Generic and familial concepts of the Ascidae Voigts and Oudemans (= Blattisociidae Garman, Aceosejidae Baker and Wharton) are reviewed and modified from a world standpoint. The postembryonic developments of chaetotactic and external morphological features of the body and appendages are discussed. Twenty-two genera in three subfamilies are recognized, keyed, and defined: Arctoseius Thor, Iphidozercon Berlese, Xenoseius nov., and Zerconopsis Hull in the Arctoseiinae Evans; Cheiroseius Berlese and Platyseius Berlese in the Platyseiinae Evans; Aceodromus Muma, Antennoseius Berlese, Arctoseiodes Willmann, Asca Heyden, Blattisocius Keegan, Diseius nov., Gamasellodes Athias-Henriot, Hoploseius Berlese, Lasioseius Berlese, Leioseius Berlese, Melichares Hering, Neojordensia Evans, Proctolaelaps Berlese, Protogamasellus Karg, Rhinoseius Baker and Yunker, and Zercoseius Berlese in the Ascinae Voigts and Oudemans.Newly synonymized genera are Hyattella Krantz under Lasioseius, Mucroseius Lindquist and Orolaelaps DeLeon under Melichares, Garmaniella Westerboer under Proctolaelaps, and Tropicoseius Baker and Yunker under Rhinoseius. Genera removed from the Ascidae include Africoseius Krantz, Digamasellus Berlese, Laelaptoseius Womersley, and Zygoseius Berlese.

Modified systems of nomenclature based on holotrichous Gamasina are introduced and applied to setae on the dorsum of the idiosoma and on the venter of the opisthosoma.

