A new species, Contarinia brassicola Sinclair (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), which induces flower galls on canola (Brassica napus Linnaeus and Brassica rapa Linnaeus (Brassicaceae)), is described from Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada. Larvae develop in the flowers of canola, which causes swelling and prevents opening, pod formation, and seed set. Mature larvae exit the galls, fall to the soil, and form cocoons. Depending on conditions, larvae will either pupate and eclose in the same calendar year or enter facultative diapause and emerge the following year. At least two generations of C. brassicola occur each year. Adults emerge from overwintering cocoons in the spring and lay eggs on developing canola flower buds. The galls produced by C. brassicola were previously attributed to the swede midge, Contarinia nasturtii (Kieffer) in Saskatchewan; here, we compare and list several characters to differentiate the two species.

The phenological behaviours of temperate insects can be highly controlled by photoperiod. Some foundational studies of the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae (Hopkins) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), documented a diurnal emergence rhythm that was asynchronous with maximum daily temperatures in the field and persisted under constant temperature and light conditions. In the 1970s, researchers hypothesised that this emergence rhythm was regulated by an endogenous circadian mechanism. Reflecting upon these historical data, we consider that a diurnal pattern of D. ponderosae emergence may result from photoperiodic entrainment of the circadian clock during the immature stages. Mechanistically, we suggest that the long-wavelength-sensitive opsin that we previously found to be expressed across D. ponderosae life stages could mediate, from beneath the bark, the input of light–dark cycle cues that are usually required for entrainment of the insect circadian clock.

Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins; Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a major disturbance agent in pine (Pinus Linnaeus; Pinaceae) ecosystems of western North America. Adaptation to local climates has resulted in primarily univoltine generation time across a thermally diverse latitudinal gradient. We hypothesised that voltinism patterns have been shaped by selection for slower developmental rates in southern populations inhabiting warmer climates. To investigate traits responsible for latitudinal differences we measured lifestage-specific development of southern mountain pine beetle eggs, larvae, and pupae across a range of temperatures. Developmental rate curves were fit using maximum posterior likelihood estimation with a Bayesian prior to improve fit stability. When compared to previously published data for a northern population, optimal development of southern individuals occurred at higher temperatures, with higher development thresholds, as compared with northern individuals. Observed developmental rates of the southern and northern populations were similar across studied lifestages at 20 °C, and southern lifestages were generally faster at temperature extremes (10 °C, 27 °C). At 25 °C southern fourth instars were significantly slower than northern fourth instars. Our results suggest that evolved traits in the fourth instar and remaining unstudied lifestage, teneral (i.e., preemergent) adult, likely influence latitudinal differences in mountain pine beetle generation time.

Whether insects (Insecta) have the subjective experience of pain is difficult to answer. Recent work in humans demonstrated that the experience of pain occurs due to the activation of a “pain network” that integrates nociceptive sensory information, memory, emotion, cognition, and self-awareness. In humans, the processing of nociceptive sensory information alone does not produce the subjective experience of pain. Insect nociception is processed largely in parallel in two higher-order areas in the brain: the mushroom bodies and the central complex. There is little evidence of a coordinated pain network that would integrate these two areas with each other along with other traits thought to be important for a pain experience in humans. However, it is difficult to exclude the possibility that insects could have a modest pain experience using a less integrated neural circuit. This possibility seems unlikely, however, because even a modest experience would require some neuronal investment. It is unclear whether insects would benefit from such an investment. Recent work in artificial intelligence suggests that relatively simple, cost-efficient circuits can produce adaptive behaviours without subjective experience. Given our current understanding of insect behaviour, neurobiology, and evolution, the likelihood that insects experience pain is low.

We describe four new species in the genus Cymatodera Gray (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Tillinae): Cymatodera acuminata and Cymatodera unica from Mexico, Cymatodera parva from El Salvador and Honduras, and Cymatodera magdalena from Colombia. A distribution map of the new species is given. All relevant diagnostic characters are extensively figured and discussed. Finally, we include some biogeographic and taxonomic remarks for selected species.

