Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia

Venables, E. P.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (19n), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 19 
none of these proved effective, one 
had to concentrate on cultural opera-
tions, a procedure too often neglected 
these days. With the evolution of 
spraying and dusting machinery, and 
the introduction of dozens of new 
organic and other chemicals, each 
more devastating than the last , and 
w ith names even more fearful, the 
humble practitioner finds that he is 
required to be an engineer and a chem-
ist as well as a n entomologist; and in 
the past few years with the increase 
in personnel he has t o be an account-
ant, mathematician and administrator 
in addition. It is all so new and un-
tried with so many different angles 
to watch. 
I have mentioned many workers who 
have gone t o the happy collecting 
g rounds, and should menti on one or 
two of the acquisitions that entomo-
logy has made during this period. In 
1924 a whirlwind appeared in the 
province in the person of our presi-
dent, G. L. Spencer. 
His energy and enthusiasm have 
done much to advance our Society and 
entomology in general here. From 
vanous sources and by devious means 
he has amassed a vast collection of 
inse cts of the province a t the Uni-
versity of British Columbia, and his 
effective tutelage has provided field-
men with well trained assistants, 
where before there were none. Final-
ly, mention must be made of th e in-
vasion of prairie and easte rn entomo-
logists which occurred a few years 
ago. The outbreak caused no _ little 
concern at the time as no control was 
known, but I am g lad to say none 
has been found necessary. They all 
turned out t o be, not commensals or 
inquilines, but excellent examples of 
mutualism, and a perfect symbiosis 
with the older workers has developed 
that I am sure will be of benefit to 
entomology in the province in the 
coming fifty years. 
FIFTY YEARS OF ENTOMOLOGY IN THE INTERIOR 
OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 
E. P. VENABLES 
Vernon, B.C. 
When I was selected to present a 
paper dealing with the above subject 
I felt somewhat at a loss; but, when 
told that I should be working with 
Mr. E. R. Buckell, the problem was 
simplified to a great extent be,:ause 
I3 uckell and I had already worked 
together on many occasions. One 
might approach this subject from vari-
our angles, but as I was told that dry 
statistics we re not required I have 
done my bes t to avoid them, and to 
o-ive what m ay be a somewhat person-
~I narrative dea ling with ce rtain 
characters wlum I me t and who we re, 
at that time, the s·::lle representatives 
of our science in the Okanagan Valley. 
I might deal w ith my own early strug-
g les in the field of entomology and 
recount the difficulties whicil I had to 
ove rcome in order t o gain a foothold 
on the ladder, which eventually landed 
me among the "elite" or, so I should 
have thought, in 1897. 
It was my good fortune to med 
the late Dr. James Fletcher quite 
ea rly in my entomological career, and 
it w as due to his personal interest 
that I was able to have my material 
named. Dr Fletcher was an in spiring 
personality, a naturalis t of the old 
school, who when addressing the pub-
lic, a lways st re ssed the interesting 
points of insec t behaviour, rather than 
their control, fo r , as he sa id, "if one 
is interested in the subject the a rt i-
ficial control ~easures are much more 
easily understood." Fletcher fill ed th e 
d ual roll of Dominion E ntomologist 
and Bo tanist . I wonder how one of 
us would feel if landed in that posi-
tion today. He had one assistant, 
Mr. Arthur Gibson, who later became 
Dominion Entomologist and had much 
20 ENTOMOLOGICAL SoCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, FROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 
to do with the organization of the 
Division of Entomology as it exists 
today. 
I remember so well that after send-
ing a number of beetles to Dr. Fletcher 
for naming, I got a long letter in 
which he stated that several of the 
species were of particular interest, and 
that he would be glad if I could secure 
more of them because he wished to 
send them to Professor \Vickham in 
the United States. The receipt of 
this letter filled me with new en-
thusiasm and I could understand 
Darwin's feelings when he got a let-
ter from Lyall, the geologist, dealing 
with some material Darwin had sent 
from the Galapagos Islands. Lyall 
told him that not unly were his speci-
mens of great interest, but that his 
notes were of particular value to 
science. Darwin, in his reminiscences, 
says that, on receipt of this letter he 
sprang over the rocks and made them 
ring again with the blows of his geo-
logical hammer. I wonder if any of 
the professional workers here today, 
have, on the receipt of a letter from 
Ottawa, been inspired to leap on the 
spray tank and brandish the spray 
gun with renewed vigour? 
It was about 1900 that I was asked 
'by Fletcher to inspect several hundred 
peach seedlings which had been sent 
from Ontario to a nurseryman in 
Vernon. These were suspected of 
harbouring San Jose scale and I was 
directed to spray the whole block 
with kerosene emulsion in case the 
trees were infested. r believe tllat 
this may have been the first time an 
oil spray had been used commercially 
in the Okanagan Valley. Of course, 
in those days, fruit growing was in its 
infancy and people were very inter-
ested in the subject of pests and were 
rather pleased if they could find some-
thing new. They would proudly take 
their friends to view the work of, per-
haps, the red humped caterpillar, or 
bud worm on their young trees. This 
would usually be on Sunday after-
noon. 
The Farmers' Institutes were organ-
ized, I think, about 1900 and it was 
at one of the meetings that I met Dr. 
Fletcher. The subjects dealt with on 
some of the programmes were very 
general, such as, The Bacon Hog, The 
Dairy Cow or The Blue Jay. Some of 
the speakers, however, were never 
at a loss, and would deal with almost 
any agricultural subject which the 
meeting might decide upon on the 
spur of the moment. For instance, 
on one occasion a gentleman was on 
the programme to talk on The Blue lay, 
but when called upon for his address 
he said "There are no blue jays in the 
Vernon district, so I will talk to you on 
Cheese Factories, which he proceeded 
to do at some length. In another case, 
the subject was, Birds in Relation to 
Agriculture. 'Nhen he rose to his 
feet, the speaker, however, changed 
this to The Construction of Silos. 
With regard to the respect due to 
those who deal with agricultural sub-
jects at farmers' meetings, it may 
teach some of us proper humility to 
hear the remarks of a Vernon farmer, 
who, when my father, who was Insti-
tute secretary, asked him to come to 
one of the meetings, delivered himself 
as follows: "No, sir. I ain't no use 
for them lads what talks all night and 
sleeps all day. Clever know-nothins, 
what don't know beans when the bag 
is opened." 
One might continue at some length 
with reminiscences of the very early 
days, but I must refrain, and deal with 
the early development of economic 
entomology. With the arrival of Mr. 
R. C. Treherne our science took on a 
more serious, but perhaps, less human 
tone. Spraying was becoming a some-
what general practice although, even 
in 1919 and for several years follow-
ing, hand pumps were the order ,)£ 
the day. :Wany of us made our own 
lime-sulphur sprays and this materi-
al was applied assiduously in the 
dormant period, usually before the 
snow had left the ground, and there 
was satisfacti011 in the brilliant yellow 
colouring of the snow coupled with 
the penetrating and healthful odour 
which, one felt, must be toxic to all 
pests. Of course, around 1900, there 
were no professional workers, so that 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (19~1), VOL. 48, AUG. 1~, 19~2 21 
our Society's efforts were quite un-
aided from that quarter. We circulat-
ed manuscript notes with lists of 
captures and remarks on the season, 
with occasional mention of injurious 
insects. 
The late Mr. R. V. Harvey was the 
first secretary of the Entomological 
Society of British Columbia, a man of 
tremendous zeal and enthusiasm; he 
made the trip from Vancouver to 
Vernon via the H ope-Princeton trail 
on foot and camped on Long Lake for 
a fortnight. 
