We report the strawberry blossom weevil, Anthonomus rubi (Herbst, 1795) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a species native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, as established in British Columbia, Canada. This is the first report of A. rubi in North America. We provide a diagnosis of the species and compare it with other species of the genus Anthonomus Germar in Canada. This species is a pest of plants in

First North American records are presented for Cryptocephalus moraei (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera: Cryptocephalinae) and Psylliodes dulcamarae (Koch, 1803) (Coleoptera: Galerucinae: Alticini), as confirmed by morphology and DNA barcoding. Additional information is presented about phenology and host use for C. moraei, the first European Cryptocephalinae to be found elsewhere as conclusively adventive

Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), a nonindigenous insect pest of hemlock (Tsuga spp.) (Pinaceae) in eastern North America, spends most of its life cycle within an ovisac, which resembles a woolly white mass on twigs. We evaluated the probability of detecting adelgid wool with Velcro®-covered balls when taking an increasing number of samples per tree (field sampling) and number of trees

Root feeding by the larvae of multiple Delia species can lead to economic loss in many agricultural crops. Field vegetables are subject to infestations by a species complex composed of Delia radicum (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Anthomyiidae), a pest in brassica crops (Brassicaceae), Delia antiqua (Meigen), believed to cause the majority of crop damage in onions, and the generalists Delia florilega (Zetterstedt)

In nature, competing species often achieve coexistence through niche differentiation. We examined this phenomenon for Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae and Spalangia endius (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), two species of pupal parasitoids that are considered biological control agents of house fly, Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae). We examined the ability of each species, alone and in combination, to locate

Stylops advarians Pierce (Strepsiptera: Stylopidae) is a prevalent parasite of adult Andrena milwaukeensis Graenicher (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. By dissecting adult bees and examining histological sections, we sought to determine how neotenic females of S. advarians impact female hosts of A. milwaukeensis anatomically. Adult bees with 1–3 females of S. advarians within

In many organisms, habitat affects ecological and genetic diversity and, for certain species, it is expected that a large population should have higher genetic diversity than a smaller population. We analysed the genetics of males of the orchid bee, Eulaema nigrita (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and examined the links between local abundance and habitat with genetic diversity. We also investigated the impact

The greenhouse cucumber pests, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), and Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae), are major threats to the production of greenhouse cucumbers (Cucurbitaceae) in Lebanon. The development of insecticide resistance by these pests has prompted the use of alternative and sustainable pest management strategies. In

The role of insects as pollinators within plant communities is well established, yet our knowledge of insect biodiversity in many habitats is lacking. Given the growing concern that insect biodiversity is declining, it is increasingly important to document insect assemblages from a wide range of geographic locations and habitats. Pan trapping is a common means of sampling local insect diversity. Many

Field-acclimated Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, Québec, Canada, were examined over two years for winter survival, under the hypothesis that flies select protected overwintering microhabitats. In 2016–2017, flies trapped alive in the field or emerged from infested fruits were submitted to four winter regimes of either constant or daily fluctuating

In this work, we used measures of diversity and biogeographic patterns to evaluate the response of dung-beetle assemblages (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) at two cattle ranches with different management systems on the southern Mexican High Plateau. The number of individuals and biomass were used as the primary diversity attributes of the assemblage. The 1D and 2D true diversity indexes of

Pseudoscorpions are microarthropods that are distributed from the equator to beyond the Arctic circle. Wyochernes asiaticus (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Chernetidae) is the northernmost species of pseudoscorpion and is broadly distributed in Beringia, an Arctic and sub-Arctic region that remained unglaciated during the last glacial maximum. Wyochernes asiaticus is anoxia tolerant and has moderate

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a significant destructive force in the pine forests of western Canada and has the capacity to spread east into a novel host tree species, jack pine (Pinaceae). New populations have been documented in central Alberta, Canada, but the source populations for these outbreaks have yet to be identified. In this study

Neonicotinoid insecticides are used to reduce crop damage caused by insect pests, but sublethal levels could affect development and reproduction in nontarget insects, such as monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). To investigate the impact of field-realistic concentrations of the neonicotinoid clothianidin on monarch butterflies, we grew swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

The current interpretation of two common European species, Mordellistena minima Costa, 1854 and M. pseudorhenana Ermisch, 1977, is based on misidentification. The confusion regarding the identity of the species is fixed based on the revised type material. Here, the species are redescribed, and diagnostic characters are provided. Mordellistena pseudorhenana is revalidated. Mordellistena emeryi Schilsky

Spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a destructive defoliator found throughout the Nearctic boreal forest. This pest has a broad geographic range and shows regional variation in key life history traits. These population differences may represent important adaptations to local environmental conditions and reflect underlying genetic diversity. Existing laboratory

Understanding the medical and economic impacts of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) begins with knowing their natural history and distribution, including their association with habitat types, particularly those in which human activity is high. The effects of habitat on shaping the community structure of mosquitoes were studied across periurban habitats on the island of Montréal, Québec, Canada in 2014

Type material (treated as syntypes) of Oxycarenus breddini Bergroth, 1905 has been found in the Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique in Brussels, Belgium. A lectotype has been designated, and so the neotype is redundant.

We made 28 collections of black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) at 24 locations in central and northeastern Washington state, United States of America, and identified 10 species in three genera, including Simulium arcticum Malloch, which we studied cytogenetically. We analysed 745 larvae of S. arcticum cytogenetically from nine of the 11 sites where it occurred; five sites had small sample sizes. For the

Mating and receiving ejaculate can alter female insect physiology and postcopulatory behaviour. During mating, females receive both internal and external stimuli and different components in the ejaculate. In insects, these components consist mostly of sperm and male accessory gland secretions. Some of the most important changes associated with receiving male accessory gland secretions are a reduction

The world is astoundingly variable, and organisms – from individuals to whole communities – must respond to variability to survive. One example of nature’s variability is the fluctuations in populations of spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), which cycle every 35 years. In this study, we examined how a parasitoid community altered its parasitism of budworm and

Wheat midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is a major pest of wheat (Poaceae) that was first reported in the Peace River region of northwestern Alberta, Canada in 2011. Although parasitism is an important factor of mortality in wheat midge elsewhere, little is known about the prevalence, species, or distribution of wheat midge parasitoids in the Peace River region. To address

High-quality habitats presumably have the resources required to sustain relatively high rates of survival and reproduction. We assessed how habitat type and local environmental conditions determine the distribution of individuals of Canthon cyanellus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), an eurytopic dung beetle, according to age category and sexual gonadic maturity. Beetles were surveyed in forest fragments

Reproductive phenology of organisms is modulated by biotic and abiotic factors, with direct effects on the demography. This study describes the annual reproductive phenology of Dichotomius satanas (Harold, 1867) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) of the cloud forest in eastern Mexico, through the morphological changes in the reproductive systems of individuals and their relationship with climatic

Laboratory experiments and field observations from August 2019 to April 2020 demonstrated that skipper flies (Diptera: Piophilidae) overwinter as larvae and likely present an obligatory winter diapause in Québec, Canada. Diapause was confirmed by the very few emergences of adults in the laboratory following collection from carrion at the end of summer and in fall, the migration of larvae deep in the

Wheat midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana Géhin (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is an invasive pest of wheat, Triticum spp. (Poaceae), in North America and is found in all wheat-growing regions of the world. Wheat midge biology, particularly post-diapause emergence of adults, varies with geographic region. The biology of wheat midge has not previously been examined in the northernmost area of its range in Canada

The multicoloured Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), has become a pest in North American vineyards during harvest due to its adverse effects on wine quality. This study evaluated alternative products that may be suitable for use in vineyards as repellents to the beetle. Products were screened as repellent for multicoloured Asian lady beetle in short-term laboratory

Although the use of nonhost plants intercropped among host crops has been a standard agricultural practice for reducing insect herbivory for millennia, the use of nonhost signals to deter forest pests is much more recent, having been developed over the past several decades. Early exploratory studies with synthetic nonhost volatile semiochemicals led to targeted electrophysiological and trapping experiments

The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is among the most destructive bark beetle pests of pines (Pinaceae) of the southeast and mid-Atlantic United States of America, Mexico, and Central America. Numerous volatile compounds can stimulate or reduce attraction of the beetle, but efforts to incorporate these into effective, practical technologies

This paper reviews the literature on the identification of 3-methylcyclohex-2-en-1-one (MCH) as the antiaggregation pheromone of the Douglas-fir beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and the development of successful management applications using the pheromone. Previously unpublished data from two studies on novel uses of MCH are included. The successful development

This paper is intended as an assessment of the state of knowledge and development of semiochemical methods for control of bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in western North America and as a roadmap for future research and development in this field. It is based on a keynote presentation given at the symposium Managing Bark and Ambrosia Beetles with Semiochemicals, held in 2018 in Vancouver, British

