The musculature of the pterothorax of the adult male Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.) is described in detail and the arrangement of muscles is shown to correspond closely to other lepidopterans. A comparison with the general plan of the alate segment is also attempted.

Postembryonic changes in external morphological structures of Choristoneura houstonana (Grote) from first to last instars are described. A setal map for first and structures for first and last instars are described and illustrated. Possible generic characters are suggested.

In Rhodnius, a volatile substance produced by mating pairs is attractive to male insects. The pheromone acts also as a sexual stimulant; males respond in the absence of females by attempting copulation with other males. Air swept over mating pairs and conducted to a cage at a considerable distance proved to be highly attractive to males. Proximity of the sexes, without opportunity for actual contact, does not stimulate production of the pheromone. Since males and females will copulate only after a blood meal, feeding is a prerequisite to pheromone production. Also, unfed males will not respond to the attractant. Males of this nocturnal species were stimulated only in complete darkness.

Four species of the spider family Amaurobiidae introduced to North America are described and figured. They are Ixeuticus martius (Simon), Metaltella simoni (Keyserling), Amaurobius similis (Blackwall), and Amaurobius ferox (Walckenaer). Callobius hokkaido n. sp. from Japan is described and figured.

The morphology and histology of the internal reproductive system of the female spruce budworm moth, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), is described and discussed, with notes on the spermatophore and egg development.

Loblolly pine trees struck by lightning offer a favorable attack and brood environment for the southern pine and Ips beetles. In central Louisiana lightning strikes reduced oleoresin exudation pressure, oleoresin flow, and relative water content of inner-bark tissue and resulted in a decrease in sucrose and an increase in reducing-sugar content of inner bark. Interspecific competition was much greater in struck trees than nonstruck trees. Among struck trees, those with highest carbohydrate levels produced the most numerous broods of the southern pine beetle.

The high density of the field crickets Gryllus pennsylvanicus (Burmeister) and Nemobius fasciatus (DeGeer) under test trees in an unsprayed orchard, and the high mortality of apple-maggot pupae, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), in test lots at the same time of year, suggested that crickets may have preyed heavily on the pupae and thus have constituted important mortality factors. Laboratory observations showed that crickets can detect, disinter, and consume apple-maggot pupae in simulated natural surroundings.

Laboratory feeding experiments on Celerio euphorbiae (L.) showed that each larva consumed about 2.7 g dry weight of Euphorbia cyparissias L. Laboratory-reared and field-collected larvae produced pupae of similar weights and the close similarity between the fresh and dry weights of control-fed larvae and larvae allowed to feed freely indicates that laboratory results are readily extrapolated to field conditions. On one infested site, at Braeside, Ont., the amount of spurge foliage was measured and the density of larvae needed to graze it fully was estimated at 14/m2 completing development. Preliminary data on an energy budget of the larva are discussed in relation to possible damage to the plant.

Studies were conducted in southern Oregon pear orchards to develop sampling methods for assessment of mite abundance. Those species included in the investigation were the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch; European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch); yellow spider mite, Eotetranychus carpini borealis (Ewing); and the predaceous phytoseiid Typhlodromus occidentalis Nesbitt.The results show that five leaves on one limb per tree are adequate to include representative numbers of the four mite species. Variation in mite densities between trees, even of the same variety, was quite high. The sample size (numbers of trees) required for assessing mite density can be calculated provided that an estimate of the coefficient of variation (S/X) is available.

A bioassay with elder pith wafers was developed to measure sustained feeding of the pales weevil, Hylobius pales (Herbst). Sucrose, fructose, glucose, and extracts of phloem of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) were compared in three-choice experiments. Intensity of feeding indicated a synergistic effect occurred when sucrose and phloem lipid were present together. The non-polar or neutral lipid fraction of phloem stimulated more feeding than did the polar lipid fraction.

A technique for ageing cocoons of Neodiprion sertifer (Geoff.) is outlined using the redox dye 2,6-dichloroindophenol. New cocoons reduce 1 ml of a 0.001% solution in 85% ethanol from blue to colorless in 15 minutes. This reducing power diminishes with age.

Tetrastichus incertus, a parasite of the alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica) larva, occurs throughout the northeastern United States, including almost all of New York. Field studies in 1967 and 1968 indicated that the parasite and its host were not closely synchronized in New York; the parasite was uncommon in June when hosts were abundant while the opposite was true in July. In 1966 and 1967, the proportion of parasites entering diapause increased throughout the summer, from 1–31% in June to 67–100% in September. Therefore, most parasites produced in June, when hosts were abundant, emerged in July when hosts were scarce. Winter mortality among parasites in diapause was high (51–64%) in field cages. The survivors of the overwintering generation of T. incertus constituted a small fraction of the annual production of parasites.

In the laboratory the offspring of older T. incertus tended more to enter diapause than did the offspring of younger parasites. This indicated the incidence of diapause may be correlated with host availability; when hosts are uncommon, diapausing parasites are produced.

Field and laboratory data indicated a ratio of one T. incertus to eight alfalfa weevil larvae would be necessary to achieve 50% parasitism of the host population. Such a host:parasite ratio never occurs when the hosts are common.

The following new species are described: Myodopsylla globata, from bats, and Kohlsia martini, from rice rats, Oryzomys sp. Ceratophyllus altus Tipton and Mendez, known formerly only from the unique type, a male from Panama, was collected in numbers from nests of sparrow hawks, Falco sparverius tropicalis, and pygmy owls, Glaucidium sp.; the female is described.

Peltotrichius glaseri n. sp. is described from Baleu, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, and the generic limits of Peltotrichius are slightly altered.

Tuberculatus spiculatus is described and illustrated. It is a Quercus-infesting aphid that is known only from Mexico.

The morphology and fine structure of the salivary syringe and its associated ducts of the six-spotted leafhopper, Macrosteles fascifrons (Stål), are described and illustrated from sections studied in the light and electron microscopes. Mycoplasma-like organisms (MLOs) were found in both the afferent and efferent ducts of the salivary syringe in insects transmitting aster yellows and in insects not transmitting the disease. The occurrence of MLOs proximal to the valve in the afferent duct proves that they were from the salivary glands and were not regurgitated from the gut or drawn in from outside the insect.

Myzocallis (Agrioaphis) aptera, a new aphid from India, is described and illustrated and its affinities noted. The host is Berberis vulgaris L.

Nepytia freemani Munroe reached outbreak proportions in one area in north central Utah in 1965 and subsided in early 1967. The looper has a 1-year life cycle and overwinters in the egg stage. Larvae issue from eggs in mid-May, feed during the summer months, and begin pupation in late July. Adults appear in August and females lay clusters of small oval eggs on both sides of the needle. White fir is the preferred host but Douglas-fir is also fed on. Even though defoliation was extremely heavy, topkill was the only permanent damage. Starved larvae fed on ground vegetation in the understory. Parasitism was heavy but its overall effectiveness in causing the sudden population decline is unknown.

Austropsylla brevipecten gen. et sp. nov. is described from a single female specimen collected on a potoroo or rat-kangaroo. The genus is closest, perhaps, to Choristopsylla Jord. & Roths., and brings to nine the number of genera of Pygiopsyllidae to be found in Australia.