The faunas of Newfoundland and Cape Breton include 217 leafhopper species, of which 24 are introduced and 65 are native, common to both islands. Newfoundland has 116 species, of which 86 are new provincial records and 2 are new nearctic records of introduced European species. Cape Breton has 172 species, of which 109 are new records for Nova Scotia. A species previously known as far north as Virginia was found in Cape Breton, 2 New England species were found as far north as Newfoundland, 2 high boreal species were found as far south as Cape Breton, and 42 species previously known from west of Maine were found as far east as Cape Breton. One new subspecies and 14 new species are described: Cosmotettix unica, Oncopsis minor terranovae and Typhlocyba (Edwardsiana) unicorn from Newfoundland, Colladonus balius, Cribrus micmac, and Typhlocyba (Zonocyba) hollandi from Cape Breton, Oncopsis speciosa from both islands, Erythroneura maritima and M. inundatus from the Gulf of St. Lawrence region, Limotettix (Ophiolix) schedia, Latalus (Jassargus) remotus and Macrosteles galeae from eastern bogs, and Empoasca volsella, E. zanclus and Kyboasca papyriferae from Cape Breton westward across Canada. Three new synonyms are created: Amphigonalia Young, 1977 = Neokolla Melichar, 1926, Scaphytopius sarissus Beirne, 1952 = S. cinnamoneus (Osborn, 1915), and Typhlocyba frigida Hamilton, 1983 = T. tersa Edwards, 1914. Three genera are reduced to subgenera: Jassargus Zachvatkin, 1953 in Latalus DeLong & Sleesman, 1929, Lemellus Oman, 1949 in Sorhoanus Ribaut, 1946, and Scleroracus Van Duzee, 1894 in Limotettix Sahlberg, 1871. New World species formerly placed in Agallia Curtis are transferred to Agalliota Oman. Oncopsis prairiana Hamilton, 1983 and its subspecies are made subspecies of O. minor (Fitch 1851). The composition of the faunas of the two islands is compared with those of adjacent areas of the mainland, and evidence is found for an offshore glacial refugium.

A simple experimental device has been described for controlling relative humidity (RH) using saturated salt solutions. This device was suitable for studies requiring a 14–82% RH (± 3%) at 27 ± 0.7°C. The RH and temperature set points were not affected by the presence of grasshoppers. Perturbations of 1.5 min due to daily insect provisioning introduced a 9- to 60-min disturbance of the RH and temperature equilibria in the chambers containing NaCl and LiCl, and a 7.5-h disturbance in the MgCl2 chamber.

The susceptibility of male and female Pholetesor ornigis (Weed) to the pyrethroid insecticides permethrin, fenvalerate, and deltamethrin, the organophosphorous insecticides azinphosmethyl and phosmet, and the carbamate insecticide methomyl, was compared in the laboratory using two populations from Norfolk County, Ontario. Female P. ornigis were more susceptible than males to permethrin. There was no sexual difference in the susceptibility of P. ornigis to the other five insecticides tested. The implications of these results for the biological control potential of P. ornigis in commercial apple orchards are discussed. The results obtained for permethrin, fenvalerate, azinphosmethyl, and methomyl were compared with those obtained in a study completed 6 years earlier using P. ornigis from another location in Ontario; the results suggest that P. ornigis from Norfolk County have low levels of resistance to permethrin (3.3-fold), fenvalerate (2.2-fold), and methomyl (4.1-fold).

Circulifer tenellus (Baker) has a mean preoviposition period of 13.1, 8.2, 6.4, and 5.0 days when held at 20, 25, 28, and 32°C, respectively. The fecundity of C. tenellus averaged 105.0, 98.9, 115.7, and 196.9 eggs per female when held under the same temperatures, respectively. The longevity of the adult C. tenellus females when held under constant conditions of 20, 25, 28, and 32°C averaged 58.1, 52.7, 41.9, and 44.8 days, respectively. Fluctuating temperatures of 19–36°C under greenhouse conditions resulted in a mean preoviposition of 10.7 days and a fecundity rate of 163.4 eggs per female with females living an average of 96.3 days with a longevity range of 142 days.

