996). This is the first record of S. triangulifera, and the first record of a tachinid, parasitizing a species of Cantharidae.

This study characterized the spatial distribution of adult western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), released at the centres of greenhouses stocked with either cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. (Cucurbitaceae)) or chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora (Tzelev) (Asteraceae)) plants. Experiments conducted using either adults marked with fluorescent powder or unmarked adults revealed that the density of females per plant decreased as an inverse function of the distance from the release point. Inverse regression models with steep decreases in density over small distances may commonly describe the dispersal behaviour of insects that have limited flight capacity and settle on the first plants that they encounter. Females were found on plants farther from the release point as time elapsed, dispersing throughout the greenhouse at an average rate of 0.18 to 0.29 m per day. Distinct sex ratios for adults captured on sticky cards or sampled on host plants suggested that males and females exhibit different dispersal behaviours. The spatial distribution of F. occidentalis varied across generations, with females exhibiting a lower level of aggregation around the release site than their nymphal progeny. The average rate of spread between consecutive generations fluctuated between 0.05 and 0.17 m per day. Considering the limited dispersal of F. occidentalis, outbreaks may be effectively suppressed by applying insecticides or releasing natural enemies in relatively small concentric areas surrounding heavily infested plants, as well as near the edges of greenhouses.

Field data from outbreaks of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in Ontario and Quebec show that current-year defoliation is the single greatest determinant of variation in fecundity. The species of tree that served as the foodplant and infections by the microsporidian Nosema fumiferanae (Thomson) (Microsporida) had little effect on mean lifetime fecundity in field populations. During a prolonged outbreak at one location (Black Sturgeon Lake, Ontario), annual lifetime fecundity was inversely related to observed defoliation in the same year, with the highest mean fecundity recorded at the beginning and the end of the outbreak when defoliation was least severe. The overall trend in yearly rate of change in egg density in a population time series at Black Sturgeon Lake was associated more closely with generational survival than with fecundity. Measured fecundity of local moths was greater than estimated per capita rates of recruitment in most years of the outbreak at Black Sturgeon Lake. This suggests that in these years of the outbreak at Black Sturgeon Lake there was a net emigration of egg-carrying moths.

Blackheaded fireworm (Rhopobota naevana (Hbn.)) mating can be disrupted by pheromone components released from spiral polyvinyl chloride (PVC) dispensers in large field plots on cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon (Aiton) (Ericaceae)) farms. The main pheromone component ((Z)-11-tetradecen-1-ol acetate (Z11-14:Ac)) or a blend similar to natural pheromone (Z11-14:Ac, (Z)-11-tetradecen-1-ol (Z11-14:OH), and (Z)-9-dodecen-1-ol acetate (Z9-12:Ac)) was released from PVC dispensers into 0.8-ha plots on cranberry farms. Regardless of the treatment, free-flying males in treatment plots located fewer than 5% of individually caged virgin females, whereas mate location in most control plots ranged from 14%–75%. Location of pheromone lures loaded with 1.0 mg of the three-component blend was reduced in both treatments, but not to the same extent as was location of females. The magnitude of mating disruption indicated by 0.01-mg lures was similar to that indicated by caged females. Estimated release rates from dispensers loaded with Z11-14:Ac alone were linear and similar in both years of the study, declining from 575–720 mg/ha per day to 175–220 mg/ha per day after 100 days. Three-component dispensers placed in the field in July 1994 showed a steeper decline in release rates of Z11-14:Ac and a change in component ratios from 6.2:2.5:1 to 8:2:1 (Z11-14:Ac: Z11-14:OH: Z9-12:Ac) over the 60-day release period. After one season of mating disruption, the number of eggs and the number of foliar samples with larval feeding shelters were not consistently reduced in treatment plots. Mated females may have dispersed into the plots and oviposited. PVC dispensers effectively disseminate pheromone for mating disruption but are labor-intensive to use. In the cranberry system, their use might be limited to research plots and isolated farms of <8 ha.

Outbreak and declining populations of spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) were sampled extensively at three locations in New Brunswick, Canada, between 1982 and 1992 and were examined for the prevalence of granulosis and nuclear polyhedrosis viruses (Baculoviridae). Larvae, pupae, and adults were collected using a variety of methods. Spruce budworm nuclear polyhedrosis virus (CfMNPV) genomic DNA probes and wet-mount light microscopy were used to determine CfMNPV prevalence in 50 274 juvenile spruce budworms. Spruce budworm granulosis virus (ChfuGV) genomic DNA probes were used to determine the prevalence of ChfuGV in 25 703 of these same samples. The prevalence of both viruses was low, with ChfuGV and CfMNPV not found in more than 15% and 2%, respectively, of samples in any collection in a given year. Prevalence of ChfuGV was greatest in mid- to late June in sixth-instar larvae. Each virus was detected in only two of 2177 female moths and in none of the 420 male moths examined. In the entire collection, cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (Reoviridae) was detected in only two budworm larvae and entomopoxvirus (Poxviridae) was not detected in any.