A critical historical review of previous classifications and other work on tarsonemid and related mites is presented. General information concerning tarsonemids is reviewed, including the following: geographical distribution, life history, sex determination, sex ratio, copulation, adult female reproductive capacity and longevity, dispersal, food and host preferences, economic importance, and natural enemies.The generic and suprageneric taxa of Tarsonemidae, as known from the world fauna, are revised systematically and phylogenetically, based on a comprehensive assessment of morphology, ontogeny, and homology of tarsonemid structures, including their condition as found in other families of Heterostigmata. The fundamental systems of setal notation developed by Grandjean for the body and appendages of acariform mites are applied, including use for the first time of his special terminology for tarsal setae among heterostigmatic mites.Character transformation series (polarities) for the great majority of characters used in classifying tarsonemid mites are presented for the first time. The out-group method of comparison was used to propose character state polarities, based on the cladistic methodology of Hennig. The transformation series hypothesized for each of 157 characters are numbered, diagrammed in detail, and summarized in tabular form, both for the families of Tarsonemina and Heterostigmata in general and for the genera of Tarsonemidae in particular.Based on the above character transformation series, a tentative phylogeny of the genera of Tarsonemidae is proposed and illustrated by dendrograms. Three subfamilies are recognized, with Pseudotarsonemoidinae new subfam.being the sister-group of [Tarsoneminae + Acarapinae]. Seven tribes are recognized: the sister-groups Pseudotarsonemoidini and Tarsonemellini new tribes in Pseudotarsonemoidinae; the sister-groups Acarapini and Coreitarsonemini in Acarapinae; and sister-groups Steneotarsonemini and Hemitarsonemini new tribes, which together form the sister-group of Tarsonemini, in Tarsoneminae. Similar sister-groupings are proposed for the genera within each tribe, with 31 genera (7 new) and 5 subgenera allotted as follows. Pseudotarsonemoidini: Ununguitarsonemus Beer & Nucifora, 1965; Pseudotarsonemoides Vitzthum, 1921; Polyphagotarsonemus Beer & Nucifora, 1965; Nasutitarsonemus Beer & Nucifora, 1965; and Tarsanonychus new genus. Tarsonemellini: Tarsonemella Hirst, 1923. Coreitarsonemini: Amcortarsonemus Fain, 1971; Asiocortarsonemus Fain, 1971; and Coreitarsonemus Fain, 1970. Acarapini: Acarapis Hirst, 1923. Hemitarsonemini: Hemitarsonemus Ewing, 1939; Eotarsonemus De Leon, 1966; and questionably Heterotarsonemus Smiley, 1969. Steneotarsonemini: Steneotarsonemus Beer, 1954 (including subgenera Parasteneotarsonemus Beer & Nucifora, 1965, new status; Mahunkacarus Vainshtein, 1979; and Neosteneotarsonemus Tseng & Lo, 1980, new status), Ogmotarsonemus new genus, Suskia new genus, Phytonemus new genus, Dendroptus Kramer, 1876, new status; and Acaronemus Lindquist & Smiley, 1978. Tarsonemini: Fungitarsonemus Cromroy, 1958; Rhynchotarsonemus Beer, 1954; Deleonia new genus, Ceratotarsonemus De Leon, 1956; Daidalotarsonemus De Leon, 1956; Iponemus Lindquist, 1969; Pseudotarsonemus new genus; Suctarsonemus Mahunka, 1974; Xenotarsonemus Beer, 1954; Neotarsonemoides Kaliszewski, 1984; and Tarsonemus Canestrini & Fanzago, 1876 (including subgenera Chaetotarsonemus Beer & Nucifora, 1965, new status; and Floridotarsonemus Attiah, 1970, new status). Tribal placement of Pseudacarapis new genus is uncertain, though it belongs in Tarsoneminae.New generic synonymies include the following: Neotarsonemus Smiley, 1967 objectively under Polyphagotarsonemus Beer & Nucifora, 1965; Parasteneotarsonemus Beer & Nucifora, 1965, and Neosteneotarsonemus Tseng & Lo, 1980 subjectively under, but subgenera of, Steneotarsonemus Beer, 1954; Praeacaronemus Kaliszewski & Magowski, 1985 subjectively under Acaronemus Lindquist & Smiley, 1978; Ditarsonemoides Kaliszewski, in prep. subjectively under Neotarsonemoides Kaliszewski, 1984; Lupotarsonemus Beer & Nucifora, 1965, Metatarsonemus Attiah, 1970, and Cheylotarsonemus Tseng & Lo, 1980 subjectively under Tarsonemus Canestrini & Fanzago, 1876; and Chaetotarsonemus Beer & Nucifora, 1965, and Floridotarsonemus Attiah, 1970 subjectively under, but subgenera of, Tarsonemus Canestrini & Fanzago, 1876. Newly designated nomina nuda are Punctatutarsonemus Nucifora, 1964, referred to Iponemus Lindquist, 1969, and Lupotarsonemus Beer & Nucifora, 1965, referred to Tarsonemus Canestrini & Fanzago, 1876.Descriptions are provided of the subfamily Tarsonemoidea and of all family-group taxa of Tarsonemidae. A key to the adult females, and to the adult males and larvae so far as they are known, together with diagnoses, detailed descriptions, and habitus figures, are presented for the genera and subgenera of Tarsonemidae. Definitions of each genus- and family-group taxon, based primarily on apomorphies, are also given in the section on phylogenetic relationships. Remarks on the distribution, habitats, habits, and other taxonomic and nomenclatorial aspects are given under each genus, followed by a world list of nominate species thought to belong to each genus, and indication of material examined. Descriptions of type-species, either new or inadequately described previously, are given for genera and subgenera as follows: Nasutitarsonemus brontispae Beer & Nucifora, 1965; Tarsanonychus emblematus n.sp.; Steneotarsonemus (Neosteneotarsonemus) arcticus n.sp.; Ogmotarsonemus erepsis n.sp.; Suskia mansoni n.sp.; Pseudotarsonemus eueides n.sp.; Neotarsonemoides adae Kaliszewski, 1984; Tarsonemus (Floridotarsonemus) scaber Attiah, 1970.Based on transformation series of the same characters mentioned above, a tentative phylogeny of Tarsonemidae and other families of Tarsonemina and Heterostigmata is proposed. A sister-grouping of Tarsonemidae and Podapolipidae is strongly supported apomorphically, with Pyemotoidea being the sister-group of Tarsonemoidea. Pygmephoroidea is strongly supported as the sister-group of [Pyemotoidea + Tarsonemoidea]. Of special note is a series of successive out-group relationships to [Pygmephoroidea + Pyemotoidea + Tarsonemoidea] of Trochometridiidae, then Dolichocybidae, then Heterocheylidae, and finally the Tarsocheylidae as the out-group of all other families of Heterostigmata. Each of the latter four families, therefore, warrants superfamilial status, with Trochometridiidae and Dolichocybidae being outside of Pygmephoroidea and Pyemotoidea, respectively. The Tarsonemina is strongly supported apomorphically as a subcohort. However, Heterocheyloidea appears to represent a sister-group to Tarsonemina rather than to Tarsocheyloidea, such that a grouping of Heterocheyloidea with Tarsocheyloidea, to form a subcohort Tarsocheylina, would be paraphyletic.

