The Korean species of the genus Latibulus Gistel (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) are reviewed. Two new species and a key to nine species are presented: Latibulus argiolus (Rossi), Latibulus bilacunitus Sheng and Xu, Latibulus flavopetiolus Oh and Lee new species, Latibulus fulvus Oh and Lee new species, Latibulus hokkaidensis Lee and Oh, Latibulus lautus (Tosquinet), Latibulus liaoningensis Sheng et al., Latibulus nigrinotum (Uchida), and Latibulus orientalis Horstmann. The genus is reported from Mongolia for the first time, based on the cocoon of an unidentified species. Polistes chinensis antennalis Pérez and Polistes jadwigae jadwigae Dalla Torre (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) are reported as new host species for the genus and L. nigrinotum, respectively.

Vertical gradients in biotic and abiotic factors may create small-scale spatial variation in arthropod communities, a phenomenon that continues to be understudied. We investigated heterogeneity in the vertical distribution of spider and beetle assemblages in the canopy of sugar maples (Acer saccharum Marshall) (Aceraceae) in a deciduous forest in eastern Canada. Comparisons across four strata (understorey [UN] through upper canopy [UC] crown) documented variation in density, diversity, and species composition. Density of all common families decreased significantly with height and overall species richness of both spiders and beetles was highest in the UN and lowest in the UC crown. We observed greater spatial variation in spider assemblages compared with beetle assemblages and documented differences in spider guild structure: web-spinning spiders were most common in the UN and jumping spiders dominated the canopy. Our results suggest that arthropod assemblages are not homogeneous with respect to vertical space and that heterogeneity exists even at the scale of several metres.

Newly emerged honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus; Hymenoptera: Apidae) of four strains were placed into observation hives and observed for guarding behaviour. Significant differences were found between strains for guarding propensity. The proportion of introduced bees observed guarding was significantly higher in all strains (41% of bees that were alive at the time of observations) than proportions reported in earlier studies. This discrepancy is likely due to methodological differences and also to the fact that in this study, living bees were counted when calculating proportions, whereas other studies have used the total number of introduced bees. Further studies on the proportion of honey bees performing guarding behaviour are warranted.

We studied the diversity and summer seasonal activity-density of Carabidae associated with soybean fields infested by the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura; Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Québec, Canada. Carabid beetles were sampled in six to seven fields from June to September 2004 and 2005 using pitfall traps. A total of 33 species from 15 genera were identified, with the exotic Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger) (Coleoptera: Carabidae), representing 75.8% and 84.5% of all individuals trapped in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Large variations in species richness and diversity indexes were observed between fields within and between years. Multivariate analyses showed that carabid activity-density varied as a function of field location and sampling period, with individuals belonging to species overwintering as adults being more abundant early in the growing season. There was no relationship between carabid trap catches and A. glycines density, suggesting that carabid beetles do not respond numerically to soybean aphid populations at the spatial scale studied.

Apterous adult morphs of eriosomatine aphids associated with moss (Bryophyta) and/or roots of conifer (Pinaceae) or willow (Salix Linnaeus (Salicaceae)) in forests of the North American Pacific Northwest including Alaska are described, illustrated, and keyed. In total, seven species (Clydesmithia canadensis Danielsson, Melaphis rhois (Fitch) (moss only feeder), Pachypappa rosettei (Maxson), Pachypappa sacculi (Gillette), Prociphilus americanus (Walker) (fir root only feeder), Prociphilus xylostei (De Geer), and Thecabius populimonilis (Riley)) are characterised from their secondary host habitats. Secondary host forms of C. canadensis and T. populimonilis are described for the first time. The morphotypes from the secondary hosts were confirmed through deoxyribonucleic acid sequence matching with those from the primary hosts.

Nosemosis is a disease of adult honey bees, Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), caused by two described species of Microsporidia: Nosema ceranae Fries and Nosema apis Zander. The epidemiology of N. apis is well understood; however, little is known about N. ceranae in Canadian apiaries. The following study aimed to determine the seasonal patterns of N. ceranae and N. apis in European honey bees in a Québec, Canada, apiary. Honey bees from six hives were sampled from 2008 to 2010 and the amount of spores quantified by both microscopic spore counts and duplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results demonstrated that duplex qPCR was the most sensitive technique and was able to detect N. ceranae in samples confirmed negative for microscopic spore counts and conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection. Results show that N. ceranae is the more prevalent parasite and was present in 75% of collections as single or mixed infections in the sampled apiary. The prevalence of N. apis was lower representing 29.7% throughout the 3 years of the study, and by 2010 was present only as mixed infections. Seasonal patterns of N. apis were consistent with previously published data with peaks in spring and autumn months, while N. ceranae peak infections varied throughout the 3-year study.