The collection and preservation of insect specimens supply valuable information to entomologists. Collections are foundational to natural history, and paramount to the study of life history, systematics, and evolution. Rising concern over anthropogenic loss of biodiversity, including insect losses, has led to policies, strategies, and procedures being put in place in Canada to ensure the protection of wildlife species at risk. This document outlines necessary information to help researchers ensure that they are in compliance with Canadian legislation when carrying out research involving the collection of insects. We include an overview of the federal Species at Risk Act, and provincial and territorial legislation protecting at-risk wildlife, and how wildlife species in Canada ranked and are assessed as being at risk. We also discuss prohibitions outlined in the federal Species at Risk Act and penalties for violating these prohibitions; providing examples from case histories on convictions under the act.

Two new species of Diodontus Curtis, 1834 (Hymenoptera: Pemphredonidae) are described. Diodontus polytylus Budrys new species is widespread in North Africa, from Libya and Chad to Morocco, as well as in southern Spain and Portugal. Diodontus guichardi Budrys new species was found in several localities in Morocco. The new species have small differences in their morphology; however, they can be easily separated using molecular characters. Comparison of 17 molecular markers has revealed that the highest evolutionary divergence is observed in mitochondrial gene ND6 and internal transcribed spacer ITS2. The variable regions of the nuclear rDNA genes 18S and 28S demonstrated the lowest evolutionary divergence; thus they were of the least use for species identification. The most coherent reconstruction of phylogeny, in comparison to other groups of markers, was obtained using exons of nuclear protein-coding genes. A provisional key to the species of D. minutus (Fabricius, 1793) species group of the Mediterranean Region is presented.

Wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), indigenous to North America, quickly adapted from host native grasses to wheat crops (Triticum Linnaeus (Poaceae)) with expansion of agriculture on the Great Plains of North America. Bioclimatic simulation tools, such as Climex, predict the potential geographic distribution and establishment of insects in ecosystems, based on climate. The ecoclimatic index, a measure of ecological suitability, integrates potential population growth with stresses to produce estimates of relative abundance. This simulation software was used to develop a bioclimate model for C. cinctus in western Canada. Results fostered a better understanding of how C. cinctus responded to selected climate variables. Two general circulation models were then applied to assess the response of C. cinctus populations to future climate. Relative to current climate, predicted changes in C. cinctus distribution and relative abundance were greatest for 2030, with a small further increase for 2070. Across the Prairies and Boreal Plains Ecozones, changes in ecoclimatic index were greater than in geographic distribution. Both general circulation models indicated most of this area would be categorised as very favourable. This suggests that the potential for pest populations could expand into areas that do not currently experience economic losses associated with C. cinctus.

A gall midge that induces conical leaf galls on wild Vitis Linnaeus (Vitaceae) species in Japan was previously identified based on the gall shape as the Nearctic Schizomyia viticola (Osten Sacken) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae: Cecidomyiinae: Asphondyliini: Schizomyiina). In 2016, leaf galls were newly found on cultivated Vitis coignetiae Pulliat ex Planchon cultivar Suzumi-murasaki and the wild V. coignetiae, Vitis flexuosa Thunberg, and Vitis ficifolia Bunge in northern Japan. Morphological studies of the larvae and adults obtained from the galls revealed that they were an undescribed taxon distinct from the Nearctic species and did not belong to any known genera of Schizomyiina. A new genus, Ampelomyia Elsayed and Tokuda, is erected for Ampelomyia conicocoricis Elsayed and Tokuda new species. The new genus can be distinguished from other genera of Schizomyiina by having ventroapical extension on tarsomere I, the larval abdominal segment VIII with a posterodorsal lobe, and dorsally shifted pair of larval pleural papillae. Molecular phylogenetic analysis supports this taxonomic treatment. In addition, we also place three Vitis-associated Nearctic species in the new genus: Ampelomyia viticola (Osten Sacken) new combination, A. vitiscoryloides (Packard) new combination, and A. vitispomum (Osten Sacken) new combination.

Re-examination of the male biting midge of Lebanoculicoides daheri Choufani, Azar, and Nel (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), in 127 million-year-old Lebanese amber, revealed further features and details of morphological, phylogenetic, and bionomic importance. The phylogenetic position of the fossil genus Lebanoculicoides Szadziewski as the sister group of all remaining extant and extinct Ceratopogonidae is confirmed. A revised key to all four known species of this genus is provided. A permanently erect antennal plume is hypothesised as an additional synapomorphy of Austroconops Wirth and Lee and two Cretaceous fossil genera, Minyohelea Borkent and Archiaustroconops Szadziewski. The presence of a hind tibial comb and more distal row of spines is considered a synapomorphy of all Culicomorpha other than Chironomidae, with some secondary losses within this group.