Another member, Mr. W. Bush, was 
an ardent lepidopterist who usually 
carried a net with a handle about ten 
feet long with which he would sweep 
th e shade trees in the city park. This, 
and the white suit which he used to 
wear, topped off by a large straw hat, 
a ttracted much attention, and served 
to advertise the science of entomology. 
Then there was the Rev. G. \V. 
T aylor who specialized in the Geom e-
tridae, of which group he had built 
up a large collection He was in 
charge of th e Anglican Church in 
Nanaimo, and it was in that church 
tha t I witnessed to what heights an 
entomologist might rise, or perhaps 
descend. During his sermon a desir-
able specimen was hovering round the 
pulpit light, and T aylor, with a few 
deft passes of a cyanide bottle cap-
tured the insect with no interruption 
of his discourse. 
After Treherne's a rrival a new era 
commenced. "Tre" as he was always 
called, was a splendid man, full of 
new ideas, and it was not long befon: 
he became secretary of our Society. 
He add ed a considerable number of 
members by insisting that anyone 
he met who was connected with fruit 
growing, should join the society "for 
the good of the industry." Mr. Buckell 
w as already engaged in entomological 
work when I was taken on in 1919. 
I remember that Tre and I were ill 
Keremeos, and hearing tha t Buckell 
w as camped up the river, went to look 
him up only to find that he was away 
up in the Lillooet country, I belieye. 
His tent was pitched close t(l the 
river and a note attached to the flap 
warned visitors to "look out for the 
rattlesnake." Buckell's work, dealing 
as it did with locusts, neces:;itated 
quite long trips, which he made on 
horseback, and in this way covered 
an area from the Okanagan up into 
the Cariboo. Later he was provided 
with a Model T Ford complete with 
Ruxstel axle, but it would take a 
volume to recount his adventures with 
this contraption. 
I think tha t the control of injurious 
insects has, today, lost the human in-
terest which it had in the early days. 
Remedies were far more heroic in 
those days, and could be applied, in 
most cases, without referring t o the 
chemist, who, today hovers in the fore·· 
ground and almost excludes the en· 
tomologist. Take for instance the 
recommendations for tarnished plant 
bug. "Shake them from the trees 
before sunrise, and destroy them." In 
the case of the N ew York weevil 
remedy - "There seems to be none 
other than t o catch and kill this mis-
chief maker." The red-humped apple 
caterpillar "should be shaken from 
the tree and trampled under-foot." 
The apple-leaf sewer-"The most ob-
vious remedy is, to carefully gather 
all the fallen leaves with the enclosed 
larvae and burn them." What has 
become of those hosts of injurious 
forms which were present in the late 
'eighties? Who among us would 
recognize the silky pyrophila, the Ameri-
can procris, the light-loving anomala, or the 
currant al1geroa, to mention a few. Are 
they all extinct? \Ve don't see them 
mentioned on the spray calendar. 
The period between 1900 and 1925 
was an era in which m echanical bar-
riers and traps were much to the fOle. 
It was not uncommon to see lines of 
Chinamen, each with a blanket, chas-
ing off swarms of grasshoppers . The 
strawberrv weevil was turned as ide 
with barr;ers. Crickets were pr ~vent­
ed from entering the fields by the 
erection of wood, tin, or, in some 
cases, glass fences. 
The control of insects now ~ ;eems 
to be in the hands of the chemical 
engineer, and universal destruction 
is the order of the day. What the 
22 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 
upshot will be remains to be seen and 
it might he of interest to maintam 
blocks of orchard trees under the 
spray programme used in, we will say, 
1940 or thereabouts. Some valuable 
information might be forthcoming af-
fording as it would, a direct compari-
son on insect populations. 
A remark made by the president of 
the British Horticultural Socie ·~ y a 
few months ago gives one food for 
thought. He drew attention to the 
fact that, most of our leading types 
of livestock, cattle, horses, sheep, 
poultry, etc., were produced by the 
efforts of ordinary farmers, with little, 
or no assistance from Science as we 
know it today. He also put forward 
the idea that Science may, at times, 
actua lly delay discoveries by spliHing 
too many hairs. 
There is a good deal of truth in 
these statements, but it will be for the 
younger men to ponder them. 
THE HISTORY OF THE STUDY OF EXTERNAL ARTHROPODS 
AFFECTING ANIMALS AND MAN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 
]. D. GREGSON 
Livestock Insec t Laboratory, Kamloops, B.C. 
The earliest observations of insects 
'lffecting man and animals date back 
to records made by early explorers on 
the voracity of some of these pests. 
In Dr. Cheadle's diary of his trip 
across British Columbia in 1863 are 
such comments as "Fearful amount 
of gadflies. Horses half mad . . . 
tormented to death by flies. Sandflies 
and musquitos terribly annoying ... 
musquitoes murderous." Remarking 
on the terrible "musquitoes" at the 
plains o f Sumas, he states that "In-
deed men from all countries agree 
that the musquitoes of B.c. are un-
matched for numbers and ferocity." 
Tn the early nineties the mosquito 
still occurred in millions in the Fraser 
Valley, rendering work a "purgatory" 
from early July until September. Re-
lief was obtained when the area was 
dvked. The first economic studies of 
a~imal insect pests were undertaken 
by Dr. Seymour Hadwen, Animal 
Pathologist at Agassiz in 1912. From 
his pen arose publications covering 
ticks, warble flies and other livestock 
pests, and under joint authorship with 
Dr. E. A. Bruce, he published his ob -
servations of the migration of warble 
lavae through the tissues of cattle. 
In a la ter bulletin he treated compre-
hensively the control of insects affect-
ing livestock. In 1919, under the di-
rection of the Dominion Entomologist, 
Dr. Hewitt, Mr. Eric Hearle com-
menced his studies of mosquitoes in 
the Fraser Valley. This was follow-
ed by his 1927 publication of the 
"Mosquitoes of British Columbia." 
The study of insect and ticks affect-
ing animals and man was placed on 
a firm footing with the official estab-
lishment of a Dominion Insect Unit 
at Kamloops in 1928. Eric Hearle was 
transferred from Indian Head, Sas-
katchewan, to act as Officer in Charge 
-and staff. His wire to the Domin-
ion Entomologist, Mr. Arthur Gibson, 
that he had "located a place that is 
admirably suited to our needs" referred 
to an old shack that was located in the 
centre of town and which had served 
in its time various purposes from a 
funeral parlour to a bootlegging joint. 
Once established, he set himself, 
singlehandedly, to the terrific task 
which lay before him. Not only was 
he treading on virgin territory as far 
as his work was concerned, but he 
was working in a province that con-
tains a richer supply of biological ma-
terial than all the rest of Canada. This 
is readily evidenced in later taxonom-
ic studies of various insects. 
During the first summer he studied 
and collected all data and specimens 
he could lay his hands on. This in-
cluded mosquitoes, blackflies, sandflies, 
horseflies, ticks, mites and lice. His 


English

Fifty years of entomology in the Interior of British Columbia

Gregson, J. D.

22 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 
upshot will be remains to be seen and 
it might he of interest to maintam 
blocks of orchard trees under the 
spray programme used in, we will say, 
1940 or thereabouts. Some valuable 
information might be forthcoming af-
fording as it would, a direct compari-
son on insect populations. 
A remark made by the president of 
the British Horticultural Socie ·~ y a 
few months ago gives one food for 
thought. He drew attention to the 
fact that, most of our leading types 
of livestock, cattle, horses, sheep, 
poultry, etc., were produced by the 
efforts of ordinary farmers, with little, 
or no assistance from Science as we 
know it today. He also put forward 
the idea that Science may, at times, 
actua lly delay discoveries by spliHing 
too many hairs. 
There is a good deal of truth in 
these statements, but it will be for the 
younger men to ponder them. 
