Apterous Viviparous Female

Holotype.–Dorsum of head with six blunt or slightly clavate setae. Frontal tubercles well developed, smooth, diverging, each with one long, (blunt seta on dorsal surface and one or two on ventral surface. Antenna about as long as body, third segment expanded just distad of base to almost twice its basal diameter; 56 small, tubercle-like, secondary sensoria scattered along whole length of one third segment, 60 on other; one fourth segment with four secondary sensoria, the other with five; a single, large, primary sensorium near apex of each fifth segment, and one large one and five or six adjacent smaller ones near apices of basal portion of sixth segment; each small primary sensorium on sixth segment with a central papilla; all primary sensoria lacking marginal, cilia-like fimbriations. Antennal setae distinctly capitate and about equal in length to basal diameter of third segment. Lengths of antenna1 segments as follows: III, 0.85 mm.; IV, 0.4 mm.; V, 0.3 mm.; VI, 0.15-0.85 mm. Rostrum reaching slightly beyond middle coxae; apical segment 0.13 mm. long, with 17 slender pointed setae in addition to usual apical ones.

During investigations on the life-history and habits of the cabbage maggot, (Hylemya brassicae (Bouché), at Charlottetown in 1956, specimens of the dipterous predator Scatophaga stercoraria (L.) were observed destroying adults in an outdoor study cage. Identification of the specimens was confirmed by Dr. J. R. Vockeroth, Entomology Division, Ottawa.

“And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air: and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” – Genesis 2:19.

There is such a great number of species of insects that Adam's task, at least in this great class of “beasts” is by no means finished. There are names of insects in every language of the world. There are also “scientific” Latin names governed by an agreed set of rules and are therefore the most accurate. They are truly international, but have meaning only for the entomologist and a few others. For this reason, the so-called “common” names, are used by the public, who are free to coin new ones whenever they like.

In the description of the Byron Bog (Judd, 1957a) it was pointed out that Redmond's Pond is situated in the northwest corner of the bog and that during 1956 a tent-trap was anchored in a small bay in the northeast corner of the pond to trap insects emerging as adults from the water. The position of the trap on the pond is shown in the map accompanying the description of the bog (Judd, 1957a) and the structure and use of the trap are also described by Judd (1957b). The trap was placed on the water on May 15, 1956 and remained there until November 8. It was about four feet from the edge of the pond in water about two feet deep. At this point the bottom of the pond was composed of a thick layer of loose, brown peat and the adjacent edge of the pond was occupied by a dense growth of leatherleaf, Chamaedaphne calyculata, growing in Sphagnum (Judd, 1957a). The branches of the bushes of leatherleaf extended out over the water of the small bay in which the trap floated. The only rooted plant growing in and around the trap was spatterdock, Nuphar advena. Floating in the water was a sparse growth of bladderwort, Utricularia vulgaris, and on the surface of the water there were a few scattered fronds of duckweed, Lemna minor, and water flax-seed, Spirodela polyrhiza.

For several years the writer has studied the effects of variations in insect light trap designs on the species and numbers of insects captured. Among these variations are the value of baffles. During the summer of 1957 two traps were operated adjacent to each other in State College. The positions of these traps were alternated every other night. One trap, which has been designated as the Pennsylvania insect-light trap with four interesting baffles, 5 × 20 inches, a 12-inch funnel and a 15-watt black-light fluorescent lamp, was used. The other trap was similar except the baffles were omitted and the trap was held together by means of four small wires.

Requirements for insectaries or screened enclosures vary in entomological field work. Consequently a sectional insectary structurally adaptable to meet many requirements would have many uses. Recently such a structure was developed at the Belleville laboratory. Its design and construction are described in this paper and data are included on a number of insectaries that may be erected from a given number of similar parts.

Through the kindness of Dr. H. Höne, Bonn, I have the privilege of examining a large number of Pyralidae collected by him in China and Japan during his many years' residence in those countries. The material studied consists of duplicates of the vast co11ections sent to Prince Aristide Caradja in Rumania, and reported on by him in an extended series of papers in the years 1925 to 1939. In spite of his excellent taxonomic eye, Caradja did not study genitalia and rarely illustrated his species or discussed their structural characters. As Höne's collections have been the only ones to emanate from many of the regions he visited, and as Caradja's own collection, always remote, has for many years been inaccessible, and is believed to have been partly destroyed in wartime or post-war disturbances, the importance of the present material in elucidating the Caradja species is very great, and I owe Dr. Höne my most sincere thanks for permitting me to study it and to retain for the Canadian National Collection a substantial number of duplicates.

