Effects of an operational application of Dimilin® on non-target insects were evaluated in eastern West Virginia in 1988 and 1989. Dimilin was applied in 1988 (70,75 g AI per ha). Insects were collected by light-traps at seven pairs of Dimilin-treated and control sites. Lepidoptera experienced the greatest impact, displaying reduced abundance and species richness at treated sites. No effects were observed among Coleoptera, Diptera, or Hymenoptera.

A survey is made of the major features of the venation, articulation, and folding in the hind wings of Coleoptera. The documentation is based upon examination of 108 Coleoptera families and 200 specimens, and shown in 101 published figures. Wing veins and articular sclerites are homologized with elements of the neopteran wing groundplan, resulting in wing vein terminology that differs substantially from that generally used by coleopterists. We tabulate the differences between currently used venational nomenclature and the all-pterygote homologous symbols. The use of the neopteran groundplan, combined with the knowledge of the way in which veins evolved, provides many strong characters linked to the early evolutionary radiation of Coleoptera. The order originated with the development of the apical folding of the hind wings under the elytra executed by the radial and medial loop. The loops, which are very complex venational structures, further diversified in four distinctly different ways which mark the highest (suborder) taxa. The remaining venation and the wing articulation have changed with the loops, which formed additional synapomorphies and autapomorphies at the suborder, superfamily, and sometimes even family and tribe levels. Relationships among the four currently recognized suborders of Coleoptera are reexamined using hind wing characters. The number of wing-related apomorphies are 16 in Coleoptera, seven in Archostemata + Adephaga–Myxophaga, four in Adephaga–Myxophaga, seven in Myxophaga, nine in Archostemata, and five in Polyphaga. The following phylogenetic scheme is suggested: Polyphaga [Archostemata (Adephaga + Myxophaga)]. Venational evidence is given to define two major lineages (the hydrophiloid and the eucinetoid) within the suborder Polyphaga. The unique apical wing folding mechanism of beetles is described. Derived types of wing folding are discussed, based mainly on a survey of recent literature. A sister group relationship between Coleoptera and Strepsiptera is supported by hind wing evidence.

A summary of distribution and biology of the five species of Galapagos Dytiscidae is given, along with a key for identification. Rhantus galapagoensis sp.nov. Balke and Peck is described from San Cristobal Island, Galapagos; important features are illustrated. The source of the dytiscid fauna is tropical America. The limited diversity of the dytiscid fauna is probably caused less by problems of dispersal and more by problems of colonization of islands that experience intense periodic drought.

A systematic review was conducted for the Cicindela sexguttata group taxa. Comparative methods of examination were applied to adult structural and ecological characters for purposes of taxa diagnoses, and to establish a basis for the derivation of the group’s history.Based on 13 adult exoskeletal characters and 25 tests on populations throughout the group’s geographical range, a discriminant analysis identifies the most significant characters as being elytral maculation, body size, pilosity of the stipes, and number of sensory setae on the antennal scape. In addition, selected characters of the male and female genitalia are shown to identify all taxa within the group. Among biological comparisons the different number of mature eggs found in adult females of C. sexguttata Fabricius and C. denikei Brown indicates that their fecundity differs; and the larval burrow of C. denikei opens directly beneath rocks and stones, a habit unique in Cicindela. Seasonality profiles of taxa appear to be dictated by geographical location, and by phylogeny to a smaller degree. Species–soils associations indicate that C. sexguttata has a strong affinity to warm, moist and loamy soils, but C. denikei is correlated with sandy, silty till. For all species of the group, habitats occupied and limits of distribution to eastern Canada and the United States appear to be governed by soil and forest types.Three species of the group are recognized: C. sexguttata consisting of geographical populations varying considerably in adult characteristics and the problematic form C. harrisii Leng which may be considered a cryptic species; C. denikei; and C. patruela Dejean consisting of two subspecies C. p. patruela and C. p. consentanea Dejean.A reconstructed phylogeny of the C. sexguttata group based on methods of Hennig (1966) allies C. sexguttata and C. denikei as sister species, and C. patruela as an earlier lineage. Recognized as a stem group of the C. purpurea complex, the C. sexguttata group is postulated to have had its origins in forested eastern North America during the Late Miocene. Speciations of C. patruela and lineage C. sexguttata – C. denikei are perceived to have occurred in the Pliocene, followed by speciations of C. sexguttata and C. denikei in the Late Pleistocene effected by continental ice mass advances and recessions.

Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (lesser grain borer, Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) is a major pest of stored grain in the United States, Australia, and most other warm regions of the world. It has rarely been detected in Canadian grain, until recently. To determine the distribution of/R. dominica in western Canada, Lindgren multiple-funnel traps baited with R. dominica aggregation pheromones were placed near grain elevators, feed mills, and farms. Rhyzopertha dominica was found flying outside grain-handling facilities in all Prairie Provinces in 1990 and 1991, with thousands collected in Manitoba, hundreds in Alberta, and less than 100 in Saskatchewan. A few R. dominica were caught in Vancouver and Thunder Bay. None were caught in the traps placed beside two grain elevators in southern Ontario. In Alberta and Saskatchewan, the locations with R. dominica were mainly in the south. In Manitoba, the total number of R. dominica caught at each location was higher in the south than in the north. Rhyzopertha dominica were caught as early as 15 May and as late as 18 September, with the peak numbers for a given location occurring between July and September. No difference in the total number of R. dominica caught per year was found among farms, feed mills, or grain elevators in 1990 or 1991. Sampling of stored grain on three farms showed that two of the eight bins sampled had R. dominica. The possible origins of the R. dominica (importation of infested grain, wind-borne migration from the United States, or an established Canadian population) are discussed.

During an outbreak of army cutworm in southern Alberta in the spring of 1990, the overall incidence of parasitism by the polyembryonic parasitoid, Copidosoma bakeri (Howard), was 61% in samples from seven fields. The incidence of parasitism in samples of army cutworms collected on five dates from a single location, during the spring of 1991, increased from about 20% in the early samples to about 50% in the later samples. Cutworms parasitized by C. bakeri feed for a longer time than unparasitized ones; therefore estimates of the incidence of parasitism by C. bakeri, based on samples of late-instar cutworms, are misleadingly high. Parasitized cutworms also grow considerably larger than unparasitized ones and may have a supernumerary instar. Larger hosts support larger broods of C. bakeri and apparently a successful strategy of C. bakeri is to prolong host development so as to maximize an acquired resource. Because cutworms parasitized by C. bakeri feed more and longer than unparasitized cutworms, a high rate of parasitism can exacerbate crop damage and complicate control recommendations. The life cycles of army cutworm and C. bakeri are asynchronous and it is likely that high rates of parasitism are dependent on the presence of intermediary hosts.

Rhadiurgus variabilis (Zetterstedt 1838), a robber fly described from Europe, and Nigrasilus nitidifacies Hine 1908, described from North America, are newly synonymized. Lectotypes are designated for Asilus variabilis Zetterstedt and N. nitidifacies Hine. Some new descriptive material, including measurements and colour data, is given for five geographical regions: Europe, Eastern Siberia, Alaska/Yukon, Western Cordillera, and Boreal North America. Illustrations of male and female genitalia are presented. The species’ range is clarified and ecological data are summarized. Rhadiurgus variabilis inhabits northern and mountain forests from Scotland eastward to Labrador; it is one of the world’s most northerly ranging robber flies. Variation in the species includes an increasing proportion of dark body setae in individuals from Eurasia eastward through North America.

Production of sex pheromone was induced during the photophase, a time during which pheromone is not normally produced, in females of Heliothis virescens (F.) and H. subflexa (Gn.) by injection of homogenates and partially purified extracts of the brain – subesophageal ganglion complex of conspecific females or H. zea (Boddie) females or synthetic pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN). The amount of (Z)-11-hexadecenal, the major component of the pheromone of both species, increased during the first 60 min after injection of PBAN then leveled off and declined in H. virescens. In H. subflexa, the amount of this aldehyde increased during the first 120 min and declined after 240 min. Studies indicated that extracts of the brain – subesophageal ganglion complex that did not contain neurally produced biogenic amines induced production of as much pheromone as did homogenates containing these compounds. Dose-response studies indicated that the optimal dose of synthetic PBAN for induction of pheromone during a 60-min incubation was 5.0 pmol. In vivo maintenance of pheromone production required continuous stimulation of the pheromone gland.