THE HISTORY OF THE STUDY OF EXTERNAL ARTHROPODS 
AFFECTING ANIMALS AND MAN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 
]. D. GREGSON 
Livestock Insec t Laboratory, Kamloops, B.C. 
The earliest observations of insects 
'lffecting man and animals date back 
to records made by early explorers on 
the voracity of some of these pests. 
In Dr. Cheadle's diary of his trip 
across British Columbia in 1863 are 
such comments as "Fearful amount 
of gadflies. Horses half mad . . . 
tormented to death by flies. Sandflies 
and musquitos terribly annoying ... 
musquitoes murderous." Remarking 
on the terrible "musquitoes" at the 
plains o f Sumas, he states that "In-
deed men from all countries agree 
that the musquitoes of B.c. are un-
matched for numbers and ferocity." 
Tn the early nineties the mosquito 
still occurred in millions in the Fraser 
Valley, rendering work a "purgatory" 
from early July until September. Re-
lief was obtained when the area was 
dvked. The first economic studies of 
a~imal insect pests were undertaken 
by Dr. Seymour Hadwen, Animal 
Pathologist at Agassiz in 1912. From 
his pen arose publications covering 
ticks, warble flies and other livestock 
pests, and under joint authorship with 
Dr. E. A. Bruce, he published his ob -
servations of the migration of warble 
lavae through the tissues of cattle. 
In a la ter bulletin he treated compre-
hensively the control of insects affect-
ing livestock. In 1919, under the di-
rection of the Dominion Entomologist, 
Dr. Hewitt, Mr. Eric Hearle com-
menced his studies of mosquitoes in 
the Fraser Valley. This was follow-
ed by his 1927 publication of the 
"Mosquitoes of British Columbia." 
The study of insect and ticks affect-
ing animals and man was placed on 
a firm footing with the official estab-
lishment of a Dominion Insect Unit 
at Kamloops in 1928. Eric Hearle was 
transferred from Indian Head, Sas-
katchewan, to act as Officer in Charge 
-and staff. His wire to the Domin-
ion Entomologist, Mr. Arthur Gibson, 
that he had "located a place that is 
admirably suited to our needs" referred 
to an old shack that was located in the 
centre of town and which had served 
in its time various purposes from a 
funeral parlour to a bootlegging joint. 
Once established, he set himself, 
singlehandedly, to the terrific task 
which lay before him. Not only was 
he treading on virgin territory as far 
as his work was concerned, but he 
was working in a province that con-
tains a richer supply of biological ma-
terial than all the rest of Canada. This 
is readily evidenced in later taxonom-
ic studies of various insects. 
During the first summer he studied 
and collected all data and specimens 
he could lay his hands on. This in-
cluded mosquitoes, blackflies, sandflies, 
horseflies, ticks, mites and lice. His 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 23 
surveys covered the whole o f lower 
British Columbia. Thirteen districts 
were examined for warbles, which 
were causing 75 per cent. warble dam-
age in hides. Half a dozen addresses 
were given during the first month 
alone. Questionnaires on tick paralysis 
were sent to all doctors in the Interior 
and a display was set up at the Van-
couver Exhibition. During most of 
this period he lacked a stenographer. 
Within the next two years, mos-
quito controls had been inaugurated 
at Kamloops and Kelowna. Tick 
studies had advanced to include life-
history studies of th~ more important 
species , including observations of their 
effect on both domestic and game 
animals. This brought to light many 
tick paralysis cases, including an out-
break at Douglas Lake involving 100 
head o f cattle, out o f which 30 were 
lost. Tularaemia was first recorded 
for British Columbia in rabbits at 
Vavenby. 
In 1931, the fi rst of a series of large-
scale warble control measures were 
undertaken at Tranquille. From this 
work it was demonstrated that the 
grub incidence in cattle could be 
brought successively from 19 per cent. 
tn 0 . .1 per cent. within four years. 
During 1932 and 1933 Hearle spent 
several months in the vicinity of 
Jasper Park Lodge making a detailed 
survey of biting fly conditions. Over 
1400 blackllics alone were pinned and 
determined. Following this work, at 
the age of 41, his health broke and 
he was confined to bed. There he 
continued with the classification of 
ticks, mosquitoes, blackflies and horse-
flies, practically completing manu-
scripts on the ticks and blackflies of 
British Columbia, before his untimely 
dea th in the spring of 1934. His 
paper "The Ticks of Western Canada" 
and his bulletin "Insects and Allied 
Parasites Injurious to Livestock and 
Puultry in Canada" were published 
posthumously. 
Immediately following He a r Ie's 
dea th, Professor G. J. Spencer took 
charge of the laboratory during the 
summer months. On the staff a t that 
time were two assistants, T. K. Moil-
liet and the writer, and a stenog-
rapher. It was during the same year 
that the original working quarters 
burned down. While much of the 
laboratory equipment had been trans-
ferred to the Post Office Building, 
this fire resulted in a loss of field 
facilities. Steps were taken to se-
cure 32 acres of land three miles west 
of Kamloops, and a plea issued for 
the construction on it of rt laboratorv, 
wherein the expanding problems ;)f 
ticks and their diseases could he 
undertaken with greater safety to 
the public. It was shortly after 1'.1r. 
Allen Mail's arrival, in 1937, from 
Montana, to take over his duties as 
Officer-in-Charge, that these plans 
went into effect, and a $21,000 two-
storey building was erected . The 
occupation of the building was fol-
lowed by the co-operative inclusion 
of members of the Dominion Range-
land Department and of the Depart-
ment of Pensions and National Health. 
The presence of the latter marked the 
commencement of Western Canadian 
studies of plague and spotted fever, 
and surveys of ticks and fleas for their 
testing were first made by members 
of the entomological staff. Quaran-
tine quarters and animal housing were 
added for this disease work, which is 
still in progress under the supervision 
of Dr. Humphreys, in what is now the 
Department of National Health and 
Welfare. 
The next phase o f study in livestock 
insect control appeared with the ad-
vent o f power spraying, and extensive 
tests were made to determine the 
optimum pressures and derris mix-
tures for warble control under Brit-
ish Columbia conditions. The pres-
ence of wartime shortages in additioll 
necessitated comparisons being made 
with derris and pyrethrum suhsti-
tutes. Along with these studies came 
those pertaining to the protectio n of 
armed fo rces from the attacks of bit-
ing flies, and in this connection, many 
tests were made to determine the 
effectiveness and practical value of 
mosquito repellents. 
In 1943, Mr. Mail resigned his post 
at this laboratory to accept work in 
24 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 
the United States, leaving as his suc-
cessor, J. D. Gregson. At this time 
chemical advances in the production 
of synthetic insecticides were creat-
ing a new aspect in insect control. 
Before long DDT and thiocyanates re -
placed pyrethrum fly sprays; citron-
ella and other aromatic oils were cast 
aside for such superior compounds as 
612, dimethyl phthalate and indalone. 
Gammexane was discovered to be a 
long-awaited acaricide and mosquito 
and blackfly oil larvicides were dis-
carded fo r those embodying DDT. 
These and other discoveries shed a 
new light on insect control and, of 
course, provided much room. for new 
research to meet our conditIOns. In 
tick control it has been necessary to 
discover dosages of BHC that will 
give maximum protection to cattle 
and sheep from ticks and keds, yet 
not prove injurious or objec!ionable 
in any way to the host or to Its con-
sumer. This has involved numerous 
field tests each year using arti~cially 
infested animals. These expenments 
have progressed from the deliberate 
application of over?oses on labora -
t ory animals to cau~IOus recommenda-
tion and finally Widely accepted use 
on ;ange stock. During recent ye~rs 
attention has been devoted to the 10-
triguing study of systemic insecti-
cides where it has been found pos-
sible'to rid an a nimal of its external 
parasites by a single oral dose of ma-
terial. 
