Pitfall trapping was carried out in a southern Ontario apple orchard for 3 years. The three commonest carabids collected were Harpalus affinis Schr., Pterostichus melanarius Ill., and Amara spp. Variation in activity was related to mean air temperatures in P. melanarius but not in the other two species. The use of pitfall traps in enclosures showed that none of the above species use flight as the principal means of locomotion. Immature H. affinis adults probably undergo a dispersal flight in July. Amara spp. and P. melanarius both fly within the orchard to some extent.

We found a constant spatial distribution of percentage plants without cotton fleahoppers (Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter)) with Y = ae−bx for 0.019 to 5.4 mean per plants fitted with and without data source variables of fields, dates (years and weeks of 1 year), life stage, sample size, and location. Results include a sampling plan.

An improved bioassay using closed glass units was developed for the sex pheromone of the male Queensland fruit fly, Dacus tryoni (Froggatt). Female responsiveness in glass units was quantitated and compared with that in cages, using probing with the ovipositor as the "key response". The median effective dose of pheromone required to elicit a response in 50% of the females (BR50) was much lower in glass units (< 1 male equivalent) than in cages (2.7 male equivalents), and the females also responded more rapidly. As the bioassay is adaptable to a wide variety of laboratory modifications it may be suitable for studying the sex pheromone of other Tephritidae.

A common regression equation, representing data collected from four widely separated areas, was constructed to determine number of eggs of the Douglas-fir tussock moth based on individual egg mass weights. The regression is designed for use in any egg mass sampling scheme where a knowledge of the potential early instar population is required. The regression equation is also given for each area.

The wing-morph composition of populations of planthoppers exploiting stable and temporally uncertain resources was determined. In stable habitats like salt and fresh water marshes, the optimum population strategy of most planthoppers is to produce flightless brachypters which can efficiently use and remain on the immediate resource. Macropters, which can fly, are more adaptive and predominate in temporary habitats because they can emigrate and colonize new resources when conditions are no longer suitable.

Schizocosa Chamberlin, 1904, with type-species Lycosa ocreata Hentz, 1844, comprises 20 species occurring in southern Canada, the U.S.A., and Mexico: S. ocreata (= Lycosa charonoides Montgomery, 1902, SYN. N.); S. crassipes (Walckenaer, 1837); S. floridana Bryant, 1934; S. saltatrix (Hentz, 1844); S. humilis (Banks, 1892) (= Lycosa episima Chamberlin, 1924, SYN. N.); S. duplex Chamberlin, 1925; S. salsa Barnes, 1953; S. bilineata (Emerton, 1885); S. segregata Gertsch and Wallace, 1937; S. aulonia Dondale, 1969; S. crassipalpata Roewer, 1951; S. mimula (Gertsch, 1934) (= Lycosa coahuilana Gertsch and Davis, 1940, SYN. N.); S. minnesotensis (Gertsch, 1934); S. retrorsa (Banks, 1911); S. avida (Walckenaer, 1837); S. maxima sp. n.; S. chiricahua sp. n.; S. cespitum sp. n.; S. communis (Emerton, 1885), comb. n. (= S. heasmani Dondale, 1969, SYN. N.); S. mccooki (Montgomery, 1904), comb. n. (= Lycosa pacifica Banks, 1904, SYN. N. = S. wasatchensis Chamberlin and Ivie, 1942, SYN. N).

Avicosa Chamberlin and Ivie, 1942 and Epihogna Roewer, 1960 are synonymized under Schizocosa. Fourteen of the species of Schizocosa are represented only in the southeastern United States, the northeastern U.S., and eastern Canada, or are widespread in the eastern half of the continent; three are represented only on the prairies, and the remainder in the Rockies or the Pacific coast.

Only soil temperatures below −7°C are likely to cause significant pupal mortality of M. configurata in the field, and only if exposure periods are sufficiently prolonged. At −17°C, a temperature not uncommonly encountered in the soil at 10 cm during the prairie winter, near total mortality occurred within 1 week in laboratory tests and significant mortality (20–30%) occurred within 1 day. The survival time at −12°C was considerably longer, and 50% mortality occurred after about 6 weeks of exposure. Pupal mortality caused by cold might thus vary from 0 to 100% depending on local climatic and field conditions and therefore is an essential component of a survival model for the species.