Binburrum Pollock, 1995 is a small group of fire-coloured beetles (Tenebrionoidea: Pyrochroidae: Pilipalpinae) endemic to Australia with five described species. Herein, three new species of Binburrum – B. articuno (southeastern South Australia), B. moltres (northeastern Queensland, Australia), and B. zapdos (northeastern Queensland) – are described based on comparative anatomy, highlighting the underestimated

Forty-one belted kingfishers, Megaceryle alcyon (Linnaeus) (Aves: Coraciiformes: Alcedinidae), from Manitoba, Canada were examined for ectoparasites in 1995–2020. One species of chewing louse, Alcedoffula alcyonae Carriker (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae), infested 48.8% of hosts. The mean intensity of infestation was 17.1, and mean abundance was 8.5 lice per bird. Distribution of infestation

The Douglas-fir beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) antiaggregation pheromone, 3-methylcyclohex-2-en-1-one (MCH), has been used since 2000 to protect high-value trees and stands throughout western North America. Operational treatments involve placing individual releasers on a 12 m × 12 m grid throughout the area to be protected. In this study, six widely spaced trap

The first western Canadian records of the European carabid, Nebria brevicollis (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Carabidae), are reported from Vancouver, Coquitlam, and Delta, British Columbia, Canada. A species description is provided to facilitate identification of this new invasive species. In addition, pitfall trap data are presented that demonstrate establishment of populations at four locations in Coquitlam

Insects are usually considered to be excluded from the marine environment. A small number of species, however, are considered to be marine, due to spending some portion of their life cycle in salt water. We use natural history collection specimens, in-field observations, and molecular analysis to generate new locale records and natural history data for seven insect species. All seven species are associated

Syrphids (Diptera: Syrphidae) are a diverse and widespread family of pollinating flies. Their diverse life history traits not only allow them to thrive in a wide range of habitats but also make them potential bioindicators of environmental change. Here, we report on their distributions from a previously understudied and undeveloped part of northern Ontario that is a large part of the third-largest

Essential oils produced by plants are a rich source of metabolites that can have toxic or behaviour-modifying effects on arthropods. Some essential oils have shown promise in management of the mite Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman (Mesostigmata: Varroidae), a parasite of western honey bees, Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Essential oil and its components from common yarrow, Achillea

The nymphs I, II, III, and adult male and adult female stages of Mulcticola macrocephalus (Kellogg) (Phthiraptera, Ischnocera: Philopteridae), a monoxenous species of chewing louse infesting common nighthawk, Chordeiles minor (Forster) (Caprimulgiformes: Caprimulgidae), in North America, are described. Line drawings of whole nymphs and adults are presented, as are details of anterior dorsal head plates

Most studies about the European earwig Forficula auricularia L. (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) assume that four larval moults occur from hatching to adult. In this note, we use observational and quantitative approaches to reveal the presence of an additional intermediate moult occurring immediately after egg hatching. We then briefly discuss how this finding may open up new possibilities for follow-up

A comprehensive biovigilance programme was undertaken in 2018 to monitor potential insect vectors of viruses of grapevines (Vitis vinifera; Vitaceae) in two vineyards in Québec. Two hundred seventy-four insects were collected using yellow sticky traps and sweeping nets. Collected specimens were first classified into orders, with special attention given to the Hemiptera order, which is the main group

Outside of pest control reports, little attention has been paid to interior ecosystems in high-latitude regions. Opportunistic sampling of live arthropods captured inside the University of Alaska Museum Fairbanks, Alaska, United States of America allowed us to describe and analyse one such interior ecosystem. We document a minimum of 77 arthropod species over 18 years. Beetles, spiders, and booklice

Gall wasps in the cynipid genus Diplolepis Geoffroy (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) attack various species of native and introduced roses in Canada. Although gall forms are diverse, gall wasps are parasitised by highly concordant complexes of parasitoids and inquilines. Many species of gall wasps attack the same host plants and develop over the same periods in the season, suggesting that opportunistic parasitoids

The nymphs I, II, III, and adult male and adult female stages of Mulcticola macrocephalus (Kellogg) (Phthiraptera, Ischnocera: Philopteridae), a monoxenous species of chewing louse infesting common nighthawk, Chordeiles minor (Forster) (Caprimulgiformes: Caprimulgidae), in North America, are described. Line drawings of whole nymphs and adults are presented, as are details of anterior dorsal head plates

Molecular analyses of DNA samples necessitate careful attention to experimental protocols to prevent contamination of samples during the specimen collection and DNA extraction, amplification, and visualisation stages. When these studies involve insects that are collected in the field, standard procedures require samples to be individually sorted and stored in single tubes to prevent cross-contamination