Mosquito control, the administra-
tion of which has long passed to. ~he 
hands of some two dozen commumtles 
in British Columbia, has likewise 
undergone a great transformation, and 
since the establishment in 1949 at 
Kamloops of a Household and Medical 
Unit laboratory, its Officer-in-Charge, 
Mr. L. C. Curtis, has been engaged 
in perfecting modern control methods. 
These include air-spraying and fog-
ging. The latter method i~ .coming 
into popular use as an adult1C1de and 
can be generated by means of a gas 
engine exhaust adaptation. Since 
DDT is an effective biting-fly larvicide 
in such small amounts (one part in 20 
million for blackflies), appropriate 
methods for its release in water are 
also being studied. 
Linked with the economic progress 
of livestock insect control has been 
the advance of academic knowledge. 
Here may be included taxonomic 
studies, such as have stepped up the 
known number of British Columbia 
ticks from 12 to 20 within the past 
20 years. The number of flea species 
known to exist in the province in 
1907 was six. During the next 30 
years Jordan and Rothchild of the 
Zoological Museum, Tring, England, 
described many additional species and 
by 1936, G. ]. Spencer of the Universi-
ty of British Columbia had built this 
number up to 61. G. P. Holland, now 
Chief of the Systematic Unit, Ottawa, 
in his monograph of the fleas of 
Canada, lists over 90 as now occurring 
in British Columbia. Spencer's check 
lists in our proceedings have similarly 
demonstrated our increased knowl-
edge of pediculous and dipterous para-
sites. 
Ecological observations made at 
Kamloops have shed much light on 
tick behaviour, have shown tick life-
cycles as long as 21 years, and indi-
cated the gradual increase and de-
crease of such economic tick species 
as Dermacentor andersoni and Ixodes 
pacificus as apparently a~ected .by 
civilization. Such outstandlOg speCies 
as the southern spinose ear tick 
Otobius megnini and the relapsing fever 
carrier, Ornithodoros hermsi, have in 
recent years been taken a number of 
times during field collections. Par-
ticular attention has been paid to the 
life-history of the warble fly, and by 
the use of specially constructed 
girdles on infested cattle, some 400 
grubs have been ' collected for fly 
studies each spring. 
In retrospect, the study of insects 
an.d allied pa rasites affecting man and 
animals in British Columbia has ad-
vanced rapidly and fully. With a staff 
of twelve now at the Ka mloops la-
boratory, and with the increasing co-
operation of Provincial, Dominion and 
University departments, the future 
should hold even greater progress. 


The history and study of external arthropods affecting animals and man in British Columbia

Spencer, G. J.

The 1951 status of our knowledge of the insects of British Columbia

Weintraub, J.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 51 
L. hoodi Ross. June 10; Nanaimo (Departure 
Bay). Known from B.C and Ore. 
L. jewetti Ross. Sept. 25; Wellington . 
Known from B.C, Ore. and Calif. 
L. pluvial,s (Milne) . June 28 ; 100 Mile 
House. Widespread through eastern 
ranges of the western montane region. 
L. rayneri Ross. July 16-18; Cultus L., Lil-
looet, Rosedale (Fraser R.), N. Vancouver. 
Apparently restricted to the Sierra N e-
------
8 
, 
vada and Cascade range from Calif. to 
B.C 
L. roafi (Milne). Vancouver, Vernon, Trans-
continental, northern . 
L. atrophia Ross. June 5 to Oct. 16; Cultus 
Lake, N. of Ft. St. James (Middle R. at 
Takla L.), Vernon. Transcontinental, 
northern. 
L. unicolor (Banks). July 15 to Sept. 13; 
Duncan, Vancouver (along Stream I). 
Transcontin ental, north ern. 
oed 
Figs. 5-6. Genitalia of caddisflies. 5, Oxyethira sodalis: genital capsule, lateral aspect. 
6, Limnephilus cerus: A, lateral aspect of capsule; E, lateral arm of aedeagus, lateral 
aspect. 
A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON ACARICIDES TESTED FOR 
PROTECTION AGAINST THE TICK DERMACENTOR ANDERSON I 
STILES ON CA TTLEI 
J. WEINTRAUB2 
Livestock Insect L aboratory, Kamloops, B.C 
Economic considerations, w h i c h 
necessarily play an important role in 
the acceptance and use of any recom-
mended insecticide, are particularly 
critical factors in the schedule of 
ranchers, whose products do not give 
them as high a return on their invest-
ments of property, care, and, notably, 
1 Contribution No. 2921, Division of Entomology, 
Science Service, Department o[ Agriculture, Ottawa, 
Canada; presented at the 50th Anniversary MeetinlJs 
o[ the Entomological Society of British Columbia In 
Vancouver, June 13-18, 1951. 
2 Agricultural Research Officer. 
labour as do those of other agricultur-
ists. In view of the nature of range 
practices in the British Columbia in-
terior, a spray, if it is to be accepted 
by the ranchers, should be such that 
it might be applied only once: when 
the cattle are concentrated near spray 
chutes before being dispersed over the 
spring and summer grazing grounds. 
To advocate a compound of low resi-
dual properties for use against ticks 
will necessitate the rounding up of 
52 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, ·PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 
scattered cattle for a second treat-
ment and result in the ultimate break-
down of the control program. 
The dangerous portion of the tick 
season generally lasts but two or 
three weeks. However, two factors 
contribute to the need for a chemical 
that can remain toxic for longer 
periods: 
(a) in an occasional year, such as 
the 1951 season, the dan'gerous period 
extends to four or five weeks; 
(b) for the convenience of the 
rancher, the acaricide should be com-
patible for mixing with warble spray, 
which is usually applied two or more 
weeks prior to the tick season. 
Benzene hexachloride was investi-
g'ated by Gregson (1946) and found 
very effective for the purpose, but the 
multiplicity of new synthetic insecti-
cides that have appeared on the 
market in recent years required that 
a measure be taken of their effective-
ness in controlling Dermacentor andersoni 
Stiles. This report deals with investi-
gations preliminary to thorough future 
comparison of the compounds. 
Materials and Procedures 
The following materials were used: 
Wettable powders: C-854 (p-chlor-
ophenyl p-chlorobenzenesulphonate), 
N eat ran (bis (p-chlorophenoxy) me-
thane), chlordane, and gamma isomer 
of BHC. 
Emulsions: aldrin, dieldrin, chlor-
dane, and gamma isomer of BHC. The 
emulsifier employed in the formula-
tions was Atlox 1045. 
A concentration of 0.5 per cent . of 
active ingredient was chosen primarily 
on the basis that it was well within 
the effective limits for control of the 
tick by BHC (Gregson, 1946). This 
chemical, therefore, was used as a 
basis of comparison for the others 
before devoting time for a more com-
plete exam ina tion of their properties. 
The number of cattle which could 
be maintained on the laboratory prem-
ises was limited; hence one litre of a 
formulation was applied to the head, 
neck, and shoulders of each of four 
yearling steers and four heifers. One 
other steer was untreated and served 
as a control. 
Ticks were collected at approximate-
ly weekly intervals and placed on the 
hosts' backs. The attached ticks were 
counted and removed at the end of 
each feeding period, before a new 
batch was placed on each animal. 
Occasional checks showed that the 
feeding ticks were not completing 
their development and leaving the host 
before they could be counted. 
The mortality recorded in Table I 
was based only on female ticks, since 
the male tended to wander and drop 
from the host. 
