The sugar pine tortrix heavily defoliated the current season’s needles on lodgepole pine during 1965–66 in southeastern Idaho, and during 1967–68 in western Montana. A brief description of the life stages, damage, and observations on the life history and habits are presented. Choristoneura lambertiana (Busck) is a univoltine insect; oviposition and eclosion occur in late July and early August; first instar larvae spin hibernacula and overwinter in bark cracks, under bark scales, and in other protected locations on the tree and emerge in late May and June. Larvae complete development in approximately 6 weeks, and pupate in July. Adults emerge from about mid-July through early August. Mating and oviposition occur within a few days after adult emergence. Five larval stadia are proposed. Sixteen species of parasites were reared from eggs, larvae, and pupae. One predator was observed feeding on larvae in the field.

The genus Noctuiseius Prasad is synonymized with Otopheidomenis Treat. Two new species, Otopheidomenis kayosiekeri and Otopheidomenis pholusis, are described and illustrated. O. kayosiekeri is known from Honduras, Panama Canal Zone, and Peru from the sphingid moths Pachylia darceta, P. resumens, and Triptogon lugubris. O. pholusis is known from Bolivia and Honduras from the sphingid moths Pholus sp., P. anchemolis, and P. obliquus. A key to the known species of Otopheidomenis is included.

Counts of the cabbage maggot, Hylemya brassicae (Bouché), on cabbage did not conform to the Poisson distribution, there being an excess of uninfested and highly infested plants over the expected number. But when the negative binomial series was fitted to the observed distribution, the discrepancies were not significant when tested by chi-square. The negative binomial parameter k tended to increase with density. Using a common k, the distribution of the various stages may be described by expansion of (q − p)−k, when values of k are as follows: egg 0.78, larva 0.71, pupa 0.84. Three different transformations are offered for stabilizing the variance of field counts.

Populations of Neoseiulus fallacis (Garman) and Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot, predators of Tetranychus urticae Koch, were reared under homogeneous environmental conditions by inbreeding without introducing new germ plasm.Mites from 1-year-old inbred cultures had high mortality in all stadia and generally lower viability. Oviposition was reduced and a high percentage of eggs failed to hatch. Further inbreeding resulted in the production of only sterile female mites. These data cast serious doubt on the possibility of genetically improving populations of predaceous mites with only limited germ plasm resources.

Scolytus ventralis females attack their host, Abies grandis, at random in the beginning of the flight period. The success of these attacks, as manifested by the length of the gallery, is determined by the rapidity of the host’s resinous response, attacking females being repelled by resin flow. Aggregation occurs on both resistant and susceptible hosts but is directly associated with the degree of gallery elongation. Resinosis occurring after brood establishment reduces survival, having its greatest impact on the early developmental stages. Mortality from resinosis is inversely related to attack density.

Only one species of Anoetidae was previously recorded associated with North American Scolytidae. Five new species of Anoetus and one new species of Bonomoia associated with North American bark beetles are described. Two nomen novum (due to homonymy) in the genus Anoetus are proposed. Anoetus varia is distinguished from A. gordius, a European species restricted to Ips laricis. Anoetus varia is recorded from 17 scolytids infesting 10 conifer species from 14 states and provinces. An annotated list, with new nomenclatorial combinations in many cases, of the 13 anoetids recorded associated with scolytids in the old world is given. Histiostoma is synonymized under Anoetus.

The type, number, and distribution of the antennal sense organs of female Culex territans Walker and Culex restuans (Theo.) were determined and compared to similar data on Culex pipiens L., Culex fatigans Wiedemann, and Culex tarsalis Coquillett. All types of sense organs have similar distribution patterns on the five species, but large differences in number occur. These differences are discussed with regard to the host preference of the mosquitoes.

