Chermes lariciatus was described by Patch from the gallicola migrans and further information on this form was given by Annand under the genus Adelges. The complete polymorphic cycle on spruce and larch is described here, with information about the life history, habits, seasonal development, and morphology. Fundatrices overwinter as nymphs below new buds of spruce on 1-year-old needle bases. Gallicolae develop in early summer within galls which are globular in shape and usually only partly surround the twigs. Sistentes overwinter as first-instar nymphs on larch buds, wedged among the bases of the needles or scales, with the heads up and the mouth parts inserted into the bud. The progredientes and sexuparae move to the new cones in early summer when there is a cone crop, but settle on the leaf buds when there is none. Sexuales nymphs on spruce remain under the parent sexuparae during development. A diagrammatic representation of the seasonal development and a description of the morphology of the first-instar nymph and adult of each form is given. A discussion concerning the validity of this and related species is included.

In a 5-year study at Beaverlodge, Alta. (lat. 55° N.), 1-kg packages of honey bees hived in mid-April (10–23 April) produced more honey than those hived in early May (5–13 May) in only 2 years. The major nectar flows ranged from 22 June to 22 August.

The rate of brood rearing as determined by egg-laying of queens and the build-up as shown by adult bee populations at various periods after hiving increased progressively with delay in hiving dates which ranged from 4 April to 3 May, and were attributed to the more favorable climate of the later hivings. Adult bees in excess of 1 kg per package did not increase egg-laying of queens or the build-up of colonies.

Restriction of daylength by 6 hours per day for 8–9 weeks had no effect on colony brood rearing or build-up. Restriction of daylength to 6.5 hours per day for 7 weeks caused a small initial reduction in egg-laying in the first brood cycle (1.5 weeks after hiving) but no differences were noted later, either in egg-laying at 4.5 weeks or adult populations at 9.5 weeks. When colonies were in complete darkness for 3 weeks, egg-laying was reduced 35 to 60%.

Antheraea polyphemus Cramer pupae, collected in early August, were found to maintain adult development at room temperature and natural daylength of late August and early September. These pupae had almost no coldhardiness, and heavy mortality occurred in the group of pupae stored at 6 °C. On the other hand, the pupae of A. polyphemus collected in late September were in diapause and were perfectly coldhardy. The possible relationship between the date of pupation and the incidence of diapause, and its significance as a natural mortality factor, is discussed.

The European Bruchidius ater (Marsh.), first discovered in Massachusetts in 1918, and later in Virginia, is here recorded from Rochester, N.Y. In addition to Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link, its known host in the United States, the insect was reared from seeds of Petteria ramentacea (Sieber) Presl and Laburnum alpinum Bercht. and Presl at the New York locality. All three plants are introductions from Europe. Bruchidius unicolor (Ol.) was recognized in 1965 when it was discovered in British Columbia breeding in the seed pods of Onobrychis viciaefolia Scop. A single specimen, collected in Nicola, B.C., in 1922, indicates that the insect has been present in southwestern Canada for a considerable time.

Ips calligraphus (Germar) is distributed continentally throughout North America, including Guatemala and British Honduras. It has been collected on only rare occasions in California, primarily in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains. Four generations were observed during 1961 and 1962, and average summer development required about 40 days. All stages except the egg were observed in the winter. The unique gallery system exhibits four to six egg galleries, which range in length from 25.4 to 38.1 cm, and radiate characteristically from a large, irregular, nuptial chamber excavated by the male. At Grass Valley, Cal., this bark beetle was observed breeding predominantly in the thick-barked portions of the lower bole. Its galleries are often intermixed with those of Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte, I. confusus LeConte, I. latidens LeConte, and Melanophila californica Van Dyke in ponderosa pine. I. confusus was the most abundant species of Ips in all localities where I. calligraphus was found.

Two species of Chrotogonus have recently been described by Steinmann (1965) from northeastern China, and two from Kazakhstan. Only one of these, Ch. armatus, from Peking district, is valid. Ch. changi is synonymous with it; Ch. skopini and Ch. russicus are synonyms of Ch. turanicus.