The Ouellet-Robert Entomological Collection (Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada) is one of the largest and most important university collections in Canada. Although officially dedicated in 1984, much of the material in the collection dates to the 1930s and 1940s work of the Clerics of Saint Viator, Joseph Ouellet and Adrien Robert. In order to establish curatorial priorities, a collection profile was conducted grading eight criteria on a scale of 1–4, the most important being the conservation status of the specimens. A taxonomic inventory of the collection was also conducted, including the number of pinned specimens and alcohol vials, as well as a brief geographic description: whether or not at least one specimen of each species was collected in Québec or in North America. Finally, the specimen metadata for Odonata, Ephemeroptera, and Trichoptera were digitised. The inventory and specimen data can be downloaded at Canadensys.net. The collection houses approximately 1.5 million specimens, of which one-third are pinned, representing 20 000 species. Half of those species are recorded from Québec. The inventory and profile will be updated and the specimen database grown as portions of the collection are re-curated by personnel and volunteers, including the student-run organisation, “Club QMOR”.

The phylogenetic relationships among the members of Macronematinae (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) have long been debated and often revised. Our study based on a large subunit (28S) nuclear ribosomal DNA (D2 expansion fragment; 464 base pairs) of gene sequences found all genera to be monophyletic except for the genus Polymorphanisus Walker, which produced two clades in accordance with its species groups established using morphological characters. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (658 base pairs) found the same monophyletic relationships, however, except for the genera Polymorphanisus and Macrostemum Kolenati. The placement of the genus Leptonema Guérin-Méneville as the basal clade in the subfamily was also ruled out, which is consistent with previous morphological findings. The monophyly of two previously recognised tribes (Macronematini and Polymorphanisini) was not supported. We also found that the genera Centromacronema Ulmer, Baliomorpha Neboiss, and Macronema Pictet are most closely related, having three head setal warts on the vertex of the head and unsegmented inferior appendages of male genitalia as their synapomorphies. Our study supported the hypothesis of close relationship of the genera Amphipsyche McLachlan and Protomacronema Ulmer with the morphological synapomorphies: absence of a forewing discoidal cell and the presence of elevated head carinae on the larvae. Some notable evolutionary novelties in the structure of adults in various lineages of this subfamily include reduction of maxillae and labium, reduction and loss of a discoidal cell and evolution of a c-sc crossvein in each forewing, fusion of segments in each male inferior appendage, and evolution of dark colour patterns in the forewings. Also, the head setal warts, which are unique organs in Trichoptera, evolved towards a decreasing number in the subfamily. This first molecular phylogenetic study, covering most genera in Macronematinae and including an interpretation of 12 key evolutionary novelties, provides an important basis for resolving long-standing questions regarding phylogenetic relationships and classification of genera and species and helps lay a stronger foundation for inference of testable hypotheses about functional traits for species of this common and widespread subfamily.

Anania hortulata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Pyraustinae) is a strikingly coloured, common, and widespread species that has long been recognised as a single species widely distributed in Asia, Europe, and North America. Using a combination of molecular and morphometric data, this study resolved that A. hortulata is actually a species complex of two superficially indistinguishable species. Phylogenetic and network analyses based on the mitochondrial COI gene discriminated lineages from all major geographical regions of China as distinct, A. sinensis Yang and Landry new species, whereas A. hortulata occurs in Central Asia, Europe, and North America. Nuclear gene (CAD) and morphological differences in the genital characters provided further evidence for the separation of A. hortulata and A. sinensis.

Rose gall wasps, Diplolepis Geoffroy (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), induce structurally distinct galls on wild roses (Rosa Linnaeus; Rosaceae), which provide gallers with food and shelter. These galls are attacked by a wide variety of micro-hymenopterans, including Periclistus Förster (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), which act as inquilines. Both Diplolepis and Periclistus are difficult to distinguish based on adult morphology, instead the structural appearance of galls is often used to distinguish species. Using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, we tested the species boundaries and built phylogenies of both Diplolepis and Periclistus. The molecular results have largely supported the validity of species described in the literature, with notable exceptions in four species groups. Periclistus exhibits a divide between the Palaearctic and Nearctic clades, and ranges from specialists to generalists in terms of host specificity. While it is premature to enact any taxonomic changes without additional molecular markers, this incongruence between morphological and molecular data indicates these groups need taxonomic revision and gall morphology alone may be inadequate to delimit species.