Flight of overwintered and summer population Colorado potato beetles, Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), with a range of wing loadings was measured following exposure to different quality diets. Beetles fed a diet of insect-resistant foliage expressing Bacillus thuringiensis tenebrioniz toxins, beetles that did not feed but consumed water, and those that were starved without access to water exhibited a lower range of wing loadings than those fed conventional foliage, but there was no corresponding increase in flight frequency. Exposing potato beetles to poor food or no food resulted in a wing-loading range of 50–140 mg/cm2 compared with a range of 80–200 mg/cm2 for beetles fed conventional foliage. No flight was observed when wing loadings were less than 80 mg/cm2 of wing surface, presumably because of other physiological processes associated with poor nutrition and not because of wing loading per se. Overwintered and summer population beetles fed a diet of conventional potato foliage did not take off when wing loading exceeded 150 mg/cm2 of supporting wing surface. Similar trade-offs between flight capacity and consumption of large meals may exist for other insects.

Laboratory bioassays were carried out on two species of phytoseiid mites to investigate their resistance to the fungicide mancozeb. Susceptible and suspected resistant strains of Kampimodromus aberrans (Oudemans) and Typhlodromus pyri Scheuten were tested. Mancozeb resistance factors were low to moderate: they reached 6.3 and 11.7 for K. aberrans and T. pyri, respectively. Intrinsic toxicity of mancozeb was approximately 5–10-fold more pronounced in females of K. aberrans than in females of T. pyri. The female susceptibility pattern of the most resistant strain of K. aberrans was quite close to that of the most susceptible strain of T. pyri. The LC50 values for the most resistant strains of K. aberrans and T. pyri were 4.6 and 43 times higher, respectively, than the maximum field application rate of mancozeb recommended for control of downy mildew in vineyards. Using a diagnostic concentration, a limited survey in vine plots indicated that most of the K. aberrans strains we tested were susceptible to mancozeb, but a few consisted of both resistant and susceptible individuals. All strains of T. pyri collected in Burgundy were susceptible. Half of the T. pyri strains from Bordeaux were susceptible and the other half were mixed populations of resistant and susceptible individuals.

The cabbage maggot, Delia radicum (L.), is a serious pest of cruciferous crops in temperate regions of North America and Europe. The effects of undersowing rutabaga, Brassica napus L. subsp. rapifera Metzg. (Brassicaceae), with white clover, Trifolium repens L. (Leguminosae), on second-generation cabbage maggot and its natural enemies were studied in Newfoundland in 1997 and 1998. In 1997, totals of 1311 and 724 eggs were recovered from bare and undersown plots, respectively. More eggs were present in bare plots than undersown plots on various specific dates. In 1997, rutabagas from bare plots weighed more than those from undersown plots, although damage ratings were similar, suggesting that competition, not cabbage maggot feeding, caused the yield differences. In 1998, there were few cabbage maggots present and little damage or yield reduction in either treatment. Similar numbers of cabbage maggot pupae were extracted and reared from each treatment in each year. In 1997, of the pupae reared from undersown plots, 48% produced cabbage maggot flies, 14% produced parasitic Hymenoptera, and 8% produced Aleochara bilineata Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae); 19% of the pupae from bare plots produced cabbage maggot flies, 8% produced parasitic Hymenoptera, and 36% produced A. bilineata. More A. bilineata were captured in pitfall traps in bare plots than in undersown plots. The effect of clover on carabid beetles was species specific. There were more Bembidion lampros (Herbst) and Amara bifrons (Gyllenhal) in bare plots in 1997, and more Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger) in undersown plots in both years. Despite consistently lower egg numbers in undersown plots than in bare plots, the numbers of pupae in the two treatments were similar at the end of the season. We speculate that this may be due to differential, density-dependent mortality of immature stages of cabbage maggot caused by predators and parasitoids.

Alastriagen. nov. is described, and Callierges tropicalis Schaus is transferred to the genus. Alastria chicosp. nov. is described from western North America and Alastria machosp. nov. is described from Costa Rica. We provide illustrations of the adults and genitalia of all three species, as well as the male genitalia of two related genera, Nedra Clarke and Actinotia Hübner.