A research programme in New Brunswick coordinating the use of radar, specially-instrumented aircraft, and observations from platforms extending above the forest canopy has established the massive scale and regularity of evening take-off flights by spruce budworm moths, Choristoneura fumiferana, and of subsequent nocturnal dispersal at levels high above the ground. A night-viewing telescope showed moths taking off from the tree crowns up until 2330 h, 2.5 h after sunset, while radar dot echoes of uniform strength and size began to appear each night at about the same time. Direct identification of radar echoes was provided by simultaneous catches of budworm moths taken in insect-collecting nets on Cessna 185 aircraft. Moths collected during emigration, displacement, and immigration contained a high proportion of egg-carrying females.Radar recorded the rates of climb and the altitudes reached by the flying moths and provided extensive data on their numbers, density, orientation, direction, speed, and duration of displacement. Airborne moths became concentrated in zones of wind convergence, and line-echoes from moths at wind-shift fronts were detected on radar at distances of 30 km. The time of passage of wind-shift fronts over a surface site was detectable by pilot-balloon observations and by sensing equipment on a 24-m meteorological tower. Wind-fields over New Brunswick, as found from a DC-3, showed a marked contrast between the high degree of wind uniformity on many evenings and convergent winds on other evenings. Attention is focussed on the potential effects of meso-scale sea breeze fronts, of which one example is presented, and of storm cells on moth concentration and dispersal.Through the use of radar, spruce-budworm moth dispersal has been viewed for the first time in its entirety and the integrated research programme has provided new data for better evaluation of the significance of moth dispersal in the initiation and spread of infestations.

The subfamily Microgastrinae is redefined; Cardiochilinae and Miracinae are placed as separate subfamilies. The Microgastrinae are divided into five tribes and 51 genera, 23 of which are new. The first two tribes, Apantelini and Microgastrini, have characteristically long ovipositor and are almost all solitary parasites of Microlepidoptera. The other three tribes, Forniciini, Cotesiini and Microplitini, have short ovipositor and are almost all parasites of Macrolepidoptera, usually gregarious. The genera Pseudapanteles, Parapanteles, Glyptapanteles and Protapanteles of Ashmead, Cotesia Cameron, Dolichogenidea and Diolcogaster Viereck are revived from synonymy, and the following new genera are described: Alphomelon, Choeras, Clarkinella, Deuterixys, Distatrix, Exix, Exoryza, Exulonyx, Iconella, Illidops, Nyereria, Papanteles, Paroplitis, Pelicope, Pholetesor, Rasivalva, Rhygoplitis, Sathon, Teremys, Venanides, Venanus, Wilkinsonellus, Xenogaster. Twenty new species are described and about 350 new combinations are given.

New taxonomic information is given on the identities, generic classification, morphology, relationships, and geographic distribution of several hundred species of proctotrupoid wasps. The paper is based on a study of primary types of 270 species of Scelionidae, many secondary types, and other important material in 40 world museums and private collections with approximately 300,000 specimens of Proctotrupoidea having been examined. Many genera are redefined, and generic diagnoses completed or corrected. The tribal classification is reviewed; four new tribes are proposed in the subfamily Scelioninae, viz. Nixoniini, Sparasionini, Cremastobaeini, and Doddiellini.

A key to the genera of Scelionidae of the Holarctic region is given. Sixty-seven genera are recognized in three subfamilies, viz. Telenominae, Teleasinae, and Scelioninae. Seven new genera and six new species are described from America north of Mexico, viz. Aradoctonus armatus n. gen. and n. sp. (Telenominae, Telenomini), Embioctonus setiger n. gen. and n. sp. (Scelioninae, Embidobiini), Epigryon audax n. gen. and n. sp. (Scelioninae, Gryonini), Exon californicum n. gen. and n. sp. (Scelioninae, Gryonini), Harringtonia n. gen. for Baryconus cinctus Harrington (Scelioninae, Psilanteridini), Mecix texana n. gen. and n. sp. (Scelioninae, Psilanteridini), and Spiniteleia campbelli n. gen. and n. sp. (Scelioninae, Psilanteridini). The Nearctic and Palearctic faunas of Scelionidae are compared, analyzed, and tabulated on generic level. Twenty-eight plates with 207 scanning electron micrographs and line drawings are included.