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), was first detected in 2009 in the Okanagan Basin, British Columbia, Canada. During 2010–2016, 94 570 fruits of 35 non-crop species, from 12 plant families, were collected from 101 sites where adult D. suzukii flies were trapped, and incubated in a controlled environment. In total, 450 adult D. suzukii emerged from 62 of 929 fruit collections, and from 10 host plant species in five families, of which six species are native to the region. Five plant species are reported for the first time as hosts of D. suzukii, and 11 species for the first time as non-hosts. Measures of fly occurrence and infestation reveal it to be relatively abundant in five hosts and low in others. The fly reproduced in a succession of host plants, with first infestation of each from mid-July through mid-September, and was present until mid-October, but overwintering stages were not found. Degree-day accumulations for the infested period suggest that three to five generations of D. suzukii developed on non-crop plants and formed a large contribution to the annual increases observed in trap counts in a semi-arid cold winter climate, with implications for many strategies of pest management.

Insect-encoded cellulolytic plant cell wall hydrolases have thus far been found mostly from glycosyl hydrolase family 5, 9, 10, and 45. We now report the first evidence for genomic encoding of family 12 glycosyl hydrolases in vascular feeding Psyllidae (Hemiptera) and Nematoda. The genes were identified in three psyllids (Acanthocasuarina muellerianae Taylor, Pachypsylla venusta (Osten-Sacken), and Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) and a root tip feeding dagger nematode (Xiphinema index Thorne and Allen; Dorylaimida: Longidoridae). While the final gene products were highly similar, the genomic intron structure varied, having a 2 kB intron in P. venusta, a 283 base-pair intron in D. citri, and no intron in X. index. Endoglucanase activity was demonstrated using the D. citri genes in an Agrobacterium Conn (Rhizobiaceae) infiltration-based plant expression system. The presence of family 12 endoglucanases in this set of insects suggests a specific role in facilitating feeding on vascular tissue.

Two new species of Canthidium Erichson, 1847 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) from Mexico are described: Canthidium nebularum Moctezuma, Sánchez-Huerta, and Halffter, new species; and C. chimalapense Moctezuma and Halffter, new species. An updated key for the North American species is included, with a brief discussion on taxonomic and biogeographic relevance of the new taxa.

Density-dependent habitat selection models inherently rely on the negative relationship between population density and mean fitness in different habitats. Habitats differing in quality, such as different food sources or habitat structure, can have different strengths of density-dependent relationships, which can then affect patterns of density dependence in habitat selection. We tested the hypothesis that density dependence in fitness dictates the patterns in density-dependent habitat selection: individuals should prefer higher-quality habitat over lower-quality habitat. We used controlled experiments with red flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)) to measure density dependence of fitness and to examine density-dependent habitat selection by beetles in wheat (Triticum Linnaeus (Poaceae)), corn (Zea mays Linnaeus (Poaceae)), and soy (Glycine max (Linnaeus) Merrill (Fabaceae)) flour habitats. Despite large differences in fitness between habitats (fitness was the highest in wheat flour, lower in corn flour, and zero in soy flour), beetles showed only weak preference for wheat over corn flour and for corn over soy flour, but showed strong preference for wheat over soy flour. These preferences were the strongest at low density. This study gives insight into the relationship between habitat quality and density-dependent habitat selection in flour beetles.

Mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), adults fly to disperse before host colonisation. The effect of flight on reproduction was tested by comparing the number and quality of offspring from beetles flown on flight mills to that of unflown control beetles. Beetles reproduced in bolts of their native host, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelmann (Pinaceae)), or a novel host, jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lambert (Pinaceae)). Bolts infested by control beetles produced more offspring overall than bolts with flown beetles. The effect of pine species on the number of offspring produced per bolt varied by individual tree. Flown adults produced fewer offspring compared to control parents in all bolts in jack pine regardless of the tree, but tree-level variation was visible in lodgepole pine. An interaction between flight treatment and tree host affected beetle body condition. More offspring emerged from jack pine, but higher quality offspring emerged from lodgepole pine. The offspring sex ratio was female-biased regardless of parental flight treatment. This study reveals trade-offs between flight and reproduction in mountain pine beetle as measured at the level of the bolt.