Extensive collections of synanthropic fly parasitoids in animal excrement accumulations in the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Chile, Denmark, Israel, and South Africa yielded seven forms of a Muscidifurax complex which were totally or partially reproductively isolated. Morphological studies of female and male parasitoids coupled with biological and zoogeographical information permitted the identification of five sibling species. Muscidifurax raptor Girault and Sanders 1910 is redescribed and four additional species are described as new: M. zaraptor, from the southwestern United States; M. raptoroides from Central America and Mexico; M. uniraptor from Puerto Rico, and M. raptorellus from Uruguay and Chile. Biological notes are added to the descriptions, and it was postulated that the genus is undergoing a process of speciation with local populations slowly becoming reproductively isolated and eventually giving rise to morphologically distinguishable entities. Most evidence suggests the establishment of Muscidifurax in the New World, concomitant with or shortly following the establishment of muscoid flies in accumulated excrement. Scanning electronmicroscopy was used in the analysis of some morphological structures.

Nepticula macrocarpae Freeman, a recently described leaf miner on oak in southern Ontario, is bivoltine, and overwinters as a cocooned larva on the ground. The immature stages are described and nine species of chalcid parasites are listed.

The parasites known to attack the black-headed budworm in Alaska and the relative importance of each species are presented. A key for the identification of parasite adults and notes on the bionomics of each species are given. The list of parasites includes 16 species, contrasting sharply with the 48 species reported from coastal British Columbia. Only two species, Triclistus pallipes Holmg. and Meteorus argyrotaeniae Johansen, appear in the Alaskan complex that do not also appear in the list from British Columbia. Trichogramma minutum Riley, the only egg parasite, caused up to 22% mortality. Four species attacking various larval instars caused 2 to 72% mortality within single larval collections. Two pupal parasites, Itoplectis quadricingulatus (Prov.) and Phaeogenes arcticus Cush., were reared from 10 to 31% of pupae collected in the field.

An unique development in insect dietetics is announced, namely, the rearing of an hymenopteran — Itoplectis conquisitor (Say), an ichneumonid endoparasitoid of other insects — axenically on a chemically-defined synthetic diet. First heuristic attempts produced a yield of about 17% adults.

In the summer of 1969, one year following a spray program to control spruce budworm with Phosphamidon and Sumithion in northwestern Ontario, five species of carabids and two species of lycosids were studied to assess the long term effects of insecticide spray on forest floor arthropods. For 15 weeks in the summer of 1969, beetles and spiders were almost always more numerous in the control area than in the sprayed area. Populations of the spiders and beetles are briefly discussed.

The four Jamaican species of Cyrtinus LeConte are briefly reviewed. Cyrtinus jamaicensis n. sp. and Cyrtinus granulifrons n. sp. are described, and additional distributional records are given for Cyrtinus sandersoni Howden and Cyrtinus farri Howden.

Nymphal and adult Diaphnidia capitata (Van Duzee) have long been recognized as predators of Panonychus ulmi (Koch) and Tetranychus urticae Koch. The eggs and oviposition sites preferred by this species are described herein to supplement available descriptions of the eggs of mirid predators of spider mites.

A descriptive key based on phenotypic characteristics displayed by cocoons and/or pupae is offered as a tool for identification of primary parasitoids of the armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth), in eastern Ontario. A second key based on structural differences of the last-instar larval mouthparts and tracheae is offered as a means to differentiate secondary parasitoids associated with the above-mentioned primary forms. Photographs of the cocoons, illustrations of the last-instar larval mouthparts and tracheae, and biological notes on pre-imago habits are included as supplemental criteria for species identification.

Individuals of Copidosoma innocuellae n. sp. are described. Many specimens were reared from larvae of Anacampsis innocuella (Zeller) (Gelechiidae), collected in Canada from New Brunswick (type-locality), Quebec, many localities in Ontario, and Manitoba.

A detrimental effect on larval size in Agria affinis (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) varied with the kind, among nine, and with the dietary level of antimicrobial food additives in a synthetic diet; for example, inversely with the level of streptomycin sulphate. This and other factors considered suggest need for some caution in the use of such food additives where normal insect specimens are desired.