Results and Discussion 
Three classes of ticks were noted, 
on the basis of their response to the 
effects of the acaricides: 
The ticks unaffected by acaricidal 
contact, and those placed on the con-
trol, attached and proceeded to feed 
until repletion. 
Most of the ticks affected by the 
acaricides died before they could be-
wme attached. This observation was 
substantiated by recovery of dead, flat 
ticks tangled in the hairs of treated 
hosts. 
The third class consisted of ticks 
which attached on treated cattle but 
which died before becoming replete. 
Their bodies were collected, still at-
tached by their mouth parts, where 
they had been feeding. 
The variable reactions of the ticks 
to acaricides suggested a variable re-
sistance of the individuals to the 
chemicals, even among those ticks 
which succumbed. Unfortunately, at 
the levels of acaricide concentrations 
used, the proportions of ticks of the 
third class were so low that a quanti-
tive comparison of the types was not 
justified. However, in this preliminary 
study the totals of dead ticks were of 
primary concern; consequently, the 
last two classes were added and the 
sum was used to provide the data for 
the mortalities recorded in Table I. 
Table I indicates that Neotran and 
dieldrin can be ruled out for future 
tests. Neotran had been tested on 
D. albipictlts (Pack.) (unpublished data) 
as a . dust at one, three, and five per 
cent. concentrations, and found in-
effective in controlling that species. 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 53 
TABLE I. 
MORTALITIES OF DERMACENTOR ANDERSON! FEMALES EXPOSED TO 
VARIOUS ACARICIDES SPRAYED ON CATTLE 
Numbers of Female Ticks Placed on each Host Animal and Percentage 
Mortalitiest (in parenth eses) after Six to Nine Days 
Chemical 
Number of Days After Treatment 
5 12 21 I 27 I 33 I 41 50 57 
Emulsions 
.- - -.--,.-,- --,., - ,- --~ . ---- --- - -- . .. . _- -- .. _ - - - --.. -
gamma BHC, 0.5% 50 25 (S6) 25 (SO) 25 (S6) 25 (67) 25 (67) o (67) 
ch lordane, O.S%t 50 25(100) 25(100) 25(100) 25(100) o (96) 
aldrin, 0.5% 50 25(100) 25(100) 25 (71) 25 (33) o (70) 
dieldrin, 0.5% 50 25 (0) 25 (0) 0 (0) Discontinued 
- --- .. - -- .. - - _._- - --_. _ -_.- -
Wettable Powders 
_ .. _ .. _--- - - - - --- - - ----- ---- - - - .. _- .----- -
gamma BHC, 0.5% 25 25(100) 25(100) 25(100) 9 (67) 0 (0) 10 (- ) 0 (0) 
chlordane, 0.5% 25 25(100) 25(100) 25(100) 22 (67) o (40) 10 (- ) 0 (0) 
N eotran, 0.5% 25 25 (2) 25 (5) 25 ( -) 16 (3) 0 (0) 10 (- ) 0 (0) 
C-S54, 0.5% 25 25 (S2) 25 (85) 25 (90) 19 (40) o (23) 10 (-) 0 (0) 
- - . . - . _._--'--
t Corrected by Abbot's formula (Shepard, 1946 p. 33) so that the controls show ze ro 
percentage mortality. 
t Chlordane emulsion contained O.S% of ac tive ingredient because of an error in formula -
tion. 
Aldrin and C-854 showed some 
promise. The former compound pro-
duced greater mortalities than the 
comparable strength of BBC for 21 
days, but its effects diminished con-
siderably during the subsequent period. 
C-854 produced consistently lower 
mortalities than the corresponding 
BBC formulation. However, th e mor-
talities of 82, 85, and 90 per cent. 
obtained during the first three weeks 
may be sufficient for practical control 
of infes tations in the field. 
The wettable form of BHC appear-
ed to be more effect ive than the emul-
sion. A similar comparison could not 
be made fo r chlordane because the 
emulsion form contained 0.8 per cent. 
as opposed to 0.5 per cent . of the wet-
table powder. BHC and chlordane 
wettable powders produced identical 
results for three days, after which 
chlordane ~mul sion killed all of the 
ticks for 33 days and 96 per cent. until 
44 days. A performance of this type 
might very well answer the needs of 
ranchers even in the occasional years 
of extraordinarily prolonged - tick 
activity. 
Although there \vere no re co rds of 
toxic effects among the cat t le treated, 
the problem of danger to livestock 
is an apt one and deserves mention. 
At the present time published data 
are not available for effe cts of dermal 
doses of aldrin, dieldrin, Neotran, and 
C-854 when applied to cattle. 
Dushland et al (1948) and Radeleff 
a nd Bushland (1950) have investigated 
chlordane and benzene hexachloride in 
this respect. Bushland and his co-
workers reported that a wettable 
powder a t 0.25 per cent of gamma 
benzene hexachloride caused no injury 
54 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 
when applied once as a drenching 
spray to three cows. However, when 
similarly applied at 0.75 and 1.5 per 
cent. of gamma isomer, benzene hexa-
chloride did affect and kill the cows. 
Two Hereford heifers, thoroughly 
sprayed in eight treatments at four-
day intervals with 1.5 per cent. chlor-
dane emulsion, were not affected. 
In the same paper the authors re-
ported that of ten cattle sprayed with 
a two per cent. suspension of chlor-
dane at two-week intervals, three 
cows died after 10-12 days following 
the fourth spraying. Other cattle 
sprayed similarly with two per cent. 
of benzene hexachloride (12 per cent. 
gamma isomer) showed no apparent 
Injury. 
Radeleff and Bushland (1950) found 
tha t suckling calves were particularly 
susceptible to benzene hexachloride, 
toxaphene, and chlordane at various 
levels from 8.0 per cent. to 0.025 per 
cent. of the toxic ingredients. In this 
experiment the calves were sprayed 
until thoroughly wet. 
The meagre published results of 
work on this phase of the toxicity of 
the newer insecticides emphasizes a 
need for further investigation. To 
aggravate the situation, no standard-
ized method of applying the insecti-
cides has been attempted, for each 
group of workers has a different set 
of problems. For example, in the 
present experiment only one litre of 
insecticide was sprayed on each of 
the cattle, whereas Radeleff and Bush-
land and Bushland et al wet their 
cattle thoroughly. Each group was 
guided by the limits of its purpose in 
performing one experiment. 
References 
Bushland, R. C, R. w. Wells, and R. D. 
Radeleff. 1948. Effect on Livestock of 
sprays and dips containing new chlorinated 
insecticides. J. Econ. Ent. 41: 642-645. 
Gregson J. D. 1946. Benzene hexachloride 
'(,"666") as an acaricide. Canadian Ent. 
78: 201-202. 
Radeleff, R. D., and R. C Bushland. 1950. 
Acute toxicity of chlorinated insecticides 
applied to livestock. J. Econ. Ent. 43: 
358-364. 
Shepard, H. H. 1939. The chemistry and 
toxicology of insecticides. Burgess Publish-
ing Co., Minneapolis. 383 pp. 
FURTHER STUDIES ON TICK PARALYSIS' 
J. D. GREGSON2 
Livestock Insect Laboratory, Kamloops, B.C 
Tick paralysis in British Columbia 
and adjacent territories, as in South 
Africa and Australia, has long remain-
ed a disease of baffling origin. Though 
it is generally conceded that the symp-
toms produced in the host are brought 
on by tm injection of a toxin by the 
tick, the reason why ticks of the same 
species vary in potency is still a 
puzzle. The solution to this mystery 
has been complicated by a series of 
factors which have included such neb-
ulous conditions as are involved in 
different host and tick species, host 
susceptibility, and host immunity. 
1 Contribution No. 2918, Division of Entomology 
Science Service, Department of Agriculture, Ottawa; 
Canada. 