Studies on the reproductive biology of the spruce budmoth, Zeiraphera canadensis Mut. & Free., were conducted in northern New Brunswick. Observations of adults under insectary conditions revealed that peak mating occurred around midnight, and that copulation lasted on average 4.3 h. The age of males and females at mating as well as their longevity is provided for both years. The pre-oviposition period was similar for both years, 6.1 and 6.3 days in 1984 and 1985, respectively. The oviposition period decreased from 6.1 days in 1984 to 4.4 days in 1985. The total fecundity was 32.9 eggs per female in 1984 and 21.8 eggs per female in 1985. The mean age-specific oviposition rate under 1984 field conditions is also presented. The importance of these results in determining the proper timing of adulticidal sprays against Z. canadensis is discussed.

Anthobioides pubescens, an unusual new genus and new species of rove beetle, is described from the Olympic and Mt. Rainier National Parks, WA. The genus is assigned to the Anthobium-group of genera in the tribe Anthophagini, subfamily Omaliinae. The new genus represents the sister group of the genus Camioleum Lewis from Japan. The phylogeny of Anthobioides and Camioleum and their relationship to the other four genera assigned to the Anthobium-group is discussed. All pertinent characters of Anthobioides are illustrated by line drawings or scanning electron photomicrographs.

Multiple funnel, Schlitzfalle, and drainpipe traps baited with Linoprax® or Biolure® semiochemical baiting systems for the ambrosia beetle Trypodendron lineatum (Oliv.) were evaluated in similar experiments in British Columbia, West Germany, and Norway. In British Columbia, the Biolure-baited traps caught more T. lineatum of both sexes than did Linoprax-baited traps. The Linoprax-baited traps caught more male T. lineatum in West Germany and Norway but fewer females than the Biolure system. Low percentages of female T. lineatum were often recorded at drainpipe traps.

Canola plants in 0.84-m2 field plots were exposed to 120 bertha army worm larvae per square metre, beginning at mid 5th instar, for increasing durations. Yield loss increased with feeding duration throughout the feeding period whereas the proportion of pods damaged increased rapidly at first then leveled at 45%. Pod damage was negatively correlated with plot yield but the regression was not statistically significant. More seed shelled from plants with damaged pods than from plants with no pod damage under field conditions simulating drying in the swath. Seed from damaged pods had greater proportions of green and broken seeds causing lower seed grade and these defects were evident in seed from plots with 21% or more damaged pods. Although control measures for bertha armyworm should not be undertaken before pod damage is observed, a control decision should be made before 20% of the pods are damaged.

Western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman, adult males were observed in a wind tunnel for their response to synthetic sex pheromone and subsequently examined to determine their degree of infection with a microsporidian parasite, Nosema sp. A subsample of C. occidentalis was randomly selected and electroantennograms (EAG) of individual moths were measured for response to pheromone. The Nosema infection level ranged from 0 to 21.8 × 106 spores per milligram and was significantly negatively correlated with the proportion of males wing-fanning, taking off, and flying upwind to contact the pheromone source. The level of Nosema infection and the amplitude of the antennal response (EAG) to pheromone were not significantly related. These results suggest that Nosema affects the response of C. occidentalis males to pheromone in some way other than directly reducing the sensitivity of the antennae. We hypothesize that sublethal infections of Nosema sp. may reduce mating success of the western spruce budworm in field populations.

Greenhouse and field trials were done to determine the potential of Heterorhabditis heliothidis (Khan, Brooks and Hirschmann) Poinar (NC19 strain), an undescribed Heterorhabditis sp. (NC447 strain), and Steinernema feltiae Filipjev (A32−6 strain) to control British Columbia populations of black vine weevil (Otiorhyncus sulcatus Fab.) and strawberry root weevil (O. ovatus L.). An outdoor application of H. heliothidis applied at rates of 500 and 5000 nematodes per litre of soil gave significantly better control of black vine weevil larvae on potted, lodgepole pine trees (Pinus contorta Dougl.) than did a diazinon drench. Under greenhouse conditions Heterorhabditis sp. NC447 was the most effective nematode of the three tested against O. ovatus on potted, Douglas-fir seedlings (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) and S. feltiae the least effective, at all dose rates tested. A field trial using H. heliothidis against O. ovatus in a forest nursery did not provide a significant degree of weevil control. This lack of control is attributed to the average outdoor temperature (11 °C) during the treatment period, which was below the nematode’s optimum temperature range, and the higher-than-average rainfall.

