Access to drinking water increased the longevity of Coccinella trifasciata perplexa Muls. by about 35%. The water content of field-collected insects was 70% and of laboratory-fed insects 64%. Rate of loss of water increased, and longevity decreased when protein was absent from the food.

Anatis mali Auct. lived more than 1000 days and Coleomegilla maculata lengi Timberlake lived more than 400 days when fed on various synthetic foods. Seven of 13 species tested kid eggs when fed on these foods. A diet containing desiccated liver was the best non-prey food supplement for reproduction, and adults of three generations of C. maculata were kept on this food.

A. mali preferred dry powdered pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harr.), to either bean aphids. Aphis fabae Scop., or corn aphids, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), whereas C. maculata preferred corn pollen to aphids and A. pisum and R. maidis to A. fabae. Previous feeding did not affect the preference of either A. mali or C. maculata for dry aphids or pollen. C. maculata produced six eggs per mg. of food while feeding on A. pisum and four on R. maidis. Young adults ate more than older adults.

The rate of food intake was highest in A. mali during the first two weeks and in C. maculata during the first eight days after emergence. The living weight and dry weight of feeding C. maculata adults increased for eight days and then did not vary, whereas the water content decreased in this period. The index of relative growth was about 0.10 mg. per day per mg. of adult weight and food efficiency was about 0.18 mg. per mg. of food.

Plots in a bearing apple orchard were sprayed with formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner on five to seven occasions in each of four consecutive seasons. Larvae of the winter moth, eye-spotted bud moth, orchard tent caterpillar, and fall webworm were less numerous on foliage in plots treated with B. thuringiensis than in the check plot. Numbers of free-living blister mites were reduced by treatment with the bacterium. Other phytophagous mites were not numerous in any of the plots. Injury to fruit by larvae of the codling moth, winter moth, and eye-spotted bud moth and by the mirid Atractotomus mali (Meyer) was lower in plots treated with the bacterium. Only three taxa of predacious arthropods were consistently affected by the application of B. thuringiensis; one was less numerous where the bacterium was applied and two were more numerous.

The family Otopheidomenidae Treat is transferred to the Phytoseiidae Berlese as a subfamily, and the subfamily Macroseiinae Chant et al. is considered as a genus in the subfamily Phytoseiinae. The subfamily Otopheidomeninae contains four genera: Otopheidomenis Treat, Hemipteroseius Evans, Treatia Krantz and Khot, and Entomoseius Nov. The subfamily Phytoseiinae contains 10 genera: Typhlodromus Scheuten, Phytoseius Ribaga, Chantia Pritchard and Baker, Platyseiella Muma, Iphiseius Berlese, Paraamblyseius Muma, Phytoseiulus Evans, Amblyseius Berlese, Macroseius Chant et al., and Gigagnathus Nov. Keys and descriptions of genera are included.

Three species of Chlamydatus Curtis described as new are: artemisiae, auratus and knighti.

Seventeen other species recognized from North America are: arcuatus Kngt., associants (Uhl.), brevicornis Kngt., fulvipes Kngt., manzanitae Kngt., monilipes Van D., montanus Kngt., obliquus (Uhl.), opacus (Zett.), pallidicornis Kngt., pulicarius (Fall.), pullus (Reut.), ruficornis Kngt., schuhi Kngt., suavis (Reut.), uniformis (Uhl.), and wilkinsoni (D. & S.). Chlamydatus opacus (Zett.), is recorded for the first time from North America. Chlamydatus apiatus (Uhl.) and C. fumidus (Uhl.) are transferred to Plagiognathus Fieb., new combination. Genus Strophopoda Van D., formerly considered a synonym of Chlamydatus is reinstated to contain Strophopoda aprica Van D. Species are keyed and male genitalia are figured.

The life history of a tortricid cone moth Choristoneura lambertiana subretiniana Obraztsov in California is described. The larvae feed primarily on staminatc flowers and cones of lodgepole pine although some needle- and tip-mining occurs. The only other recorded host is ponderosa pine.

Eggs are deposited in late July to early August; first-instar larvae migrate from the needles to protected locations on the branches and spin hibernacula. The larvae overwinter predominantly as second-instar larvae in the hibernaculum. They emerge from the hibernacula in April, and mature in four to six weeks. There are six larval instars. The pupal period lasts approximately two weeks; adult emergence begins in mid-July and extends through the end of August.

The results of sampling to determine the vertical distribution of white grubs in the soil and the frequency distribution of grubs per 1-square-foot sample unit are presented. It was found that the optimum sampling period is during June and July, when most of the grubs are in the upper foot of soil. The negative binomial distribution with a k value of 1.5936 fitted most of the data well and was used to devise two sequential sampling methods: one for classifying white grub populations as light, moderate or severe; the other for pre-planting surveys to determine whether or not control measures are required.

