Fifteen species of stoneflies (Plecoptera) were collected in the Lake Athabasca region of northern Saskatchewan. Capnia nearctica Banks is reported for the first time from Saskatchewan, and collection records of Isogenoides frontalis (Newman), Nemoura rickeri Jewett, and Paracapnia angulata Hanson represent significant range extensions. All species collected from lotic habitats have biogeographical affinities with streams from the Southern Boreal Ecoregion, but some species collected from Lake Athabasca have biogeographical affinities with the Southern Boreal Ecoregion and others have affinities with the Tundra.

Application of granulosis virus (CPGV) to plots of apple trees reduced deep-entry damage to apples by the codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), compared with nontreated apples. However, shallow-entry damage to apples by codling moth was as great, or greater, in virus-treated plots than in nontreated plots. Protection was improved by applying CPGV at least three times during each of the two annual generations of the codling moth compared with less frequent application.

Bioassays showed that activity of deposits of CPGV on apples in the field was reduced to approximately 50% of original activity within 2 days after application and to 17% by the 10th day.

The reproductive cycles of the red turnip beetle, Entomoscelis americana Brown, were studied in the field in Manitoba from 1974 to 1978. Vitellogenesis is initiated within the first 3 days after emergence from aestivation in early August. Oviposition begins soon after the first eggs are developed, usually within the first 8 days after emergence. The rate of egg laying reaches a peak within 2 weeks after the initiation of oviposition and then declines gradually during the remainder of the oviposition period. Almost all eggs were laid between mid-August and mid-October. The average numbers of eggs laid per mated female in three oviposition studies were as follows: 1 female per cage (1974), 254±74 (±SE) (range, 11–696); 1 female per cage (1976), 273±47 (range, 0–622); and 25 females per cage (1974), 426±3 (range, 392–462). The most eggs were laid at the lowest temperature regime tested (6–20°C; mean, 12°C). Copulation is initiated in males and females during the 1st day after emergence from aestivation and both mate many times. Stimuli associated with copulation and (or) insemination enhance egg output, but are not required for the initiation of vitellogenesis and oviposition. Males transfer sufficient spermatozoa to the females during the first one or more copulations that occur during the first 8 days after emergence to fertilize almost all eggs produced. A system for classifying the stages of oocyte development is described.

A new genus and species of psenine wasp are described: Lithium cicatrix. Relationships with other genera are discussed, new tribal limits are proposed, and a key to genera of psenine wasps is presented.

Collections of Baetis Leach, Baetodes Needham and Murphy, and Dactylobaetis Traver and Edmunds from the southwestern United States and northern Mexico included new species and new distribution records. The nymphal stages of Baetis sonora n.sp. and Dactylobaetis sinaloa n.sp. are described and figured. Species of Baetis nymphs that were given informal epithets, even though they were described, keyed, and their taxonomic characters figured, are named, or tentatively associated with a described adult. Baetis sp. “A” Morihara and McCafferty is tentatively associated as the nymphal stage of B. adonis Traver, Baetis sp. “B” Morihara and McCafferty is named B. libos, and Baetis sp. “C” Morihara and McCafferty is named B. notos. New collection records extend the known distributional limits of Baetis insignificans McDunnough, Baetodes edmundsi Koss, B. fuscipes Cohen and Allen, and Dactylobaetis mexicanus Traver and Edmunds.

Insects were sampled in a Douglas-fir forest in California to evaluate differences among inexpensive survey methods. Sampling was done with sweep nets and with window, sticky, light, suspended cone, and two kinds of yellow pan traps. Also examined were effects of trap location in the given tree and the following tree species: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Franco), canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis Liebm.), tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus Rehd.), Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii Pursh.), and big-leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum Pursh.). Relative abundance and faunistic similarity of the 9662 insects caught varied greatly by trap type and little by tree species or trap location. Family-level taxonomic richness differed among the diverse trap types, tree species, and trap locations.