In the course of benthic sampling during 1981 and 1982 in Lake St. Louis, Que., 28 water mite larvae (Hygrobatidae: Hygrobates) were found parasitizing caddisfly larvae (Leptoceridae: Nectopsyche, Oecetis, Ceraclea). Two other water mite larvae (Unionicolidae: Unionicola) also were found: one on Nectopsyche from Lake St. Louis, and the other on Limnephilus (Limnephilidae) from the Magundy Stream, N.B. Prevalence of parasitism ranged from 8 to 42%. Mite distribution among available hosts suggests host selection by the mites or the absence of mites from certain microhabitats. Parasitism of fully submerged insect larvae by mite larvae represents a further derivation from ancestral behavior patterns. This paper describes five of the seven documented cases of such parasitism on Trichoptera larvae.

In laboratory tests, Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fab.) was susceptible to infection by Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuillemin conidia. Infection occurred independently of the relative humidity (RH) (12, 33, 76, 100% RH). No significant difference was observed in the final percentage mortality of the treated grasshoppers and in the lethal times (LT50)(P > 0.05) under the RH conditions studied. However, the daily rate of mortality after treatment was higher at 76% RH than at 33% RH. High natural mortality occurred at 100% RH.

At 100% RH, treatment with B. bassiana was associated with an outgrowth of microorganism that created septicemic conditions in the absence of the characteristic symptoms of mycosis. Below 100% RH, mycelial growth on cadavers was never observed, even though partial or total insect mummification occurred, and a pink body coloration on approximately 80% of the insects indicated Beauveria as the killing agent. Once transferred to 100% RH, no more than 5% of the treated grasshoppers exhibited external mycelial growth.

The microenvironment at the cuticular level of the grasshopper allows expression of conidial pathogenicity regardless of ambient RH. Hence, together, these observations suggest the feasibility of field testing with B. bassiana as a bioinsecticide against M. sanguinipes in semi-arid climatic areas.

A number of recent publications have been produced on North American orthopteroid insects. These publications differ in some respects in dealing with the northern, particularly Canadian, orthopteroid fauna. This paper details the changes in names of taxa at nearly all levels, together with the present accepted names, and explanations and reasons for the changes.

Aerially applied Thuricide 48LV, Thuricide 64B, Futura XLV, and water-based formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner var. kurstaki (B.t.), were tested for effectiveness to control the hemlock looper, Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria (Guen.), in balsam fir, Abies balsamea (L.) Mill., stands. Thuricide 64B, applied twice at a dosage of 30 Billion International Units (BIU) per hectare in 1.78 L/ha, was the most effective, reducing the larval population by 100%.

Four 10-ha plots located in Kamloops Forest District, British Columbia, containing Douglas-fir trees infested with Douglas-fir tussock moth were aerially sprayed with nuclear polyhedrosis virus (Virtuss) in 1982 when most larvae were in the first instar. A dosage of 2.5 × 1011 polyhedral inclusion bodies (PIB) per hectare was applied in an emulsifiable oil tank mix to one plot and the same dosage in an aqueous tank mix containing molasses was applied to a second plot. The remaining two plots were treated with dosages of 8.3 × 1010 and 1.6 × 1010 PIB per hectare, respectively, in the oil mix. The treatments were applied with a fixed-wing aircraft fitted with boom and nozzle equipment and calibrated to deliver 9.4 L/ha. A further four plots were selected as checks.

Population reduction at 6 weeks post-spray (calculated using a modified Abbott’s formula) was 65% in the plot receiving the lowest dosage and from 87 to 95% in the remaining three plots. Incidence of virus infection, determined microscopically, peaked at 5–6 weeks post-spray with 85–100% of the larvae scored as positive. Levels of naturally occurring virus remained low in the check plots. Adult emergence from the pupae collected in the treated plots ranged from 4 to 19% and from 28 to 43% in the check plots. Reduction in egg-mass density attributed to the treatments was 97% in one plot, 99% in two others, and not determined for the fourth.