We studied the dropping behaviour of the foxglove aphid, Aulacorthum solani (Kaltenbach) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), in response to disturbance by the parasitoid Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). We banded plant stems with sticky tape to prevent aphids from returning to the plants to determine if these would serve as an integrated pest management strategy for A. solani. Stem banding prevented A. solani that had dropped from returning to the plant; but the mortality associated with banding was not necessarily complementary to biological control by A. ervi. Up to 80% of aphids dropped in response to foraging by A. ervi, and thus could be killed on sticky stem bands. The fraction of aphids that dropped to the ground also contained as much as 90% of the parasitoid's offspring. Overall, mortality of aphids on sticky stem bands was not compatible with parasitoids. Although numbers of aphids declined more rapidly in the first 2 weeks of the trial in the presence of stem bands and parasitoids than in the presence of parasitoids alone, the numbers of aphids were identical in the two treatments from the 3rd week onward. Mortality on the stem bands replaced mortality from parasitoids, and reduced recruitment of parasitoids.

Parasitism of Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) larvae by Cotesia flavipes Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) or injection of C. flavipes polydnavirus causes numerous alterations in host physiology including developmental arrest, abrogation of host immunity, and biochemical changes in proteins, carbohydrates, glycogen, and lipids. This study focused on changes in haemocyte composition occurring in the cellular immune system of parasitised D. saccharalis larvae. We also analysed the effects of parasitisation by C. flavipes on humoral immunity in terms of phenoloxidase (PO) activity in the host. In nonparasitised D. saccharalis larvae, granular cells represented the main haemocyte type (39%) and plasmatocytes were also present at around 35% among the total haemocytes. The percentages of these two major haemocytes decreased significantly in parasitised larvae after 6 days of parasitoid oviposition and the total haemocyte counts exhibited a significant reduction in parasitised larvae 3 and 6 days following parasitisation. The parasitised larvae also showed a significant decrease in humoral immune capacity as evidenced by reduction of PO activity. Moreover, the plasma had more PO activity than the haemocytes and the parasitised larvae showed less PO activity than the control larvae. This research demonstrates that the parasitism of C. flavipes adversely affects the total haemocyte populations and PO activity of D. saccharalis larvae, which would contribute to host immunosuppression.

Regulations for the containment of arthropods stipulate that containment facilities be specially designed and operated to prevent arthropod escapes. A key area for security is the entrance–exit anteroom on the facility's periphery, which is to have an insect trap for capturing incident arthropods, and an inward directional flow of air. To test the efficacy of these features, a release-recapture study was conducted in the anteroom of an operational containment facility using different trap methods (ceiling-mounted ultraviolet [UV] or incandescent light traps, floor-situated pan water trap), and three insect species (dung beetle, Chilothorax distinctus (Müller) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) – formerly known as Aphodius distinctus; house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus (Diptera: Muscidae); parasitic wasp, Urolepis rufipes (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)). The optimum method for capturing insects within the anteroom varied with species and their behaviours; UV light trap + water trap for C. distinctus (mean catch: 82.3% ± 2.7% of recovered beetles), water trap + incandescent light trap for M. domestica (mean catch: 78.3% ± 4.1%), and UV light trap for U. rufipes (mean catch: 13.0% ± 8.5%; but no trap worked particularly well). Inward flow of air was deemed most effective for containing the small and active U. rufipes, with 23% of detected escapees moving deeper into quarantine. Awareness of insect behaviour in artificial environments is advised for determining whether additional security protocols are required.

An inexpensive, easily constructed, and effective trapping system for capturing flying insects is described. The trapping system is a pole with multiple moveable bowls. The catch is preserved in a killing solution (propylene glycol) between monitoring intervals. Applications for this trapping system include evaluating effects of insect phenology, climate factors, habitat preferences, climatic conditions, and trap colour and interactions of these factors.