Sex attractant blends were developed for monitoring three conifer-feeding species of Eucosma Hübner found in pine seed orchards and plantations in Wisconsin and Ontario. Eucosma monitorana Heinrich, which attacks developing cones of red pine, Pinus resinosa Aiton (Pinaceae), preferred lures containing 100:5:15 (μg blend) of (Z)-9-dodecenyl acetate (Z9-12:Ac), (E)-9-dodecenyl acetate (E9-12:Ac), and (Z)-9-dodecen-1-ol (Z9-12:OH), respectively, over lures without the alcohol or with higher levels of E9-12:Ac. This blend was unattractive to sympatric Eucosma gloriola Heinrich, a species that feeds inside shoots of red pine and eastern white pine, Pinus strobus L. Eucosma gloriola was attracted to a 100:30 blend of Z9-/E9-12:Ac, and adding Z9-12:OH had no significant effect. Eucosma tocullionana Heinrich, which attacks cones of eastern white pine, was attracted equally to 10:3 and 10:5 μg blends of Z9-/E9-12:Ac, and adding Z9-12:OH had no effect. A ratio as low as 1:0.3 was attractive to E. tocullionana but not to sympatric E. gloriola, which preferred a 100-fold higher dosage of the same blend. The seasonal flight periods of the three species overlapped in all study areas. The flight of E. gloriola usually peaked in late May slightly before that of E. monitorana while the flight of E. tocullionana peaked about 1–3 weeks later. The results indicate that sex pheromones, seasonal flight periods, and host preferences are isolating mechanisms for these closely related sympatric species.

The cabbage seedpod weevil, Ceutorhynchus obstrictus (Marsham), was discovered infesting canola [Brassica napus L. and Brassica rapa L. (Brassicaceae)] in southern Alberta in 1995, and by 1999 its populations had reached outbreak densities. The weevil has dispersed rapidly through cropland in the southern prairies, prompting this study to assess its potential for establishment in Canada's primary region of canola production in the Moist Mixed Grassland and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. In this study, both short- (24 h) and long-term (4 years) distribution patterns of cabbage seedpod weevil were examined, and these data were combined with previously published ecological findings and meteorological data in CLIMEX™ software to predict regions of western Canada where economically important infestations are likely to occur. Adult temporal distributions over 24 h on canola in bud and flower remained restricted primarily to the inflorescence rather than on stems and leaves regardless of time of day. Surveys conducted in commercial canola fields from 1997 to 2000 recorded rapid dispersal of the species to the north and east from the region of southern Alberta where it was initially found. Dispersal occurred at a rate of approximately 55 km/year, and in 2000 C. obstrictus populations were found in Saskatchewan for the first time. The CLIMEX™ model predicts that the distribution of C. obstrictus will eventually encompass the entire region of canola production in western Canada.