Copulations of Pseudoxychila tarsalis Bates and Pseudoxychila bipustulata Latreille consisted of 1–20 intromissions. The male performed four different genitalic movements: prying, thrusts, small thrusts, and pulls. The male also courted the female during copulation by rubbing her with his middle legs. The observed male behavior does not fit previous hypotheses concerning the phases of copulation in tiger beetles. The female sometimes ejected 1 or 2 spermatophores during or after copulation. There were geographic differences in quantitative aspects of P. tarsalis male copulatory behavior, and more pronounced differences between P. tarsalis and P. bipustulata. This variation could result from sexual selection by cryptic female choice on male copulatory behavior.

The Tachinidae of America north of Mexico have undergone extensive changes in nomenclature since the last catalogue was produced in 1965. Many of these changes were published in the Tachinidae chapter of Manual of Nearctic Diptera, but few of the changes in that work were explicitly stated and none was recorded in Zoological Record. These changes, which included a new genus, new records for America north of Mexico, new generic synonymies, and hundreds of new combinations (including extralimital species), are documented here. This paper also includes more than 30 nomenclatural changes proposed as new herein by the junior author (primarily for America north of Mexico), representing new generic and specific synonymies and new combinations. A new record for America north of Mexico is reported.

In two laboratory experiments, adult western conifer seed bugs, Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, did not feed on seed infested by the Douglas-fir seed chalcid, Megastigmus spermotrophus Wachtl. When presented with seed lots containing 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100% chalcid-infested seed, seed bugs fed on uninfested seed only when the percent chalcid infestation was ≤ 40% (Exp. 1), ≤ 20% (Exp. 2, females), or ≤ 60% (Exp. 2, males). In a third experiment, nymphs exposed to similar seed lots did not feed on M. spermotrophus when sound seeds were present. However, when exposed to 100% chalcid-infested seed, nymphs in two of 10 replicates fed on M. spermotrophus. Feeding by seed bugs caused seeds to lose 51% of their weight on average, but 18% of 43 test seeds on which seed bugs had fed germinated. In three Douglas-fir orchards surveyed, both species exhibited a clonal preference, but the ranking of clones preferred by each species was not the same. These results suggest that the impacts of L. occidentalis and M. spermotrophus are segregated and additive.

Juvenile Monterey pines, Pinus radiata D. Don (Pinaceae), in a native stand on the Monterey Peninsula, California, exhibited wilted green shoots in the spring of 1996. The pitch canker fungus, Fusarium subglutinans (Wollenweb. & Reinking) P.E. Nelson, Toussoun & Marasas f.sp. pini, was subsequently isolated from 95% of these shoots. Spittle masses produced by Aphrophora canadensis Walley were observed on the symptomless shoots of many of these trees. The pitch canker fungus was isolated from the feeding sites of this insect on 55% of symptomless shoots, and from shoot sections adjacent to these feeding sites on 29% of the shoots. Shoots with spittlebugs feeding on them in May 1996 were more likely to develop pitch canker disease by September 1996 and March 1997 than shoots without spittlebugs. Shoots with spittle masses in March 1997 were as likely to develop pitch canker disease by May and August 1997 as shoots without spittle masses, but the origin of the infection was most likely where A. canadensis feeding had taken place. In a controlled test, the incidence of pitch canker on shoots of potted Monterey pines was dependent on the presence of a spittlebug and a spore suspension of the pathogen. Thus, both field observations and controlled studies show an association between native A. canadensis and the introduced pitch canker pathogen. The role of A. canadensis in the epidemiology of pitch canker disease remains to be determined.

Zarhopalus debarri Sun sp.nov. reared from the loblolly pine mealybug, Oracella acuta (Lobdell), in the southeastern United States is described.

Aphelinus daqingensis sp.nov. from northeastern China is described. This species was reared from Aphis sp. feeding on Phragmites communis L. in Heilongjiang Province.

An analysis of the primary setae and pores (campaniform sensilla) of first instars of 32 species of Colymbetinae, 61 species belonging to other dytiscid subfamilies, and seven species belonging to other families of Hydradephaga was performed to deduce the ancestral system of primary setae and pores of the head capsule and head appendages of Colymbetinae. Sixty-one setae and 46 pores have been assigned to the ground-plan pattern of the colymbetine larva, 27 setae and 20 pores on the head capsule and 34 setae and 26 pores on the cephalic appendages. The pattern proposed for the Colymbetinae is remarkably consistent and similar to the condition observed within the Carabidae. However, members of the Colymbetinae differ strongly from those of Hydroporinae which are characterized by several secondary losses. A preliminary phylogenetic reconstruction of the relationships of colymbetine genera studied based on 41 larval features suggests that the Nearctic fauna includes two monophyletic lineages: (1) (Agabus Leach + Ilybius Erichson) + Agabinus Crotch, and (2) {[Colymbetes Clairville + (Rhantus Dejean + Neoscutopterus Balfour-Browne)] + Matus Aubé}.

