Notes are given on type material of 25 nominal species either referable to the genus Sphaerophoria or described in that genus and referable to the genus Ischiodon. Lectotypes are designated for 15 of these species. New synonymy is indicated for 13 nominal species on the basis of examination of type material and for three other nominal species on the basis of published figures of male terminalia of type material. One species frequently referred to the genus Sphaerophoria is transferred to the genus Allograpta.

Adult midges (Chironomidae: Diptera) were recorded at experimental ponds during all months. Data from 13 years were combined by months. Submerged traps yielded 50 species. Other methods of collecting obtained 15 additional species. Traps in 12 similar 0.1-ha ponds beside a permanent slow-flowing supply-canal yielded 45 species. Traps in a 1.95-ha pond that lacked such a canal yielded 15 species.

A preliminary study to define a laboratory diet on which to rear the larvae of Rhyacionia buoliana (Schiff.) was made. The rearing vials were very important and gaseous exchange was essential for proper rearing and moisture levels. It was found that wheat germ appeared to contain essential components or balance of nutrients necessary for rearing this insect. Ascorbic acid also appeared to be an important component either for its nutritional value or as an antioxidant protecting other labile dietary components. It also appeared, because of the feeding habits of this insect and the length of its life cycle, that the larvae may have to be periodically transferred to new diet formulations to insure the presence of changing necessary nutrient(s). Aseptic rearing of the larvae seemed to be feasible. It was found that eggs, surface sterilized in 0.1% hypochlorite solution for 10–15 minutes, could be aseptically introduced into containers without appreciable decrease in egg hatch; however, sustained asepsis was difficult to maintain in the rearing vials employed.

The following new species are described: Myodopsylla globata, from bats, and Kohlsia martini, from rice rats, Oryzomys sp. Ceratophyllus altus Tipton and Mendez, known formerly only from the unique type, a male from Panama, was collected in numbers from nests of sparrow hawks, Falco sparverius tropicalis, and pygmy owls, Glaucidium sp.; the female is described.

Earwig (Forficula auricularia L.) populations infested by the nematode Mermis subnigrescens Cobb were collected from the Ayton area of Ontario, Canada, in 1968 and 1969. Parasitism levels in earwigs from this area ranged from 10.9 to 63% and appeared to be a factor in population control. It is suggested that M. subnigrescens could be used to effect population reduction of earwigs by release of infested earwigs or by distribution of nematode eggs.

Annual cone abundance and insect damage to cones are highly variable in red pine seed-production areas. Cone crop size fluctuates almost unpredictably from year to year, but the number of insect-attacked cones tends to increase annually unless limited by cone abundance. Sixty-six per cent of the variation in cone damage can be associated with variations in cone abundance. This information, coupled with the fact that red pine cone insects are almost entirely dependent on red pine cones for food, implies that crop size is highly important in regulating populations of cone insects. Insects will be most devastating in areas where crop size varies little from year to year.

An appraisal of population processes in the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), on its principal host plant showed that the insect has no natural agents that act in a manner that prevent it from overshooting its food supply. It is little affected by weather conditions or predators, and its only parasite, the tachinid Doryphorophaga doryphorae (Riley), is inversely density dependent in its action. Once the beetle has exploited its food resource, the larvae starve and the adults emigrate in quest of other hosts.The analysis of age interval survivals showed that populations are both regulated and disturbed by the principal key factor, adult migration, which is density dependent but overcompensating. A predictive model based on density relationships explained 94% of the variance in population trend.

Several species of ground-beetles, with main area in the interior of North America, have more or less isolated occurrences in eastern Canada. Some of them have clearly expanded their area in recent years and are no doubt late immigrants into the east; others may be old relicts. The geographical instability of the former group is explained as an eastward movement of a steppe element following the deforestation of the country, notably within the U.S.A., south of the Great Lakes.

Dioryctria assamensis boring in shoots of Pinus khasya (labeled P. insularis) in Shillong, Assam, and Dioryctria raoi boring in shoots of Pinus roxburghii and Pinus sp. in north India are described as new species.

Peltotrichius glaseri n. sp. is described from Baleu, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, and the generic limits of Peltotrichius are slightly altered.

Two new species of the genus Stenus Latr. (subgenus Hypostenus) are described: one from Quebec, the other one from Newfoundland.

Psylla pyricola Foerster (pear psylla) transmitted Erwinia amylovora Winslow (fireblight) in 7 of 596 tests made from 1964 to 1969 at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont., Canada. Confirmation of transmission was by symptom expression and phage increase in Pyrus test tissue.

This preliminary report on a revision of the Tanypodinae of Africa south of the Sahara is based mainly on the collection of imagines in the British Museum (Natural History). It has been possible to re-examine most known species, in addition to studying new species, and to classify them according to the scheme proposed by E. J. Fittkau. Most species fit into his genera but a few new ones will have to be erected. The distribution of species is discussed.

Tuberculatus spiculatus is described and illustrated. It is a Quercus-infesting aphid that is known only from Mexico.

Topical application of thiotepa on the adult male spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens, at a concentration of 10 μg/insect resulted in 100% sterility. Unlike metepa, thiotepa did not have any apparent adverse effects on the competency of the sperms. Large numbers of male moths can be sterilized by allowing them to walk for 30 min on filter paper treated with a 2.5% solution of thiotepa in a 3:1 mixture of acetone and diffusion pump oil.

Five genera, Annegialia new genus, Bdelyropsis Pereira, Vulcano, and Martinez, Callosides new genus, Fossocarus Howden, and Scarabaeinus Silvestri, are discussed. Four are monotypic, Annegialia ataeniformis n. sp. from the western United States, Callosides campbelli n. sp. from Colombia, Fossocarus creoleorum Howden from the southern United States, and Scarabaeinus termitophilus Silvestri from Brazil. In the last two genera, the male of Fossocarus is described for the first time, and in Scarabaeinus information on the range and host is given. A second species of Bdelyropsis, newtoni n. sp., is described from Veracruz, Mexico, and a brief discussion of B. bowditchi (Paulian) is included.