2 Officer·in·Charge. 
Zumpt (1950) even questions whether 
these factors are the only ones, and 
as he suggests, the physiological con-
dition of the individual tick seems to 
be of considerable significance, a 
hctor which has resulted in studies 
too frequently containing so many 
unknowns that no logical pattern is 
apparent. This, together with the 
shortness of the annual period of na-
tural tick activity, has rendered pro-
gress in the etiology of the disease 
slow. Nevertheless, each year some 
advance has been made and consider-
able data gained toward the under-
standing of this interesting phenom-
enon. 
In British Columbia tick paralysis 
is caused by the female of the Rocky 


A preliminary report on acaricides tested for protection against the tick Dermacentor andersoni Stiles, on cattle

Lane, M. C.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 65 
LIST OF THE ELATERIDAE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 
M. C. LANE! 
Walla Walla, Washington 
Some of the speCIes of the coleop-
terous family Elateridae, commonly 
known as wireworms or click beetles, 
have long been known as important 
insect pests of agricultural crops. In 
connection with the research on the 
life history and control of these 
economic forms, it is also desirable 
to learn as much as possible about 
their distribution, as well as that of 
rela ted non -economic species. Dis-
tribution records are obtained by col-
lecting amI publishing the results. 
There are all too few publications of 
this sort. The present list has been 
compiled from a rather extensive list 
of articles and references to the 
Coleoptera of B r i tis h Columbia, 
brought together by M. H. H:ttch, 
from original descriptions, from re-
visional publications, and from recent 
collections made or seen by the author. 
The earliest list of Elateridae for 
British Columbia is one of 28 species 
recorded from Vancouver Island bv 
LeConte in 1869. This was followed 
by other lists by LeConte and many 
others until 1927-1928, when G. H. 
Hardy published two lists, one of 
species from Garibaldi Park and 
another of species on Vancouver 
Island. 
The author has been collecting this 
family in the Pacific Northwest since 
1917, as well as receiving considerable 
material from other entomologists for 
determina tion. Many private and 
semi-ol1icial collections have been 
checked, including the very fine and 
extensive collection of Gordon Stace-
Smith of Creston, D.C. In a short 
visit to Vancouver Island in June, 
1950, the writer collected 17 species of 
Elateridae 'adtilts in two days on the 
home grounds of his host: Kenneth 
M. King, at Victoria, as an example 
of the concentration of species that 
sometimes occurs under favorable 
circumstances. 
1 Entomologist, Bureau of Entomology ann l'lant 
QuaJ-antine, Agricultural Research Administration, 
U.S. Department of Agriculture. 
Altogether, there appear to be at 
least 74 authentically determined 
species on Vancouver Island alone, of 
which ] 9 species have been recorded 
from the Island only, although they 
mav also occur on the mainland. There 
are- 129 species listed as present on 
the mainland of British Columbia, S5 
of which are also found on the Island. 
The list here appended includes a total 
of 150 species of Elateridae for the 
Province of British Columbia. From 
the literature and fr0111 collections 
made in adjoining areas, there are 
probably about 2S more described 
species that should eventuallv be 
recorded as occurring in British Col-
umbia. It is a very large Province 
and, undoubtedly, many new species 
are yet to be discovered. This paper 
is written in the hope that it will pro-
vide an incentive for further collect-
ing and the discovery of new species. 
Acknowledgment is due to the fol-
lowing workers for studies or for ma-
terial collected in the group on which 
this list is based: E. C. Van Dyke, 
W. J. Brown, H. B. Leech , Ralph and 
George Hopping, K. M. King, M. H. 
Ra tch, Gordon Stace-Smi th, Richard 
Guppy, C. L. Nielson, D. J. Finlayson, 
H. R. MacCarthy, W. H. A. Preece, 
R. H. Handford, and others whom I 
may have overlooked. 
LIST OF ELATERIDAE OF 
BRITISH COLUMBIA 
* Species occurring on Vancouver Island 
only. 
** Species occurring on the mainland only. 
Unmarked species occur on both the 
island and mainland. 
"auct." as used here refers to a namc used 
erroneously hy the determiner, in most 
cases eastern names of species later 
described as western. 
Lepidotus Stephens, 1830 
(Lacon Cast. Adelocera auct.) 
**hrevicornis (Lee.) 
**obtectus (Say) 
profusus (Cancl.) (cal'icollis (Lee.» 
rorulentus (Lee.) (prysolepis auct.) 
**sparsus (Cand.) 
Alaus Esch., 1829 
melanops Lee. (OCilla/lis auet.) 
66 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMIIIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 
Drasterius Esch., 1829 (A eolus auct.) 
debilis Lee. 
**dorsalis (Say) (mel/il/us (Say), .omis 
(Lee.) 
Limonius Esch., 1829 (Pheletes Kies.) 
**aeger Lee. 
*bicolor Van D. 
canus Lec. (discoideus Lee.) 
*californicus (Mann.) 
(occidentalis Lee.) 
consimilis Walk. (nilidicol/is Lee.) 
**crotchi H orn 
*humidus Lane 
infuscatus Mots. 
nitidulus Horn 
**pectoralis Lee. 
**rufihumeralis L ane 
**seminudus Van D. 
subauratu s Lee. 
**venablesi Wick. 
Elathous Rei tt., 1890 
nebulosus (Van D.) 
Athous Esch., 1829 
*imitans Fall 
ni.gropilis Mots. 
pallidipennis Mann. 
rufiventris (Esch.) 
(fenuginoJus (Esch.» 
scissus Lee. 
vittigcr Lee. 
Ctenicera Latr., 1829 (Corymbites Latr., 
Ludius Esch.) 
aereipennis (Kby.) 
angularis (Lee.) 
angusticollis (Mann.) (fraterna (Lee.), 
spectabiiis (Mann.» 
**bipunctata (Brown) 
bombycina (Germ.) (fal/ax auct.) 
call ida (Brown) (in flatus auct.) 
**carbo (Lee.) 
columbiana (Brown) (propola auct., 
fUt'cifer auct., nubilis auct.) 
comes (Brown) 
**conjungens (Lee.) 
**crestonensis (Brown) 
**festiva (Lee.) (cruciatus auct., pulcher 
auct.) 
*diversicolor (Esch.) (rotundi.oliis auct.) 
**funerea (Brown) (semivillatus auct., 
fuseuius auct.) 
*furtivua (Lee.) (monti.oia auct.) 
**g-laIICa (Germ.) (inflatlls auct.) 
hoppingi (Van D.) 
**kendalli (Kby.) (aenei.oliis auct.) 
**laricis (Brown) 
*Iateralis (Lee.) 
loba ta (Esch.) (caricina (Germ.), telllm 
(Lee.), tarsalis au ct.) 
**lutescens (Fall) 
**maura (Lee.) 
**mendax (Lee.) 
**moerens (Lee.) 
**montana (Brown) 
**morula (Lee.) 
nebraskensis (Bland.) 
*nigricans (Fall) 
**nigricollis (Bland.) (vernalis auct.) 
**ochreipennis (Lee.) 
*opaeula (Lee.) 
**protracta (Lee.) 
**pruinina (Horn) (noxia (Hysl.» 
pudica (Brown) (hieroglyphiclIs auct.) 
**pygmaea (Van D.) 
resplendens (Esch.) 
**rupestris (Germ.) 
sagitticollis (Esch.) (insidiosa auct.) 
**semimetallica (Walk.) 
**silvatica (Van D.) 
**stricklandi (Brown) 
su.ckleyi (Lee.) 
**triundulata (Rand.) 
*uliginosa (Van D.) 
**umbricola (Esch.) (rlldis (mots.» 
umbripennis (Lee. ) (graciior (Lee.» 