Plant bugs in the genus Lygus infest canola (Brassica napus L. and Brassica rapa L.) when the crop is producing buds, flowers, and pods. Field studies in cages and open plots show that plant bugs can reduce yield by 20% or more, but have little effect on seed size. A single application of a foliar insecticide when the crop has finished flowering and is beginning to produce pods will prevent most or all of the yield loss. The yield loss of canola that can be prevented by control is 0.007 t/ha per plant bug per 10 sweeps sampled at the end of flowering or the beginning of pod formation. The yield loss that can be prevented by a later application drops to 0.005 t/ha. When precipitation is greater than 100 mm from the onset of bud formation to the end of flowering, the crop may partially compensate for plant bug damage. The economic threshold for control of plant bugs in canola at the end of flowering or at the beginning of pod formation is 15 plant bugs per 10 sweeps, based on crop prices and control costs from 1989 to 1992. If plant bugs are present but control is not warranted when most flowering is complete, plant bug densities should be assessed again 5–7 days later as pods develop, but at this stage the threshold is 20 plant bugs per 10 sweeps. The use of economic thresholds for chemical control of plant bugs will maximize seed yield and minimize unnecessary or ineffectively timed insecticide applications.

Plant bugs in the genus Lygus are pests of canola (Brassica napus L. and Brassica rapa L.) in western Canada and may require insecticidal control. Sweep-net sampling of field plots and commercial fields in southern Manitoba between 1988 and 1995 was used to develop sequential sampling plans for plant bugs in canola to facilitate control. The variance–mean relationships for plant bug catches were defined by Taylor’s power law, and the parameters of the relationships were the same for field plots and commercial fields. Sampling units of 10, 20, 50, and 100 sweeps per sample had variance–mean relationships with the same slope but different intercepts and required different minimal sample sizes. Samples taken at two crop stages had similar variance–mean relationships, but at a later crop stage the intercept of the relationship differed and the parameters were estimated with less precision. Samples taken in two ways along the edges of commercial fields and at various distances into the fields all gave similar estimates of plant bug density, justifying the use of edge sampling. Experienced samplers caught more plant bugs than inexperienced ones, although the difference was primarily due to the number of nymphs rather than adults that were collected, and this difference was less pronounced in the edge samples. Sweep-net sampling collected less than 10% of the plant bugs present in the sampling area. Sequential decision plans are presented for four sampling units and three crop stages. Sampling commercial canola with a sweep net to make decisions on the need to control plant bugs can be completed in as little as 28–35 min. The sampling is most efficiently conducted with a sampling unit of 10 or 20 sweeps taken along the edge of a field. In an independent test of the sampling method, plant bug densities were classified correctly in relation to the need for control in 20 fields using the minimum sample size.

We assessed the robustness of a standard classification of foliage suitability of North American tree species to the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) for tree species of southern Quebec grown under contrasting water regimes. Dispersal trials for 1st-instar larvae and feeding trials for 4th-instar larvae were conducted to determine whether water regime and (or) maternal effects influenced the preference or avoidance of gypsy moth larvae for foliage from saplings of native tree species of Quebec. We found no effect of water regime on the suitability of foliage to 1st-instar larvae and no effect of water regime and maternal effects for 4th-instar larvae. The standard classification scheme used by U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers in the United States was generally robust to the above factors, and thus suitable for use in southern Quebec.

Effects of photoperiod, time of year, temperature, and an insect growth regulator (fenoxycarb) on ovarian development rate in overwintering pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola (Foerster), were determined. Winterform pear psylla were collected from the field at intervals between October and February, and reared at 20 °C and one of three treatments: short-day photoperiod, long-day photoperiod, or short-day photoperiod + fenoxycarb. Insects were then dissected at intervals to score ovarian development. Baseline scores (i.e., ovarian development in the field on date of collection) increased very slowly between October and February. By mid-February, only about 20% of insects in the field were categorized as having postdiapause status based upon ovarian development. In the laboratory, time required for insects to reach postdiapause status decreased between the October and February collection dates. Number of days necessary for 50% of the long-day insects to reach postdiapause status was approximately 2 weeks in October, 6 days in December, and < 2 days in February. Short-day insects also required fewer than 2 days in February, but required > 2 weeks in the October and December samples. Our results suggested that insects collected in January and February had completed diapause but that ovarian development was subsequently prevented in the field by low temperatures. Fenoxycarb caused rapid ovarian development even in October-collected insects; rate of development was only slightly more rapid in the February-treated psylla.