The genus Ostrinia is revised and the species limits, phylogeny, host relationships, geographical distribution, and the economic implications of species limitation are briefly discussed. Twenty species and 24 additional subspecies are recognized, of which 5 species and 19 additional subspecies are described as new. One new name is proposed for a homonym and a number of changes of synonymy and status are made.

Ostracodes are a diverse group of marine and continental crustaceans that have radiated into virtually all oxygenated aquatic environments that persist for more than about a month. Continental ostracodes live in both surface water and groundwater.Ostracodes living in springs and seeps have typically been the subject of systematic rather than ecologic studies. These taxa may or may not occur in other surface-water bodies. Similarly, lacustrine taxa may or may not be found in springs. Spring taxa occurring in other surface waters are often found in ponds, marshes, streams, or on the edges of lakes where groundwater discharge is important. Groundwater discharge, unlike lake water, shows limited and predictable variability in chemistry and temperature during the year. That level of variability relative to lake water may define particular ostracode environmental gradients. The gradients would range from stable, high-volume discharge springs occupied principally by spring species to high variability lakes occupied largely by lacustrine species.Ostracode occurrences may also be described by parameters such as temperature, solute (dissolved ion) composition, solute concentration (salinity, conductivity, ionic strength), and calcite saturation indices. A plot of these parameters associated with the presence of a taxon illustrates its physiologic response to the environment, a field. Three general fields bounded by chemical parameters are delineated by existing data. Those fields are as follows: (1) a restricted range and (2) a full range of fresh water, and (3) both fresh and saline water. Fields bounded by temperature and chemistry are also recognized. The fields also offer a way of describing ostracode occurrences in terms of hydrogeology and climate.If ostracode occurrences are limited by major chemical and physical properties of the aquatic environment, then their habitat may be defined by certain physical–chemical principles. The same physical–chemical principles must apply to the past. The ecology of extinct taxa may, therefore, be defined in the same environmental terms as those for extant taxa.

The catalogue provides systematic information and collates biological and ecological references on species of the acariform mite suborder Oribatida known from North America. Despite the importance of oribatid mites in decomposition processes, this is the first such synthesis in over 75 years. The catalogue deals with 1177 species and subspecies in 329 genera, representing 108 families and 44 superfamilies. The geographical region covered is roughly the Nearctic Realm, excluding Greenland, Mexico, and oceanic islands. Fossil species are included, but quarantine interceptions are omitted. Also not treated are 16 species, listed in the literature as cosmopolitan or American, but whose occurrence in Canada and continental United States has not been confirmed. The systematic arrangement of higher taxa is compiled from many sources, but primarily expresses a functional compromise between the concepts of Grandjean and Balogh.Numerous taxonomic changes were required for the placement of taxa into a modern classification. Four family-group names are given new status (Nehypochthonioidea, Charassobatoidea, Tectocepheoidea, Achipterioidea) mostly to eliminate known polyphyletic taxa. New generic synonymies include: Acrotritia Jacot, 1923 and Peridromotritia Jacot, 1923 with Rhysotritia Märkel and Meyer, 1959; Alloribates Banks, 1947 with Xylobates Jacot, 1929; and Boreozetes Hammer, 1955 with Neogymnobates Ewing, 1917. Fourteen species names are given new status, 24 others are newly synonymized, and 120 are placed in new combinations. Four recombinations resulted in junior secondary homonyms for which new names are proposed. Thirty-six species names are recognized as being of uncertain status: 20 nomina inquirendae, five nomina nuda, five unavailable names, two unplaced taxa, and four misidentifications.For each species and subspecies treated, pertinent information from 1229 references, selected on a global basis, is arranged into 14 subject categories, depending on availability of data. Direct information is provided on: location of type material, synonymies and combinations used in the literature, additional references to synonymies and combinations not included in the previous section, and distributional records (by provinces in Canada, states in the United States, and geographical realms outside North America). Number-coded literature references serve as a guide to species description, taxonomy, keys, works with numerous references, morphology, biology, food, miscellany (culture, extraction, parasitology, physiology), ecology, and remarks.