Exposure to cold accelerates diapause development by as much as four orders of magnitude for the lowest temperature tested (−17°C). However, the acceleration of diapause development by sub-zero temperatures appears to be of limited phenological significance, since in western Canada the pupae spend at least 40 weeks in the soil and can easily complete diapause development within this time at 0° to 5°C. Further evidence for a major reorganization of the endocrine system of M. configurata pupae during stage 2 of diapause development is presented.

In most species of Euxoa a high proportion of the females mate more than once. The mean number of matings per mated female in natural populations of 13 species ranged from 1.65 to 10.86. Mating frequency data for laboratory populations of three of these species indicate that laboratory rearing and confinement does not significantly alter the incidence and level of multiple mating. The propensity for multiple mating is species characteristic although the observed level in samples from the field can vary significantly depending on the age structure of the populations sampled and probably also on other parameters of populations or environmental factors. Since species differences in the tendency for multiple mating are probably manifestations of different reproductive strategies some of the possible advantages of this behavior are discussed.

The addition of chitinase at the rate of 1000–4000 nephelometric units/U.S. gallon to Bacillus thuringiensis insecticide for use against spruce budworm has been advocated.

Bioassays of V instar spruce budworm larvae against seven levels of Thuricide® at four levels of chitinase corresponding to 0, 22, 220, and 2200 nephelometric units/U.S. gallon were conducted by placing larvae on balsam fir foliage (Abies balsamea) dipped in appropriate dilutions of Thuricide® with chitinase. Mortality was assessed 6 days later. An additional replicated assay at a relatively massive dose of chitinase, 33,000 nephelometric units/U.S. gallon, was compared simultaneously with a 0 chitinase control. The data were homogeneous and linear by statistical standards. No effect of chitinase on LC50 or slope of the regression line was observed.

Grylloblatta campodeiformis Walker were collected from a site in the Alberta Rocky Mountains at an altitude of 1300 m. The gut contents in the autumn consist almost entirely of arthropods. Dominant among these was a tipulid fly, equally typical of the cold, montane habitat as Grylloblatta itself. In the laboratory, G. campodeiformis adults eat only live or recently killed animal prey, and neither adults nor larvae grow without animal food. Prey is detected by the antennae and then seized by the mandibles. Five types of sensilla, all of which are probably involved in prey identification, are described from the antennae and palpi.

Of 11 insecticides tested, nine were as effective as dimethoate for control of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), in alfalfa. None, including the systemic insecticides, provided adequate protection in growing alfalfa at 7 days after treatment. The environmental impact of these materials could be reduced if the lowest effective rates were used for control because repeat applications may be required. Because pirimicarb at 0.28 kg AI/ha had a reduced effect on Chrysopa oculata (Say), a predator of the pea aphid, it would be preferred to dimethoate for control of this aphid.

A field study was designed to compare the attractiveness of pre-aged (laboratory incubated) and fresh rabbit feces to potential arthropod colonists. Laboratory collected rabbit feces were incubated on moist peat for intervals of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 days before exposure (48 h) in one of four field sites in northwestern Pennsylvania. Greater numbers and kinds of arthropods were attracted to 0-day-old dung samples than to fecal pellets that were preincubated for 10 or more days in the laboratory. Furthermore, numbers and kinds of arthropods attracted to fecal pellets increased with increasing habitat complexity. The results indicate that loss in attractiveness of aged feces to potential arthropod colonists cannot be attributed entirely to the drying of the substrate or to prior arthropod colonization. It is suggested that microfloral activity contributes to chemical changes in the incubating feces which render them less attractive to potential early colonists.

An expanding outbreak of hardwood-defoliating geometrid larvae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) has existed on southern Vancouver Island, B.C., since at least 1972. By 1977 the outbreak had become severe over an estimated 120 km2 in the Victoria and Saanich land districts and a light infestation was present on the Saanich Peninsula.