The mite species Trochometridium mutilliphillum Loghmani and Hajiqanbar new species (Acari: Trombidiformes: Trochometridiidae) associated with two mutillid wasps of the genera Tricholabiodes Radoszkowski and Dentilla Lelej (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) is described from northeastern Iran. Some new host records for species of the genus Trochometridium Cross are reported, including a remarkable new record of an association between the mite family Trochometridiidae and the order Diptera. Also, an illustrated key to world genera and species of the family Trochometridiidae is provided.

Generic boundaries are reevaluated in the subfamily Agromyzinae (Diptera: Agromyzidae), specifically, amongst those taxa in the Ophiomyia genus group. Ophiomyia Braschnikov, 1897 is redefined on the basis of an anteriorly truncated clypeus, the only character consistently found in all species of this diverse group, with very few exceptions. This results in the synonymy of the species-poor genera Kleinschmidtimyia Spencer, 1986 new synonym, Penetagromyza Spencer, 1959 new synonym, and Hexomyza Enderlein, 1936 new synonym. Many species of Hexomyza are recombined as Ophiomyia and one species is returned to Melanagromyza Hendel, 1920, but the remainding species form a small, mostly Holarctic clade that is here given the new genus name Euhexomyzanew genus. Melanagromyza and Tropicomyia Spencer, 1973 are also redefined, and while most Tropicomyia belong to a single lineage, at least one is clearly of separate origins and the genus should be reclassified following closer examination. Epidermomyia Ipe and Ipe, 2004new synonym is included as a junior synonym of Tropicomyia. Although larval morphology and life history have sometimes been found to be predictive of phylogeny in the Agromyzinae, superficially similar feeding strategies in the broadly inclusive categories of leaf mining, stem mining/boring, and gall forming are found to occur independently multiple times throughout the subfamily and can be misleading when delimiting genus-level groups.

We studied life history traits of Xenos peckii Kirby (Strepsiptera: Xenidae), a little-known parasite of the paper wasp Polistes fuscatus (Fabricus) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in North America. We field-collected 24 wasp nests in early July 2012, isolated parasitised wasps, tracked life history events of X. peckii, and recorded such behaviour as emergence of males and mating by normal-speed and high-speed cinematography. To emerge, males first cut the puparium with their mandibles along an ecdysial suture line, and then push aside the pupal cap during emergence. The endoparasitic females engage in active calling (pheromone release) behaviour by slowly inflating their cephalothorax, and then extruding it even farther out of, and tilting it away from, the host wasp abdomen. Seasonal and diel (afternoon) emergence periods of males coincide with seasonal and diel receptivity and calling periods of females. Males approach calling females in a swaying flight with smooth turns. They typically land on the anterior portion of the host wasp's abdomen, and then step backward until they make contact with the cephalothorax of the female. As soon as their mesothoracic legs contact the female's cephalothorax, they curl around it, and the male initiates mating. Thereafter, the female fully retreats and never re-mates.

The plum curculio (PC), Conotrachelus nenuphar Herbst (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a key pest of stone and pome fruit in North America. Though grandisoic acid (GA) was identified as a male-produced aggregation pheromone for this species, other components likely exist, as have been identified for various curculionids. To better determine these components, an understanding of the conditions necessary for optimum pheromone production and attraction is needed, this is essential for the improvement of monitoring techniques and to achieve better biological control. The goal of this study was to determine the biotic and abiotic factors influencing both the response to pheromones and pheromone production. Tests were conducted in a dual-choice still-air vertical olfactometer using live male PCs as odour sources and live females as responders, to determine which physiological factors (age, number of males, mating status) influenced female response to males. Head-space collections of GA production under various conditions (airflow rate and frequency, collection zone strata, variation of humidity, temperature, and presence of a harbourage) were also done, as were electroantennograms (EAG) using synthetic pheromone mixtures. Results revealed that for both strains, the odour of two virgin mature males elicited significantly greater and more consistent attraction from mature virgin females than other ages and numbers of males when compared with the control. Head-space collections indicate that male PC have increased production of GA under high humidity in the presence of fruit, indicating that these conditions are necessary for optimal pheromone production and collection. EAG studies revealed significant responses to GrandLures I, II, III/IV and to the positive enantiomer of GA, and the amplitude of the signal varied with concentration. Our data identify the optimal physiological state and conditions at which pheromone collections should be performed, and what physiological life stages respond to these stimuli. These results have implications for optimising monitoring tools for this serious crop pest. This species has a northern univoltine strain and a southern multivoltine strain, both of which were examined in this study.

Sperm competition generates selection for male traits to prevent it. These traits remain unclear in species where males compete for a virgin who is briefly receptive. Males of the parasitoid wasp Ooencyrtus kuvanae Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) compete over females following emergence from host egg masses. Males engage virgins in a precopulatory ritual, mate, and then immediately perform a postcopulatory ritual after which the female becomes unreceptive. Often, sneaker (M2) males copulate with a female while she is engaged in the postcopulatory ritual, and they also perform the postcopulatory ritual. We investigated (i) paternity of M1 and M2 males using DNA microsatellite analysis, (ii) copulation and postcopulatory behaviour of both males, and (iii) morphological adaptations of the aedeagus for sperm removal. Eighty-eight percent of M1 males sired all daughters when they were first to perform the precopulatory and postcopulatory ritual, suggesting a linked effect of both rituals on paternity. The number and length of copulations by both males did not affect paternity, and the shape of the aedeagus does not seem to facilitate sperm removal. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that postcopulatory rituals represent forms of mate guarding that function to increase paternity in the context of sperm competition.

We report for the first time the occurrence of the well-known Eurasian and north African parasitoid Cotesia vanessae (Reinhard) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in North America. Specimens were reared from Chrysodeixis chalcites (Esper) and Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) recovered from several locations in southwestern Ontario, Canada, and detected by DNA sequencing from one Autographa californica (Speyer) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in southern Alberta, Canada.

Ground beetles common in temperate agroecosystems are predators of crop pests, including slugs (Gastropoda: Pulmonata). Salad green production in greenhouses during autumn and spring can be limited by damage due to slugs and other pests. Introducing ground beetles to greenhouses may help reduce damage and improve yields. In the laboratory, while arenas with only slugs produced nearly no harvestable leaves, the presence of Carabus nemoralis Müller (Coleoptera: Carabidae) increased the number and weight of harvestable leaves to 55% of the amount in control arenas (without slugs or beetles), in addition to reducing the number of slugs. In a second experiment, adult or second-instar Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were released into greenhouse mesocosms (75 cm diameter steel rings) containing salad greens and slugs. Neither adults nor larvae improved the number or weight of harvestable leaves at the first two harvests, and there was no evidence of slug consumption. Towards the end of the experiment cutworms were common in the mesocosms and contributed to damaging salad greens. Adult P. melanarius likely consumed some cutworms, resulting in small increases in salad green yields at the third harvest. Our results suggest that ground beetles should be further examined as part of an integrated approach to pest control in late and early season salad green production in greenhouses.

Halyomorpha halys Stål (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), has been intercepted numerous times in Canada, and overwintering BMSB adults have been reported by homeowners. However, established breeding populations were not detected before 2012. Here we report the occurrence of established populations of BMSB in southern Ontario, Canada and describe habitats, host plants, and collection efforts from 2012 to 2013. Tracking the phenology and spread of this pest in Ontario is critical for the development of integrated pest management strategies to prevent severe economic damage due to this pest.