To mitigate the effects of mosquitoes, settlers in the Revelstoke area of British Columbia reportedly burned the sporophores of the Indian paint fungus, Echinodontium tinctorium (Ell. & Ev.) Ell. & Ev., a pathogen of western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg., and true firs, Abies spp. Larval and adult yellowfever mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti (L.), were exposed to aqueous extracts of smoke (smoke-waters) from E. tinctorium sporophores, and from western hemlock sapwood and heartwood. Smoke-waters were of approximately equal toxicity to larvae. Fungus smoke-water, but not sapwood or heartwood smoke-waters, lost 50% of its potency in 5 months. Vapors from fungus smoke-water were significantly more toxic to adult mosquitoes than those from sapwood or heartwood. Thus smoke from E. tinctorium sporophores and T. heterophylla wood apparently contain different water-soluble combustion products toxic to A. aegypti.

Both sexes of Hybomitra agora new species are described and differentiated from similar species in western North America. Notes are given on the known habitat of H. agora and on differences in mating behavior between this and three other sympatric species of Hybomitra. Known distribution of H. agora is summarized with a map.

The distribution of selected insect species among samples from empty farm granaries in the Prairie Provinces was determined as a guide to determining the number of samples that would have to be collected to obtain reliable estimates of the average number of these species. The number of pest and fungivorous species (adults) per sample followed a negative bionomial distribution for Manitoba data but the number of pest species adults from Sasktachewan followed a Poisson distribution. In Alberta, 39 granary samples contained only one pest species and 507 had none. The number of pests per sample from Manitoba and Saskatchewan and the number of fungivorous species from Manitoba also fitted logarithmic series.

The mean number of individuals of each species found in samples (adults or larvae) was always smaller than the variance and the distribution of insect counts followed the negative binomial distribution. Tribolium audax Halstead adults from Alberta also followed a Poisson distribution.

The numbers of samples required to provide a predetermined measure of precision for the numbers of species per sample (Manitoba data) and for the numbers of individuals per sample of 15 species (adults or larvae) for each of the three Prairie Provinces were calculated.

The sunflower stem weevil, Cylindrocopturus adspersus (LeConte), is a pest of cultivated sunflower in the major production areas of North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Texas. Adults appeared in sunflower plots between 5 and 25 June in 1980–1985, when plants had 4–14 leaves. Oviposition began soon after adults were present and continued into late August. Peak densities of both eggs and adults occurred in mid-July. Larvae hatched between 6 and 11 July, when plants were in the early flower bud growth stages. Larvae fed in the sunflower stalk and moved to the stalk base or root crown to construct overwintering chambers. The seasonal patterns of the weevil’s life stages in 6 years were similar, but population densities varied. Regression equations were developed to predict larval numbers in stalks from number of adults to aid in making control decisions.

Tarsi of male Colorado potato beetles adhere to glass and plastic surfaces limiting locomotion greatly. This is not observed with females. Scoop-like tarsal hairs present only in males are responsible for the adherence. The effect of this morphological difference on toxicological or behavioral research conducted in glass or plastic cages is discussed.

During the summer of 1985, an intensive effort was made to collect the invertebrates, particularly insects and spiders, of the Wagner Natural Area. This is a 162-ha area 6 km west of the city limits of Edmonton, Alta., on the south side of Highway 16X.

An examination of the spiders collected in the pitfall pans revealed two species of pisaurids, Dolomedes striatus Giebel, 1869, and Dolomedes triton (Walckenaer, 1837). This is the first record of Dolomedes striatus for Alberta. The previous known western limit of its distribution was more or less between Lake Nipigon and Thunder Bay, Ont. (Carico 1973).

The aphidophagous midge, Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Rondani), is a promising biological control agent for aphids in agricultural crops, although its low fecundity has been cited as a disadvantage (Harris 1982; Chambers 1986). In previous studies, fecundity was reported as 70 eggs (Uygun 1971), 100 eggs (Harris 1973), and 6–38 eggs per female (Ushchekov 1975). Recently, Gilkeson and Hill (1986) reported a mean of 156.6 eggs per female from a laboratory line reared under optimum conditions (17-h day, 25°C, ample food supply). These differences in fecundity could be due to variation in genetic makeup, rearing conditions, or larval nutrition, which has been shown to influence adult fecundity (Kuo 1982; Havelka and Růžička 1984). While conducting a project on commercial application of A. aphidimyza, I have recently found that providing a source of drinking water in oviposition cages resulted in higher egg production than has been previously reported.