The genus Synosis Townes, 1959 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Metopiinae) currently comprises 18 described species. A redescription of the genus is presented and three new species are described and illustrated: S. diaguita new species, S. nigra new species, and S. zezei new species. Two previously known species, Synosis rubinus Alvarado and Rodriguez-Berrios, 2013 and S. townesi Alvarado and Rodriguez-Berrios, 2013 are recorded for the first time in Ecuador. The genus is recorded for the first time for Ecuador and Argentina. An identification key to the New World species is presented.

The conopid fly Stylogaster neglecta Williston (Diptera: Conopidae) is a parasitoid with no known host. We report this species as the first recorded dipteran parasitoid of Oecanthus nigricornis Walker (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) (black-horned tree crickets). We reared field-collected O. nigricornis juveniles over several months in 2017 and found that larval S. neglecta emerged from them during late July into August. We estimated the incubation period for S. neglecta larvae to be around 30 days based on the length of time it took for them to emerge from the host and pupate (subsequently all hosts died). We documented several cases of multiple parasitism. In 2018, we dissected O. nigricornis sampled from four sites across southern Ontario, Canada and upstate New York, United States of America and found that the percentage of juvenile O. nigricornis parasitised ranged 2–39%. Further sampling will be necessary to determine whether this variation represents consistent population differences or between-year variation in parasitism.

The growth of the commercial pollination industry raises important concerns regarding honey bee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus; Hymenoptera: Apidae) health and development. While providing such services, honey bees are often exposed to undiversified pollen sources that may contribute to nutritional deficiencies, notably in protein and amino acids. To understand how honey bees are affected during provision of pollination services, we compared honey bee colonies that pollinated lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton; Ericaceae) and/or cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton; Ericaceae) crops (management strategies) with control colonies in a diversified farmland environment. We identified the floral species of pollen collected by honey bee colonies in those crops compared to pollen collected by control colonies. We also analysed the protein and essential amino acid content of collected pollen and bee bread and measured the nutritional impact of pollination services on honey bee colonies. We found that honey bees providing blueberry and/or cranberry pollination services are exposed to a less diversified pollen diet than colonies located in a farmland environment, especially in a cranberry field. There was a significantly lower proportion of crude protein content in collected and stored pollen during provision of blueberry pollination services, which led to a smaller brood population. Many nutritional deficiencies were measured with regards to essential amino acids.

Plant proteinase inhibitors are among the promising biopesticides which are induced in plants tissues against the several Lepidoptera pests to inhibit digestive proteases. In this study, protein extracts of two nonhost plant seeds, Amaranthus retroflexus Linnaeus (Amaranthaceae) and Cuminum cyminum Linnaeus (Apiaceae), were examined on Helicoverpaarmigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The results obtained by using azocasein as a substrate showed that inhibitory activity of general proteases of the larvae fed on a diet incorporated with both inhibitors was dose dependent. Seed extracts of A. retroflexus and C. cyminum at the highest concentration showed that inhibition activities of chymotrypsin-like proteinase and trypsin-like proteinase were between 31–45% and 28–61%, respectively. Based on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, all of the proteinase isoforms, including those of A. retroflexus seed extracts, disappeared entirely, and only one band was detected in the seed extracts of C. cyminum. Larval mortality in the larvae fed on A. retroflexus and C. cyminum seed extracts was 56 ± 2.15 and 68 ± 2.23, respectively, but mortality in control (no seed protein extract) was 12 ± 2.34 individuals. Also, the life table parameters were affected significantly by A. retroflexus and C. cyminum protein seed extracts. Therefore, A. retroflexus and C. cyminum seed protein extracts showed inhibitory effect on H. armigera digestive proteinases and adverse effects on survival and fitness of the pest; hence, they could be introduced as a successful biopesticide in the near future.

This study recorded distribution and size of alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica (Gyllenhal); Coleoptera: Curculionidae) populations in Saskatchewan, Canada, from 2001 to 2014. The spread of alfalfa weevil across the province, originally southwest to southeast, was northward and westward during this time. By 2014, only northwestern and west central areas remained relatively alfalfa weevil free. From a minor pest in 2001, the alfalfa weevil increased to be the principal insect pest of alfalfa (Medicago sativa Linnaeus; Fabaceae) in 2014. The parasitoid Bathyplectes curculionis (Thomson) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) had a similar distribution. Other parasitoids collected included Oomyzus incertus (Ratzeburg) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and Microctonus colesi Drea (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Conservation of these parasitoids is an important step in maximising their effectiveness as alfalfa weevil biocontrol agents. Molecular sequencing of the DNA barcoding region of specimens identified morphologically as B. curculionis indicated moderately high levels of sequence divergence among specimens (up to 5.8%); however, interspecific genetic variation between other species of Bathyplectes Förster was also high. Therefore, we conclude that B. curculionis was the only Bathyplectes species collected in our study. An illustrated key to the described species of Bathyplectes in North America is provided, as well as DNA barcodes of most species, including five distinct barcodes in the Bathyplectes curculionis–B. exiguus (Gravenhorst) species complex.

Analysis of food webs is important for defining functional components of ecosystems, but dietary data are often difficult to obtain and coarsely characterised. We compared three methods of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum); Salmoniformes: Salmonidae) and prickly sculpin (Cottus asper Richardson; Scorpaeniformes: Cottidae) gut content analysis: traditional morphological taxonomy of prey items, genetic sequencing of individual prey items, and next-generation sequencing of homogenised gut contents. Prey analysis of invertebrates by morphological identification allowed order-level classifications and produced ecologically important count and mass data. Sequencing individual specimens provided greater taxonomic resolution, while next-generation sequencing of stomach contents revealed more prey diversity in the diets of both fish species as it was possible to detect prey that were degraded beyond visual recognition. Both fish species exhibited generalist feeding characteristics; however, terrestrial Insecta were a large diet component for rainbow trout. This study demonstrates an efficient approach for prey analysis using molecular techniques that complement traditional taxonomy.