Cumulative temperature requirements and development thresholds were determined for two populations of Dicyphus hesperus Knight, 1943 to compare their suitability for use in biological control in greenhouse vegetable crops. The populations were from near Summerland, British Columbia, Canada (49°36′N, 119°40′W, at 334 m elevation) and from near Woody, California, United States of America (35°42′N, 118°50′W, at 500 m elevation). Eggs of the California (CA) population had a higher cumulative temperature requirement for hatch than those of the British Columbia (BC) population. Males of the CA population had a slightly lower cumulative temperature requirement for development from hatch to adult than males of the BC population. The populations did not differ with respect to development thresholds. Males of the CA population experienced higher mortality during development at 35 °C than BC males or females of either population. Males and females of both populations developing at 35 °C were significantly smaller than those developing at more moderate temperatures. The differences between populations with respect to development were biologically trivial. With respect to the effects of temperature on development time under greenhouse conditions, the two populations appear to be equally suitable for use in greenhouses.

The stem-boring weevil, Mecinus janthinus Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), was introduced from Europe to Canada in 1991 to control the noxious weeds Dalmatian toadflax, Linaria dalmatica (L.) P. Mill., and yellow toadflax, Linaria vulgaris P. Mill. (Scrophulariaceae) (De Clerck-Floate and Harris 2002; McClay and De Clerck-Floate 2002). Since its release, M. janthinus has established well on Dalmatian toadflax in British Columbia (BC) and, to a lesser extent, southern Alberta (De Clerck-Floate and Miller 2002), and it is beginning to show promise as a successful control agent against this weed (De Clerck-Floate and Harris 2002). However, it appears that M. janthinus has not thrived on yellow toadflax in Alberta (McClay and De Clerck-Floate 2002).

Various genotypes of seven species of Brassicaceae (Brassica rapa L., B. napus L., B. juncea (L.) Czern., B. nigra (L.) Koch, B. tournefortii Gouan, Sinapis alba L., Crambe abyssinica Hochst. ex R.E. Fries, and B. napus × S. alba) were evaluated for susceptibility to infestation by the cabbage seedpod weevil, Ceutorhynchus obstrictus (Marsham). In the field, weevils were counted by excising and dissecting pod samples weekly for the presence of eggs, larvae, and larval exit holes. In the laboratory, excised pods from potted plants were exposed to gravid female weevils for 24 or 48 h and then the numbers of eggs and (or) feeding punctures were assessed. Differences in susceptibility of Brassicaceae species to the cabbage seedpod weevil were relatively consistent in both field and laboratory studies. Brassica rapa was the most susceptible. Intermediate susceptibility was observed for B. napus, B. napus × S. alba, B. tournefortii, and B. juncea, although the last species displayed some antixenotic resistance. Sinapis alba, B. nigra, and C. abyssinica were least susceptible. Pods of some species more frequently contained single, rather than multiple, larvae and this may have important implications for total yield loss, particularly in areas where opportunistic pests utilize weevil exit holes to gain access to seeds. New-generation adults fed on all Brassicaceae, and therefore all species may be susceptible to some yield loss. Canola growers in regions infested with C. obstrictus at high population densities can reduce losses by seeding S. alba, B. juncea, or a less susceptible genotype of B. napus.

Parasitoids of adult corn leafhoppers, Dalbulus maidis (DeLong et Wolcott), were studied in irrigated maize (Gramineae) growing during the dry season in Mexico. Dalbulus maidis was parasitized by Metadorylas spinosus (Hardy) (Diptera: Pipunculidae), Halictophagus naulti Kathirithamby et Moya-Raygoza (Strepsiptera: Halictophagidae), and Gonatopus bartletti Olmi (Hymenoptera: Dryinidae) at 24 of the 54 sites where D. maidis were collected. Greater rates of parasitism occurred at higher elevations (R2 = 0.41) and at more southern latitudes (R2 = −0.52). Metadorylas spinosus is a previously unreported parasitoid of D. maidis, and this is the first report of H. naulti parasitizing Dalbulus elimatus (Ball) and Dalbulus gelbus DeLong. Gonatopus bartletti has the broadest geographic and temporal distribution of the parasitoids found.

Twig beetles in the genus Pityophthorus Eichhoff are known to be associated with the pitch canker pathogen, Fusarium circinatum, in California. Phoresy of the pathogen on these species has been reported to occur when insects emerge from diseased branches and when they infest disease-free, cut branch tips. To demonstrate that twig beetles can vector the pathogen, studies of phoresy and transmission were conducted in a native Monterey pine, Pinus radiata D. Don (Pinaceae), forest. Phoresy was confirmed for both Pityophthorus setosus Blackman and Pityophthorus carmeli Swaine, and P. setosus was shown to vector the pitch canker pathogen when contaminated with fungal spores and caged onto Monterey pine branches. When attractive baits were used to increase visitation to Monterey pines by P. setosus, baited trees were more likely to develop pitch canker than unbaited trees even though the beetles did not tunnel into the host to develop egg galleries. Therefore, twig beetles are competent as vectors of the pitch canker pathogen, and their vectoring activity, though requiring a wound, does not require that they establish egg galleries in the host.