A revision of the genus Aleochara of America north of Mexico is presented. Seven subgenera are redefined with 47 currently recognized species, of which nine are described as new (A. arizonica, A. cavernicola, A. curtidens, A. lobata, A. ocularis, A. nidicola, A. rufobmnnea, A. rufonigra, A. unicolor). The species are arranged according to their relationships into species groups within each subgenus. Sixty-one synonymies are newly established (the first specific name is valid): Subg. COPROCHARA, A. bimaculata Gravenhorst = B. deserticola Casey = B. innocua Casey = B. obsolescens Casey = B. recta Casey; A. notula Erichson = A. duplicata Erichson = B. nanella Casey = B. nitidicollis Casey; A. suffusa (Casey) = B. acuminata Casey = A. verna brundini Bernhauer; A. verna Say = A. alticola Sharp. Subg. XENOCHARA, A. lacertina Sharp = B. salicola Casey = B. imbricata Casey = B. idonea Casey = A. densiventris Bernhauer; A. sallaei Sharp = A. torquata Sharp; A. puberula Klug = B. bipartita Casey; A. fumata Gravenhorst = A. languida Sachse = B. defecta Casey = B. affluens Casey; A. castaneipennis Mannerheim = A. glenorana Casey = B. rotundicollis Casey = B. mannerheimi Casey = B. acomana Casey = B. insulana Casey = B. concurrens Casey = B. eludens Casey = A. oregona Hatch; A. quadrata Sharp = B. uvidula Casey = A. sparsicollis Bernhauer. Subg. CALOCHARA, A. rubripennis Casey = A. rubripes Blatchley = A. wallawallae Hatch. Subg. ALEOCHARA, A. centralis Sharp = A. stygialis Sharp; A. gracilicornis Bernhauer = A. kansana Casey = A. pleuralis Casey = A. americana Casey = A. ellipsicollis Casey; A. lustrica Say = A. pauper Sharp = A. serrata Sharp = A. texana Casey = A. fusicornis Casey = A. sternalis Casey = A. algonquina Casey = A. medialis Casey; A. tahoensis Casey = A. postpicta Casey = A. montanica Casey; A. thoracica Casey = A. collusor Casey. Subg. ECHOCHARA, A. lucifuga (Casey) = A. cavicola (Garman). Subg. EMPLENOTA, A. littoralis (Mäklin) = A. maritima (Casey) = P. arenaria Casey = E. quadrifer Casey = E. trilimbata Casey = E. longiceps Casey. Subg. MASEOCHARA, A. valida LeConte = M. ponderosa Casey = M. robusta Sharp = M. ruficauda Casey; A. opacella (Sharp) = M. hogei Sharp = M. decipiens Casey; A. depressa (Sharp) = M. puberula Casey = M. basalis Casey = M. musta Casey.Ninety-three lectotypes and three neotypes are designated (neotypes are designated for: C. caviola Garman, A. lustrica Say, and A. verna Say).Keys to subgenera and species are provided. All species are described, each illustrated with line drawings and scanning electron microscope photomicrographs, and all available bionomic and distributional data are given. Emphasis was put on host records of those Aleochara species which may be used in biological control of some pest species of Diptera. The systematics and phylogeny of the subgenera and zoogeography of species are discussed.A checklist of Nearctic Aleochara and a table listing the known host records for some species is added.

Canadian peatlands can be classified into ombrotrophic bogs and minerotrophic fens, the latter subdivided into poor, moderate-rich, and extreme-rich fens, each with distinctive indicator species, acidity, alkalinity, and base cation content. If hydrology is considered the most important factor in peatland classification then the primary division must be between ombrotrophic bogs and minerotrophic fens; however both chemical and vegetational differences strongly indicate that the primary division of peatlands should be between acidic, Sphagnum-dominated bogs and poor fens on the one hand, and alkaline, brown-moss-dominated rich fens on the other. Although some metals such as sulphur and aluminum also vary along this gradient, nutrient contents of the surface waters do not. Bogs and fens are oligotrophic to mesotrophic wetlands that should be distinguished from eutrophic, non-peat-forming wetlands such as marshes and swamps by the presence in the former of a well-developed ground layer of bryophytes associated with relatively little seasonal water level fluctuation. Oligotrophy is probably maintained in bogs and poor fens by reduced water flow, whereas rich fens maintain mesotrophy by having larger water through-puts; however this is not well documented. Sphagnum appears to have real ecological significance, both in the initial stages of acidification and in controlling surface water temperature. Seasonal variation in surface water chemistry in all peatland types is relatively small, however precipitation events leading to changes in water levels do affect some chemical components. Although both autogenic and allogenic factors affect peatland development, initiation of peat formation and early development of peatlands during the Early and Mid Holocene were considerably influenced by regional climatic change. Later developmental patterns during the late Holocene and those seen at the present time appear to be more influenced by autogenic factors.