Two of the five Nearctic species of the subgenus Bombus Latr. occur in southern Alberta. Both are bush-inhabiting species. One, B. occidentalis Greene, is confined to the treed areas of southern Alberta whereas the other, B. terricola Kby., although found throughout the treed areas of the province, is much more prevalent in the central and northern regions. Both species emerge and establish nests early, and nest almost exclusively in hives reached by means of downward-sloping tunnels. Many queens of B. occidentalis camouflage or restrict tunnel entrances by dragging grass in and around them. B. occidentalis produced 8.6±0.5 eggs in the first broods, 4.2±1.1 eggs per cell in the second and third broods, and 6.6±0.9 eggs per cell in the fourth brood. This species is intermediate in rank among southern Alberta species of Bombus Latr. in its ability to produce wax. As are other early emerging species, it is heavily depredated by Psithyrus spp.

Methods of finding, capturing, and transporting prey by the ants Formica obscuriventris Mayr, Myrmica americana Weber, and Crematogaster lineolata (Say) were studied under laboratory conditions. Each species found its prey by random searching but once the prey was attacked by one ant a definite attraction was created for other ants in the immediate area of attack. C. lineolata and M. americana workers were also recruited by means of a trail laid to the nest. The number of ants attacking each prey varied directly with the size and general resistance offered by the prey. The worker efficiency in prey transport by F. obscuriventris and M. americana varied inversely with the number of workers involved. C. lineolata did not attempt to transport the prey but fed upon it where captured.

A study of the first 24 instars of the garden symphylan shows that antennal segmentation increases as each animal molts. A first instar has six antennal segments, whereas 24th instars have a maximum of 59 segments. First instars have maximum weights of 0.009 mg and lengths of 1.0 mm; 24th instars have maximum weights of 1.22 mg and lengths of 6.0 mm. Ninety-five per cent mortality occurred within 3 hours in soil cultures exposed to relative humidities between 58 and 75% if the soil surface of each culture was not covered by a succulent lettuce section. The same mortality occurred within 13 hours in lettuce-covered cultures exposed to similar humidities. At 95% relative humidity, 95% mortality occurred in 313.5 hours; in covered cultures, in 2 months. At 98 and 100% humidities, no symphylan desiccation occurred in uncovered or covered cultures. The results obtained in the humidity tests demonstrate the importance of relative humidity in maintaining large symphylan populations in the root feeding zone of infested soil, and also, the way in which succulent plant materials may aid in creating more favorable microenvironments for garden symphylans.

Oviposition and hatching of Albia caerulea Marshall, 1927, are reported from laboratory observations of adults collected in Lake Opinicon, Leeds County, Ont., and of eggs deposited by them. A description is presented of newly hatched, unengorged larvae. Figures of the larva and eggs are included. Additional locality records of this species of water mite are reported.

Chaitophorus canens new species described herein is a species with grey apterae that was found forming clones at the bases of willow trunks in Saskatchewan.

The taxonomic status of Rhabdophaga sp. cannot be determined until a complete revision of the genus occurs. Rhabdophaga sp. on Salix discolor Mühl. is univoltine in Michigan. Adults emerge in mid-April, and shortly afterward deposit numerous eggs on the setaceous undersurface of emerging willow leaves; larval eclosion occurs between 1 and 2 weeks later. Head capsule measurements reveal three larval instars. The first-instar larva bores into the stem until it reaches the pith. Gall development begins about mid-June shortly after the second instar appears. The third-instar larva overwinters in the gall and the pupa appears in early April. The prolate gall is found on the proximal ends of young willow shoots; heavily galled shoots usually die.

The first matings of males resulted in the transfer of large spermatophores, while subsequent matings resulted in smaller and eventually no spermatophore. The transfer of a spermatophore was not required to produce a normal number of fertile eggs. Some young males inseminated two females within 24 hours and regardless of whether or not a spermatophore was formed the number of resulting progeny was normal. Thus males were found to be capable of inseminating more females than the yield of spermatophores obtained by dissecting females indicated.