**vidua (Drown) 
**volitans (Esch.) 
weidti (An gell) 
Eanus Lee., 1861 (Paranotnus Kies.) 
**albertanus Drown 
**decoratns (Mann.) 
g ranicollis Van D. 
striatipennis Drown 
Hemicrepidius Germ., 1839 (Asaphes Kby.) 
morio (Lee.) (dilati.o//is auct.) 
orcgonus (Lee.) 
*tU1l1escens (Lee.) 
Hypolithus Esch. 1829 (Cl'yptohypnus Esch., 
Hypnuidus Dillw. pars.) 
**bicolor Esch. (lucidulus (Mann.» 
funehris (Cam!.) (planatus anct.) 
**glacialis (Van D.) (grandicollis anct.) 
*"'hyperboreus (Gyll.) 
**i1l1pressicollis (Nlann.) (abbreviatus auct.) 
**nocturnus Esch. 
**squalidus (Lee.) 
Negastrius Thorn., 1859 (Cryptohypnus Esch., 
Hypn oidus Dillw. pars.) 
caurinus (Horn) 
**gentilis (Lee.) 
**1l1anki (Fall) 
*1l1usculus (Esch.) 
**ornatus (Lee.) 
**pectoralis (Say) 
**striatnlus (Lee.) 
**tU1l1escens (Lee.) 
DaIopius Esch., 1829 (DoloPius auct.) 
**assellus Brown 
"corvinus Drown 
**fucatus Brown 
**gartrelli Brown 
**insolens Brown 
insulanus Brown (lateralis auct.) 
**1l1ariti1l1us Brown 
spretus Brown 
**suspectus Brown 
tristis Brown 
Sericus Esch., 1829 (Sericosomus auct.) 
incongruus (Lee.) (brunneus auct.) 
Agriotes Esch., 1829 
**apicalis Lee. 
**criddlei Van D. 
ferrugineipennis Lee. (fu.osus auct.) 
*lineatus (L.) 
*obscurus (L.) 
*opaculus Lee. 
sparsus Lee. 
**tardus Brown 
thevcneti Horn 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. 
(1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 67 
Agriotella Brown, 1933 (Betarmon auct.) 
*columbiana Brown 
occidentalis Brown 
Ampedu5 Dej., 1833 (ElateI' Esch., nec Linn.) 
**apicatus (Say) 
**behrensi (Horn) (corditer auct.) 
bimaculatus (Van D.) 
**brevis (Van D.) 
carbonicolor (Esch.) 
columbiana Brown (varipilis auct., cordiJer 
auct.) 
**hoppingi (Van D.) 
**moerens (Lee.) 
nigrinus (Hbst.) (anthracinus auct.) 
oregonus (Schffr.) 
phoenicopterus (Germ.) 
**pullus (Germ.) 
rhodopus (LeC'.) 
**ursinus (Van D.) 
Megapenthes Kies., 1858 
caprella (Lee.) 
**nigriventris Lee. 
**stigmosus (Lee.) 
tartareus Lee. 
Melanotus Esch., 1829 
oregonensis (Lee.) 
Cardiophorus Esch., 1829 
**fenestratus LeC. 
*latiusculus Esch. 
*Iongior Lee. (longullis err.) 
**mimeticus Horn (edwardsi auct.) 
**pubescens B!. 
tenebrosus Lee. (amplicollis auct.) 
**tumidicollis Lee. 
Horistonotus Can d., 1860 
**sufflatus (Lee.) 
References 
Walker, Francis, 1866. List of Coleoptera. 
Lord's Naturalist in Vancouver Island and 
British Columbia, II :309-11. 
LeConte, J. L., 1869. List of Coleoptera 
collected in Vancouver's Island by Henry 
and Joseph l\htthews. Ann. Mag. Nat. 
Hist. 4(4) :369-385. 
-1877. List of Coleoptera. Geo!. Surv. 
Can. Rept. of Prog. 1875-76, pp. 107-109. 
Brodie, Bruce, 1888. List of Coleoptera col-
lected by Bruce Bailey in Kicking Horse 
Pass, Rocky Mts., e.P.R. in 1884. Proc. 
Canada Inst. Toronto, 5(3) :213-215. 
\Vickham, H. F., 1893. Report of an entom-
logical reconnaissance of southern Alaska 
and adjacent portion of British Columbia. 
Iowa Lab. Nat. Hist. Bnl!. 2 :202-233. 
Keen, J. H., 1895. List of Coleoptera collect-
ed at Massett, Queen Charlotte Island, 
B.e. Can. Ent. 27 :217-220. 
-1898. Preliminary catalogue of collec-
tion of natural history and ethnology in 
the Provincial Museum, Victoria, British 
Columbia. pp. 71-75. 
-1905. Beetles from northern British 
Columbia. Can. Ent. 37 :297-298. 
Anderson, E. M., 1914. Insects collected in 
.okanagan Valley. Proc. En!. Soc. B.e. 
4 :54-58. 
Bush, A. H., 1914. A trip up 'Mount Cheam. 
Proc. Ent. Soc. B.e. 4 :58-60. 
Brittain, W. H., 1914. Report for Okanagan 
District. Proc. Ent. Soc. B.e. 4:14-19. 
Hardy, G. A., 1927. Report of collecting trip 
to Garibaldi Park, British Columbia. Rep!. 
Mus. Nat. Hist. for 1926, pp. CI5-C26. 
-1928. Vancouver Island Elateridae. Rep!. 
Provo Mus. Nat. Hist. for 1927, pp. E16-
E17. 
Stace-Srnith, G., 1929 and 1930. Coleoptera 
from Copper Mountain, British Columbia. 
Museum and Art notes, Art, Hist. and Sci. 
Assoc., Vancouver, B.e., IV, pp. 67-74; 
V, pp. 22-25. 
Hardy, G. A. and G. e. Carl, 1944. Natural 
history of Forbidden Plateau area, Van-
couver Island, B.e. Rept. Provo Mus. 
Nat. Hist. for 1943. p. D31. 
Clark, M. E., 1949. An annotated list of 
Coleoptera taken at or near Terrace, B.e., 
Part 2. Proc. Ent. Soc. 45 :21-24. 
Fletcher, J., Gibson, A., Criddle, N., and 
W. J. Brown, 1902-34. Elateridae listed 
from British Columbia in Entomological 
Record. Ann. Rept. Ent. Soc. Ont., 32-61 
(1902-1930) . Ann. Rept. Que. Soc. Prot . 
Plants, 25 and 26 (1934). 
THE EFFECT OF CERTAIN INSECTICIDES ON THE GERMINATIO
N 
AND GROWTH OF ONIONS 
I. INSECTICIDES APPLIED TO THE SOIV 
F. 1. BANHAM2 
Field Crop Insect Laboratory, Kamloops, B.e. 
Introductiolll : The onion maggot, were undertaken at the K
amloops 
Hylemya antiqua (Meig.), has for many laboratory to provide a 
more satis-
years caused serious damage to onion factory and less expensive
 control for 
crops throughout the interior of Brit- this pest than the comm
only used 
ish Columbia. In 1950, insecticide trials caloll1el seed-treatment. 
As an ex-
1 Contribution No. 2940, Div~ion of Entomology, 
Science Service, Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, 
Canada. 
2 Assistant Entomologist. 
tensive review of the literature re-
vealed that practically no work had 
been done on the phytotoxicity of the 


List of the Elateridae of British Columbia

Graham, Kenneth

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 97 
A MODEL PROBLEM IN INSECT ECOLOGY 
KENNETH GRAHAM 
University of British Columbia 
During the course of its life cycle, 
every insect encounters a number of 
crucial trials which it must pass if 
the species is to survive. These trials 
concern three important life activities, 
namely, reproduction, development and 
survival. A species must maintain a 
sufficient reproductive output, develop 
at a sufficient rate, and have enough 
survivors if it is to remain in existence. 