The spontaneous activation of Aedes aegypti, and their responses to external stimuli (especially changes in temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide concentration) have been analyzed in a way that allows the controlling neural mechanisms to be inferred. In general, the flying insect turns back on leaving a favorable air stream, but does not turn on entering one. The normal attack program reduces to four basic steps: a general search initiated by a small rise in the CO2 level, no turn when the insect enters the "host stream" (i.e., the convective or other air current whose temperature and/or relative humidity has been modified by the host), an induced turn on leaving the host stream, and a visual landing. Repellents resemble CO2 in activating previously resting mosquitoes. If, however, the host stream contains a repellent vapor, the insect is made to turn on entering the host stream and is prevented from turning on leaving it. Thus the repellent vapor reverses the normal response to the host stream in two ways that are vital to success in locating a warm-blooded host. It also tends to inhibit probing. The antennal setae through which the various environmental influences are perceived can be inferred from a quantitative consideration of the responses.

The subgenus Cullumanobombus is represented by Bombus rufocinctus in the Nearctic region. In southern Alberta, its distribution is confined to the wooded areas. There, it is adaptable in its nest-selecting habits, and establishes nests mostly in June. It made 11.2 ± 1.4 cells in the first brood. In each cell, one egg was laid in the first brood, 4.2 ± 1.2 eggs in the second and third, and 8.2 ± 3.9 in the fourth and later broods.

Queens required about 22 days to rear workers. The second and third broods were usually workers and the fourth and later broods usually males or queens. The workers in a colony varied little in size. The dominant color pattern was B. rufocinctus s. str. This species is a prolific producer of wax.

The queens mated in the morning and hibernated in the afternoon, about an inch deep in the soil.

Many queens invaded other nests of the same species. The natural enemies were the three species of Psithyrus indigenous to the area, the big-headed fly, Physocephala texana, and ants.

Diaphnidia richardsi n. sp. is described. Orthotylus chlorionis (Say) and O. ulmi Knight are transferred to Diaphnocoris Kelton n. comb. Orthotylus translucens Tucker is a synonym of Diaphnocoris provancheri (Burque) n. syn. Diaphnidia capitata Van D. (= Diaphnocoris capitata, Kelton 1961) is transferred to Paraproba Distant n. comb. Species are keyed and male genitalia are illustrated.

The external anatomy of the larvae and pupae of a number of species of the genus Dendroctonus was studied to determine its value in the classification of the genus. It was found that the larval and pupal characters supported the synonomy proposed in a revision of the genus based on imaginal characters recently published by another worker.

Variation in thoracic color and the role of color in reproduction were studied in the field in one population of the damselfly, Argia apicalis. Mature males and females were individually marked, and observed near noon on 47 consecutive days, and hourly on three. Males occurred in two color phases: bright blue, and gray-black, neither of which could be positively associated with age or mating. Change was not a single step from blue to finally dark or vice versa but often involved intervening changes in both directions with a maximum of eight in 12 days. Dark was the more temporary condition. Females occurred in three color phases: brown, turquoise, gray-black. As with males, no one phase could be positively associated with age or mating, and multi-directional change occurred after sexual maturity.

Dead pinned individuals, modified or not, were presented to living males who: (1) advanced sexually toward motionless models, (2) discriminated intact females from males, (3) reacted sexually more frequently to brown than to the other normal female colors, (4) responded sexually to a female thorax and one wing almost as frequently as to a normal female, (5) accurately discriminated a female thorax and one wing from that of a male. The blue-tipped male abdomen aided but was not indispensable for sex recognition. Dorsal and lateral thoracic color were equally important and elicited male sexual response in their entirety rather than by particular pattern. Sex discrimination broke down when the normal thoracic color was obliterated with paint regardless of its color, but a thorax painted white was an "over-optimal" attraction suggesting the importance of light intensity.

The paper describes a new species and genus of fly, Archidipteron walkeri (Nymphomyiidae: Diptera), found in samples seined by screens from the Molus river, New Brunswick, after spraying of the watershed with DDT in oil.

The species is compared with Nymphomyia alba, Tokunaga, of Japan and the affinities of the family discussed. It was concluded that these insects are only distantly related to other Diptera and are probably best considered as belonging in the Archidiptera, a suborder of the Diptera, as proposed by Rohdendorf.

The ecological position of the insects is discussed but definite conclusions are not drawn pending more information on life cycle, particularly of the, as yet unknown, larval stages.

The mallophagan genus Aquanirmus, parasitic on grebes (Podicipidae), is revised. Four new species and one new subspecies are described: emersoni ex Podiceps grisegena, occidentalis ex Aechmophorus occidentalis, podilymbus ex Podilymbus podiceps, bucomfishi ex Podiceps auritus, and bahli chamberlini ex Poliocephalus dominicus. The geographic and host distributions of the parasites are discussed. It is pointed out that geography plays an important role in the distribution of the species of Aquanirmus.