We evaluated the host suitability and related traits of Trichoplusia ni Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Chrysodeixis chalcites Esper (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), which is nonnative in North America, for the native parasitoids Campoletis sonorensis Cameron (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and Copidosoma floridanum Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), and the nonnative parasitoid Cotesia vanessae Reinhard

Engelmann spruce, Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm. (Pinaceae), in the southern Rocky Mountains is composed of two distinct phloem monoterpene chemotypes that differ in relative abundances of multiple monoterpenes, particularly α-pinene and Δ3-carene (hereafter, the “α-pinene chemotype” and the “Δ3-carene chemotype”). Here, relative toxicity of these chemotypes is tested on spruce beetle (Dendroctonus

Specimens of the New World genus Leschenaultia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Tachinidae) parasitise a wide range of lepidopteran hosts, including economically important pests. The female flies are attracted to volatile compounds released by host plants in response to the herbivory of caterpillars. They deposit microtype eggs on the leaves, which are then ingested by the hosts. We record a new host for

Crop damage caused by fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugipera J.E. Smith (1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), has generated concern among agriculturists globally. In 2019, FAW was first reported in Sri Lanka, where it caused significant losses to corn crops. However, given that the two FAW biotypes – “rice strain” (R-FAW) and “corn strain” (C-FAW) – are morphologically identical, the biotype(s) present

Small carpenter bees (Ceratina calcarata Robertson) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) build their nests in both sunny and shady sites, so maternal decisions about nest sites influence the thermal environment experienced by juveniles throughout development. A previous study demonstrated that when larvae and pupae were raised in the laboratory at room temperature, those from sunny nests developed more slowly than

Exotic ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in the tribe Xyleborini include destructive pests of trees growing in horticultural cropping systems. Three species are especially problematic: Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff), Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky), and Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford). Due to similarities in their host tree interactions, this mini-review focuses on these three

Three species of ambrosia beetles (Trypodendron lineatum (Olivier), Gnathotrichus sulcatus (LeConte), and G. retusus (LeConte) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)) have been estimated to cause annual losses of $95–$189 million in degrade of logs and lumber on the British Columbia coast, in Canada. A consultant-run semiochemical-based integrated pest management programme was implemented in 1982

Understanding what drives insect movement is crucial to understanding how they might be affected by environmental or human disturbances. Methods that measure movement can be expensive, and few are available that do not rely on some sort of video footage. We developed a relatively inexpensive method that allows the user to see the full path of the individual insects within an arena after a certain amount

Spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), has become a serious pest of soft fruit in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada since its detection in 2009. The study was conducted to determine the distribution of D. suzukii and damage levels in grapes. Apple cider vinegar-baited traps placed in table and wine grape (Vitis vinifera Linnaeus; Vitaceae) vineyards

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), the spotted-wing drosophila, is an invasive pest of fruit crops, which appeared in eastern Canada in 2010. It represents a major threat to lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton; Ericaceae) in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, Québec, Canada, at the northern limits of its distribution. The dynamics, overwintering capacity, population

Spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), is an invasive pest of many small and soft fruits. We present the first results concerning its oviposition in the canopy of a sweet cherry (Prunus avium Linnaeus; Rosaceae) orchard. We examined the distribution of arthropods emerging from fruits of five cultivars ripening successively over seven weeks, in interior and

The characteristics of the juvenile developmental environment of an individual can have many important consequences for their adult reproductive success as it may shape the development and expression of phenotypes that are relevant to the later operation of sexual selection. Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is an economically important invasive pest species that lays its eggs

The insect commensal microbiota consists of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. We explored the effect of diet and the persistence of the gut microbiota across generations in Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae). We transferred subsets of a single population of D. suzukii to different fruit-based diets (blueberry (Vaccinium Linnaeus; Ericaceae), raspberry (Rubus Linnaeus; Rosaceae), and

Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is a cosmopolitan polyphagous pest on unripe soft-skinned fruits. We sought to determine (1) temperature treatments that could be used to kill immature D. suzukii in fruit or packaging and (2) whether development on different fruits led to differences in cold tolerance of immature D. suzukii. We reared animals from egg on a banana-based laboratory

The sterile insect technique is a new approach for the integrated management of Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), an invasive pest in North America. We evaluated, under laboratory conditions, the mating capacities and success of male D. suzukii, irradiated at a dose of 120 Gy, with and without competition. We also explored the tendency of females to remate depending if their first