A virus dosage of 8.3 × 1010 PIB per hectare, which is one-third of the previously recommended dosage, is adequate, and either tank mix is acceptable.

To mitigate the effects of mosquitoes, settlers in the Revelstoke area of British Columbia reportedly burned the sporophores of the Indian paint fungus, Echinodontium tinctorium (Ell. & Ev.) Ell. & Ev., a pathogen of western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg., and true firs, Abies spp. Larval and adult yellowfever mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti (L.), were exposed to aqueous extracts of smoke (smoke-waters) from E. tinctorium sporophores, and from western hemlock sapwood and heartwood. Smoke-waters were of approximately equal toxicity to larvae. Fungus smoke-water, but not sapwood or heartwood smoke-waters, lost 50% of its potency in 5 months. Vapors from fungus smoke-water were significantly more toxic to adult mosquitoes than those from sapwood or heartwood. Thus smoke from E. tinctorium sporophores and T. heterophylla wood apparently contain different water-soluble combustion products toxic to A. aegypti.

Two species of grasshoppers in the genus Conophyma Zubovskii (Orthoptera: Acrididae) are described as new. Eight male and eight female specimens of Conophyma sharafii n.sp. were collected 8 June 1967 near Altimur Kotal, Paktia Province, Afghanistan, and seven male and four female specimens of Conophyma roberti n.sp. were collected 11 August 1967 near Gardan Deh, Bamian Province, Afghanistan. These discoveries extend the southern range of Conophyma in Afghanistan and bring the total number of described species in the genus to 83.

The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), is an important pest of alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., in Wisconsin because of its characteristic potential for exponential population growth (Hutchison and Hogg 1984, 1985) and the subsequent damage in both hay quality and quantity inflicted by high populations (Cuperus et al. 1982). In Wisconsin, as in most alfalfa-producing states, there is a vast complex of natural enemies (Hutchison and Hogg 1985) that influence pea aphid population dynamics, including the hymenopteran primary parasitoids from the Aphidiidae. These primary species, however, are also attacked by several secondary parasitoids from the families Megaspilidae, Pteromalidae, and Alloxystidae.

Following aerial application of a Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDunnough), nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) product called Virtuss on four plots in 1982, observations were made to determine the impact of these treatments in 1983 and 1984. Treated plots as well as buffer zones between and adjoining the treated plots, and three of the four check plots established in 1982, were monitored. The NPV appeared to have spread from the treated plots to adjoining areas in 1982, effectively reducing the Douglas-fir tussock moth population. This observation suggests that a strategy of spraying alternate swaths of Douglas-fir tussock moth infested stands with this viral insecticide may effectively initiate an epizootic that would control the population at a reduced cost.

A naturally occurring NPV epizootic decimated the Douglas-fir tussock moth population in the three check plots in 1983, but severe tree mortality occurred in two of these plots with 60 and 62% of sample trees dead in 1984. Light tree mortality was noted in 1984 in two of the four treated plots with 4 and 7% of sample trees killed. It is concluded that the virus treatments in 1982 were successful in preventing tree mortality.

Temperature effects on development were studied for two Alberta populations of Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), from the South Saskatchewan River valley and the surrounding plains. Lower developmental thresholds for all life stages of both Alberta populations were determined by linear regression. Thresholds for the egg stage were significantly less for plains borers (9.5°C) than for valley borers (10.8°C), and about 2°C lower than for corn borers from the United States. Thresholds in Alberta populations for the 4th (15.3°C) and 5th (14.0°C, plains) instars, and for post-diapause pupation (12.8°C), were much higher than in populations from the United States. Higher temperature thresholds delay development in Alberta populations, thus reducing midsummer pupation. Valley populations developed significantly faster than plains populations during egg development, during the prepupal period of the 5th instar, and during post-diapause pupation. These results explain why valley populations have a partial second generation in some years.