Ten European species of Trichogramma were morphometrically analysed by means of 19 male characters. Multivariate analyses permitted the estimation of interspecific divergences. These studies confirmed that the most discriminant characters are borne by antennae and genitalia; they distinguished all the analysed species except T. brassicae Bezdenko and T. voegelei Pintureau. The minutum and pretiosum groups on one hand, and the pintoi and perkinsi groups on the other, are morphologically very close. The dendrolimi group is more distantly related to the minutum and pretiosum groups than to the evanescens group.

The North American members of the genus Operophtera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) are revised to include three species: O. brumata (L.), O. bruceata (Hulst), and O. danbyi (Hulst). Operophtera occidentalis (Hulst) is now treated as a subspecies of O. bruceata. All species are illustrated and characters to distinguish the species are given. The most useful characters for separating O. brumata from O. bruceata include the following: (1) hindwing dorsal surface with discal dot, which is almost always visible on O. bruceata but absent from O. brumata; (2) forewing colour, which is grey-brown or light brown in O. bruceata but reddish-brown in O. brumata; (3) abdomen colour, which is golden-brown to brown in western O. bruceata but brown in O. brumata; and (4) the costa of the forewing ventral surface, which is usually golden-brown in O. bruceata but brown in O. brumata. The structure of the genitalia of these two species allows hybridization between O. bruceata males and O. brumata females, but not vice versa.Hypothesized species interrelationships between palaearctic and nearctic Operophtera are illustrated in a cladogram. Maps for the distribution of each species are also included.

The need to exploit new sources of energy has recently led France to encourage several research programs toward the cultivation of crops for biomass production to extract alcohol, glucides, and chips for burning. To produce large quantities of biomass rapidly, several species of Populus have been selectively tested in short rotation coppices on about 400 ha in several parts of the country.

Among the practical consequences of this policy, one appears to be harmful, namely the spatial extension of several pests, mainly leaf eaters or polyphagous insects. These insects previously were located in poplar nurseries. Among the leaf eaters, larvae and adults of the poplar leaf beetles Chrysomela (= Melasoma) populi L. and Chrysomela tremulae F. feed on many poplar species in central France (e.g. Populus tremula L., Populus trichocarpa Torrey and Gray, Populus deltoides Bartram, Populus lasiocarpa Oliver).

An extensive survey of black spruce, Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P., in Newfoundland in 1978 disclosed that up to 50% of the old cones remaining on the trees were damaged by the deathwatch cone beetle, Ernobius bicolor White (Schooley 1983; White 1983). This beetle infests black spruce cones produced in the previous year's growing season and also damages cones in storage. Eggs are deposited between the scales and larvae feed within the cone and pupate in the fall or the following spring; their feeding can reduce extracted seed yields by one-half (Schooley 1983).

The zebra caterpillar, Melanchra picta (Harris), has been reported as a minor pest of corn (Philip 1990) and some small fruits (Belton 1988; Fitzpatrick and Troubridge 1991) in British Columbia. This pest also infests various vegetables, blueberries, and currants, and has become more and more abundant lately in the Fraser Valley (unpublished data). The larval parasitoid Limneria annulipes Harris (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) has been reported to parasitize zebra caterpillar populations in eastern Canada (Maxson 1948). Fitzpatrick (pers. comm.) found Winthemia quadripustulata (Fab.) (Hymenoptera: Tachinidae) from zebra caterpillars in British Columbia. Here we report the occurrence of another larval parasitoid reared from natural populations of M. picta collected from commercial high bush blueberry fields in Delta, British Columbia, during June of 1992.

Polynema pratensiphagum (Walley) is an endoparasitoid of mind eggs (CIBC 1979). Walley (1929) found this species fully developed within the eggs of Lygus pratensis L. deposited in common mullein, Verbascum thapsus L., in Ontario. It has been reported from southwestern Quebec as one of the main egg parasitoids of Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Sohati et al. 1989). Andrew et al. (1992) have used another mymarid, Anaphes iole Girault, as a biological control agent against Lygus eggs in California strawberry. Little is known of the overwintering behaviour of mymarids because they are very small and difficult to find. No evidence exists in the literature of mymarids overwintering as adults, and we assume that mymarids overwinter as the last larval instar, or prepupa, in host eggs.