Virgin females increased in attractiveness with age at least until their fifth day.

In nutritional studies with insects such as the pale western cutworm, Agrotis orthogonia Morr., large numbers of larvae must be fed and observed regularly in the laboratory. Moreover, because these insects are cannibalistic they must be reared in isolation. In our laboratory 60- by 15-mm petri dishes (Jacobson and Blakeley 1957) are used as rearing containers for this insect (Kasting and McGinnis 1967). Originally, petri dishes, containing a single insect, were stacked three deep in wooden trays. The trays, each holding 60 dishes, were then stacked to conserve space. Feeding and observation of the larvae, usually done at regular intervals, often daily, necessitated removing the dishes from the trays and spreading them on a bench.

Pleotrichophorus amsinckii described herein is a pale green, weakly pulverulent aphid that was found on a fiddleneck, Amsinckia intermedia Fisch. & Mey., in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.

Cryptolestes turcicus (Grouvelle), an insect pest of flour mills and warehouses, is distributed in Canada from Alberta to Quebec (Sinha 1965). Barker (1967) showed a difference in susceptibility to methyl bromide between two strains of C. turcicus; one of these was from the Pest Infestation Laboratory, Slough, England, and the other was from a local flour mill. A fortuitous observation suggested that there might be a difference between the reproductive capacities of these two strains. A randomized block design experiment was designed to test this hypothesis. Reproduction was observed in three sets of beetles differing in population density; each set was replicated four times.

During 1967 Hyaliodes vitripennis (Say) proved to be an important predator of Panonychus ulmi Koch and Tetranychus urticae Koch in an experimental orchard. The eggs of this predator, described herein, are destinctive for the species. Observations on oviposition sites for the overwintering eggs are also included.

The willow beaked gall midge, Mayetiola rigidae (Osten Sacken), is univoltine in Michigan. Adults emerge from bud galls on Salix discolor Mühl. and other willows on mornings of warm days in early April. Eggs are laid singly on or near the buds of the host. Head capsule measurements indicate three larval instars. The last two instars each possess a spatula. The first-instar larva emerges in late April and penetrates the soft bud tissues. The gall begins to develop at the beginning of the second instar in mid-May. The third instar appears in early July and continues to enlarge the gall until fall. Prior to overwintering, the larva lines the inner chamber of the gall with silk and constructs one to seven silken septa across the passageway. Pupation occurs in mid-March. The gall deforms the stem and occasionally a galled branch dies or breaks off.

Sex attractants have recently been reported for several species of Elateridae: Hypolithus bicolor Esch. (Doane 1961); Hemicrepidius morio (LeConte) (Chapman 1964) ; and Limonius californicus (Mann.), Agriotes ferrugineipennis (LeConte), Ctenicera sylvatica (Van Dyke), and C. destructor (Brown) (Lilly and McGinnis 1965). Lilly (1959) demonstrated the attractiveness to males of ethyl alcohol extracts from virgin females of the sugar-beet wireworm (L. Californicus). The attractants appear to be species-specific (Lilly and McGinnis 1965).

The fir tree borer is found in the coniferous forest belt of North America. The insect can cause serious degrade in lumber manufactured from windthrown white fir. Adults attack host trees in early spring, laying eggs in bark crevices. The incubation period is 10–30 days, depending on temperatures. The larvae excavate winding galleries in the phloem, deeply etching the sapwood, until midsummer when they enter the sapwood. Damage is caused by the larvae boring up to 3 in. into the wood to construct pupal chambers. Pupation lasts 2–4 weeks in fall; callow adults are formed by September and overwinter in the pupal chambers. Emergence occurs the following March or April.

Three principal natural enemies were found: two predators, woodpeckers and an ostomid beetle, and a braconid parasite. Population fluctuations hinged on availability of host material and pressure from natural enemies.