During investigations at the Charlottetown laboratory on the biologies of root maggots and their predators, an attempt was made to identify the various insect species present in rutabaga fields. Although many specimens of several species were observed around rutabaga plants, few of them were captured with ordinary sweep nets. The mobile collecting cage described herein was devised to collect large numbers of many species of insects alive and uninjured.

Collection and rearing records for 1951 to 1954 indicate that a parthenogenetic and a bisexual form of Hypolithus bicolor Esch. occur in Saskatchewan.

Near White Fox, in the northeastern area of the Mixedwood Section, approximately 2,000 beetles were collected from their hibernation cells in the soil and from the soil surface, in fields of native sod, summer-fallow, and crop, at various times during the frost-free periods. All the beetles were female. Sixty beetles reared from larvae collected in this area were also females. Similarly, there were no males in a collection of approximately 300 beetles from near Meadow Lake, in the northwestern area of the Mixedwood Section, and in numerous smaller collections made in other parts of this section. Eleven beetles, all females, were reared from eggs laid by beetles of this parthenogenetic form collected near White Fox during the last week in May, 1952. After a storage period of four months at 38°F., seven of these first generation beetles laid viable eggs without mating. No attempt was made to rear the second generation larvae to the beetle stage.

Ocnerostoma piniariella Zell. is an unimportant pest of Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris L., in Europe. A variety, copiosella Frey, is found in the Swiss Alps attacking a white pine, Pinus cembra L., and sometimes occurs in sufficient numbers to reduce growth. Both European forms have a life-history similar to that described here for British Columbia.

In North America, specimens identified as O. piniariella were collected in 1882 at Ithaca, New York (Forbes, 1924). The first Canadian record was for 1922 at Abbotsford, British Columbia, from white pine (Felt, 1922). The species has since been found in British Columbia at Vancouver, Victoria, Langley, and Aldergrove. Dr. T. N. Freeman (in litt.), Entomology Division, Ottawa, has collected it at Constance Bay, South March, Ottawa, and Bells Corners, Ontario.

A species of Plagiognathus Fieber damaging alfalfa in Western Canada has been variously reported as Plagiognathus obscurus Uhler, Plagiognathus obscurus fraternus Uhler, or Plagiognathus sp., (Arnason et al., 1948, 1951; Handford and Neilson, 1950, 1951; McMahon et al., 1949, 1950; McMahon 1950 a and b; McDonald et al., 1952-1955).

In the foreword to the initial issue of the “Journal of Insect Physiology”, v. B. Wigglesworth states: “–the key to many of the fundamental problems of physiology may perhaps be found most readily among the insects” (15). This expresses a viewpoint that he and others have enunciated on previous occasions (10, 14). It is well substantiated by a consideration of the general and particular characteristics of insects and the contributions that have been made to general physiology through their study.

Apanteles fumiferanae Vier. and Glylpta fumiferanae (Vier.) are two well known hymenopterous parasites of the spruce budworm in Canada. While studying a microsporidian disease of the budworm caused by Perezia fumiferanae Thom. (Thomson, 1955) it was observed that occasionally the microsporidian and one of the hymenopterous parasites occurred together in the same host. This paper is a report of a study of the effect of the microsporidian on the hymenopterous parasites.

In the description of the Byron Bog (Judd, 1957) it was pointed out that one method of collecting insects in the bog was the use of a trap baited with malt extract and the position of the trap in the bog was also shown. The construction and use of the trap are described by Judd (1956). The trap was in operation from May 15 to November 15, 1956 and insects were removed from the trap each day and counted. Among the insects so collected were horseflies and deerflies. In addition, four of these flies were coIlected by making a circular sweep with an insect net, held at arm's length, through the tops of the bushes in the Chamaedaphnetum calyculatae association (Judd, 1957). The net used was one with a rim twelve inches in diameter and the radius of the circle over which the sweep was made was six feet. A single sweep was made each day from May 15 to November 15, 1956 and the flies so collected were sorted and counted.