Ips calligraphus (Germar), I. ponderosae Swaine and I. interstitialis (Eichhoff) represent one variable species with the oldest name, Ips calligraphus (Germar) taking precedence. Ips calligraphus can always be recognized by the six spines on each side of the declivity. All other species in North America have less than six spines on each side.

To use gizzard analysis quantitatively, in the assessment of bird predation on insect populations, information is needed on the time that identifiable remains of the prey can be found in the gizzard and on the rate at which these remains disappear. The digestion rate, measured by the disappearance of mandibles or cremasters, has been studied for larvae and pupae of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), when eaten by the olive-backed thrush, Hylocichla ustulata swainsoni (Tschudi).

Parasite studies were carried out in two residual spruce budworm outbreaks in Quebec. Investigations were conducted during the last three years of the outbreak in the Lower St. Lawrence region and during the last year of the one in the Saguenay region. In the Lower St. Lawrence region decline of the insect population was initiated through aerial application of DDT over a period of three years, while in the Saguenay region the unfavourable condition of the forest stands apparently kept budworm numbers below peak outbreak levels. The incidence of mortality through the action of parasites was very high during the last year of both of these outbreaks and probably contributed to bringing about their collapse. Meteorus trachynotus Vier. has repeatedly been recovered in abundance during the last year of a number of budworm outbreaks and it was amongst the important parasites recovered in both outbreaks under discussion. Other species, however, that were abundant in one or the other of these two outbreaks had not been recovered in numbers before. The parasite complex and the relative abundance of each parasite species during budworm outbreaks is fairly constant at the time of peak host populations, but it is now apparent that they vary considerably at the time of outbreak collapse. Variations in the presence and relative abundance of alternate hosts probably account for this situation.

The paper describes an observation chamber and air-conditioning system designed for studying the responses of flying insects at the boundary between two microclimates. Two vertical air streams each fill one half of the rectangular observation chamber. Turbulence is carefully removed so as to maintain a sharp boundary between the streams. Each stream is separately conditioned by passage through heat exchangers and plastic sponges impregnated with substances to be vapourized. Responses of flying insects are studied both photographically and by counting rates of turning at the boundary.

Three different soils – sand, loam and clay – at each of three moisture levels – saturated, intermediate, and dry – were offered to female Melanoplus sanguinipes as oviposition sites. When given a free choice the females preferred moist sand to all other oviposition sites and avoided soil that was completely dry. When no moist soil was available, coarse dry soil was preferred to fine dry soil, but the oviposition rate was reduced. The females would probe and dig at random into any of the soil offered but would withhold their eggs temporarily if the subsurface soil was not moist. Soil water pH appeared to have very little influence on the females' acceptance of an oviposition site as egg pods were deposited in soils with a range of pH from 3.0 to 11.6. It is suggested that although the absence of moisture in the soil may affect the distribution of egg-pods in the microhabitat and may reduce the rate of egg-pod production slightly, the temperature prevailing during the oviposition period is perhaps a more important factor in determining the number of egg-pods deposited.

Details of a method of mass rearing eggs and larvae of the cabbage root maggot, Hylemya brassicae (Bouché) for bioassay and of continuous propagation of all stages of the pest are described. The technique was equally suitable for rearing the onion maggot H. antiqua (Meig.), the seed corn maggot H. calicruraliturata (Rond.) and the carrot rust fly, Psila rosa (L.). Under the conditions described, 2000-2500 eggs or first-instar larvae of H. brassicae were obtained from 50-60 female flies in 24 hours, or 1000-1200 mature larvae or pupae were reared from eggs produced by 25 female flies in approximately 20 days.

In Nova Scotia one leaf cluster with an adjoining 1 inch of twig taken from the inside of each of 10 apple trees replicated four times is an adequate sample unit to measure the density of the brown mite.

The brown mite has one generation with a partial second in some orchards and one with a partial second and partial third in others. The first generation adults in the bivoltine and trivoltine populations lay summer eggs on the leaves and twigs, and diapause eggs on tin twigs. The second generation adults in the bivoltine populations lay only diapause eggs; in the trivoltine populations they lay both summer and diapause eggs. The adults of the third generation lay only diapause eggs.

The brown mite is found on both the leaves and woody parts of the tree. In orchards with bivoltine populations the proportion of mites on leaves reached a peak of 80% by mid-July, but thereafter gradually decreased to 10% by the end of August. However, in orchards with trivoltine populations the proportion of mites on leaves reached a peak of 80 to 90% by mid-July, remained constant until mid-August, and thereafter decreased to approximately 40% by the end of August.

The number of diapause eggs laid by adults of each generation in both the bivoltine and trivoltine populations varies widely. The eggs are deposited on the trunk as well as on the branches, with the heaviest deposition in the central area of the tree. The diapause eggs laid by adults of the first generation are the last to hatch and those laid by the third generation are the first to hatch the following spring.

The factors responsible for the differences in the number of generations and in the number of diapause eggs laid are unknown.