In the laboratory a proprietary, neem-based insecticide formulation (NBI) was evaluated as a potential pest management tool for the western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens Curran (WCFF). NBI was tested for its potential effects on survival and development of juvenile WCFF. Incorporation of NBI into an artificial larval diet resulted in a decrease in the formation of pupae and subsequent adult emergence. Late third instar larvae exposed to NBI in sand were able to form puparia; however, the numbers of adults and pupae developing inside the puparia were decreased at concentrations as low as 0.05% NBI. Well-timed root drenches with NBI could control R. indifferens by disrupting pupation. Applied in this manner, NBI may provide cherry orchardists with an effective, new control tactic.

Sphaerularia bombi Dufour is an internal nematode parasite of bumble bee queens in North America and Europe. Infection functionally castrates the bee. Here we document the prevalence and intensity of S. bombi infections in seven species of Bombus and three species of Psithyrus on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. We found dramatic variation in prevalences among Bombus spp., and some evidence that prevalence increased as the nesting season progressed. Also, we report S. bombi in the bumble bee nest parasite Psithyrus insularis (Smith), the first record for the genus in North America.

Queenless, caged, newly emerged worker bees (Apis mellifera L.) were fed honey, 22 and 40% pollen in honey, and 22 and 40% royal jelly in honey for 14 days. Workers fed royal jelly, pollen, and honey had large, medium, and small ovaries, respectively. Royal jelly had higher nutritive value for workers’ ovarian development than did pollen, possibly because royal jelly is predigested by nurse bees and easily used by adult and larval bees. These results suggest that nurse bees could mediate workers’ ovarian development in colonies via trophallactic exchange of royal jelly. Six levels of royal jelly in honey, 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% (royal jelly without honey), were tested for their effects on workers’ ovarian development and mortality for 10 days. High levels of royal jelly increased ovarian development, but also increased worker mortality. All caged bees treated with 100% royal jelly died within 3 days. When workers were incubated at 20, 27, and 34 °C for 10 days, only bees at 34 °C developed ovaries. These findings suggest that nurse bees functioning as units which digest pollen and produce royal jelly may feed some potentially egg-laying workers in a brood chamber with royal jelly when a queen is lost in a colony. Feeding workers a diet of 50% royal jelly in honey and incubating at 34 °C for 10 days is recommended for tests of ovarian development.

A detailed description and illustrations of the larva of Remartinia secreta (Calvert) are provided. The main features that distinguish the larva of this species are dark brown coloration; prementum 0.25 times longer than its widest part, with a dorsal row of small spiniform setae close to the lateral margins; length of the lateral spine on abdominal segment six 0.4–0.5 mm; lateral valvae of female gonapophyses shorter than central ones; and female epiproct longer than cerci. Larvae were found living in a lagoon densely covered by aquatic phanerogams such as Eichhornia sp. (Pontedereaceae) and Typha sp. (Thyphaceae). Larva of R. secreta is compared to that of Remartinia luteipennis florida (Hagen), its only sympatric congener.

Ctenolepisma (C.) electrans sp.n., from the Dominican amber, is described and compared with the closest living species. The new taxon is the only Lepismatidae known so far in the Dominican Republic amber and corresponds to the only known fossil Ctenolepisma.

The parasitic tachinid fly Strongygaster triangulifera (Loew) is widely distributed in North America (Stone et al. 1965). It parasitizes several Coleoptera and sometimes species of other orders such as Lepidoptera, Dermaptera, and Hemiptera (Sabrosky and Braun 1970). Existing records of S. triangulifera found in coccinellid hosts are from eastern North America. One describes low parasitization levels (<1%) in two indigenous species, Coccinella trifasciata perplexa Mulsant and Coleomegilla maculata lengi Timberlake, in Ontario, Canada (Smith 1960). The other existing record describes fluctuating parasitization levels (3.0–31.1% in 1993 and 0–6.5% in 1994) in the exotic species Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) in North Carolina and Virginia (Nalepa et al. 1996).