Ordinarily a species occurs in some-
what greater abundance than the mere 
minimum for its survival. It exists in 
dynamic balance, decreasing under ad-
versity, and increasing when con-
ditions are especially favorable. 
Different environments provide con-
ditions ranging from those which 
prohibit the existence of a given insect 
species, to those permitting great 
outbreaks. 
Among the problems of insect 
ecology are those concerned with ex-
plaining why certain insects produce 
outbreaks, yet others in the same 
locality and even feeding on the same 
host do not. Another problem con-
cerns the reason why certain areas 
experience the increase in insect popu-
lation while others do not. The lodge-
pole pine needle miner (Recul'varia 
miller; Busck) provides an excellent 
opportunity for enquiry into these 
outbreak problems. 
The lodgepole pine needle miner had 
not been known in the Canadian 
Rockies until 1942. In that year, its 
injury to the needles resulted in dis-
coloration of a small area of forest 
near Banff. This heralded the begin-
ning of a n outbreak which increased 
in extent and severity until it covered 
an a rea o f about 400 square miles , 
involving Banff, Kootenay, Yoho and 
Jasper National Parks. Great con-
cern arose over the possible extension 
of the infestation into the pine stands 
of the Eas t Slope watershed. The 
loss of those stands could be calamit-
ous to communities far along the 
rivers that have their origin in the 
mountains. 
Certain basic questions arise over 
this problem. Why did the outbreak 
develop where and when it did? Can 
the infestations spread from epidemic 
centres, or do they develop autoch-
thonously from endemic populations? 
Are the East Slope forests really in 
danger from spread of outbreaks or 
build-up from endemic populations? 
These problems are all open to in-
vestigation by considering the par-
ticular crucial trials that the needle 
miner must encounter. And now, 
what are these trials? 
The crucial pa rt in the life of a 
needle miner begins in the food re-
serves carried into the pupal stage 
from the larva. The ultima te egg 
output depends firstly upon the quan-
tity and quality of the food on which 
the larvae feed. The quality of food 
must vary according to numerous 
factors affecting the growth of the 
tree. Age of trees, soil, soil moisture, 
aspect, altitude, injuries, all varying 
locally and regionally, may have an 
influence on the food quality of foliage, 
and thereby affect the storage of ma-
terials for eventual egg production in 
the insect. 
The next trial in the life of the 
insect-to-be is the successful pupation 
of the larva containing the future 
egg-forming substances. Conditions 
of environment determine the propor-
tion of individuals that can complete 
the transformation. Of these condi-
tions, temperature and humidity are 
probably the most important. Some 
seasons and some areas may be more 
favorable or less so than others. The 
needle miner in the Canadian Rockies 
passes through a long pupal period 
during the hottest and driest part of 
the year. In the dry hollowed-out 
needle the pupa, though partially pro-
tected, is nevertheless exposed to 
desiccation and high temperature, for 
a period of up to six weeks. This 
stage is important in many Lepidop-
tera as the period when the ovaries 
are developed and oogenesis takes 
98 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 
place. Desiccation during this per~od 
can greatly reduce the egg potentl~l. 
It is conceivable that only certam 
areas, in certain years, provide cond~­
tions favorable to this process. ThIs 
suggests the pr<?blem of ~etermining 
the effect of enVIronments m the non-
infested areas to find whether or not 
they provide conditions favorable to 
egg formation. 
The pupal stage is beset with other 
hazards to survival at that time, the 
principal ones in the needle miner 
being parasites and birds. As another 
obstacle at the time of emergence, the 
adult may be unable to free itself from 
the pupa or needle containing it. Here 
again atmospheric moisture conditions 
may be influential. 
The eggs developed in the female 
must be fertilized if they are to hatch. 
The process of mating in Lepidoptera 
meets with maximum success only 
within rather narrow limits of temper-
ature, humidity, light and air move-
ment. Under adverse environmental 
conditions, low fertility may result. 
Here is another problem for study. 
Next, the fully formed, fertilized 
eggs, contained in the female, must be 
successfully laid. For this, the female 
must live a sufficient length of time 
and she must experience suitable en-
vironmental conditions in order to lay 
them. Adverse temperature, and 
humidities during this period may 
cause a failure of the population in 
most areas and in most years. The 
eggs of the needle miner in the 
Canadian Rockies are almost exclus-
ively laid within the cavity of the 
dry needles mined out during pre-vious 
larval feeding. Here the delicate eggs 
are moderately well protected from 
mechanical damage, but not entirely 
from desiccation and heat. The suc-
cess in hatching may thus vary locally, 
regionally and seasonally. 
When the larva has issued from the 
egg, it must crawl from the old mined-
out needle to seek the foliage of the 
current season's growth. Then, hav-
ing found suitable needles, it must 
bore through the epidermis to find 
food and relative security. Tn this 
process of locating its food, the larva 
must overcome the trials of establish-
ment during late summer and early 
fall. In the needles, the larva feeds 
during autumn as long as tempera-
ture permits. Under continually fall-
ing temperatures it appare~tly ente~s 
an induced diapause, in whIch state It 
does not respond readily to warming. 
During the winter months it is sub-
jected to intense ~old, someti~es of 
considerable duratIOn, depend1l1g on 
the locality, altitude, and infl<;)\.v C?f 
Chinook winds. Towards spnng It 
may be subjected to early warming 
and partial activation, followed by 
sub-zero temperatures. Severe con-
ditions between autumn and spring 
result in drastic reductions in needle 
miner populations. The degree of 
mortality varies according to locality 
and altitude. There appears to be less 
mortality in valleys where premature 
spring warming does not occur. There 
is also less killing at a certain eleva-
tion above the valley floor, the reason 
probably being the presence of a 
warmer thermal layer during winter 
cold. It is probable that certain areas 
never provide winter conditions per-
mitting population build-up of this 
insect. 
Finally, during a first summer of 
larval development, the needle miner 
is attacked by parasites, diseases and 
birds. Then it is exposed to a second 
winter of cold and a second summer 
of attack by natural enemies before it 
finally pupates. It is evident that the 
needle miner must pass the test of 
numerous critical conditions if it is 
to increase or even merely survive. 
Some areas, we know, provide condi-
tions which, on occasio·:J., permit 
population increase. Other areas 
probably are always unfavorable in at 
least one respect. In those areas, 
epidemics may never occur, regardless 
of the presence of an endemic popula-
tion, and despite contagious tendencies 
of populations in adjacent areas. It 
may well be asked if perhaps the East 
Slope of the Rockies is too dry and 
hot during the reproductive period of 
the insect, and too cold or changeable 
during the overwintering stage of the 
larvae. 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1951), VOL. 48, AUG. 15, 1952 99 
The needle miner therefore offers 
many interesting and productive 
ecological problems. It is especially 
convenient for study because, in the 
needle, the larva possesses relative 
fixity of abode, and thereby is amen-
able to refined sampling methods. 
With pine as a host, it is possible to 
estimate the number of miners per 
branch tip, the number of branch tips 
per tree of various heights, and the 
number of trees of various sizes per 
acre. From these data a population 
census of the insect has been possible. 
Applying percentage figures for para-
sitism, it has been possible to deter-
mine the number of parasites per 
acre. 
This insect is therefore an eminently 
suitable one for developing population 
sampling statistics. TLe acquisition of 
reliable procedures for taking stock 
of populations will be of material 
assistance in measuring the influence 
of various factors. Nevertheless, after 
many decades of entomological pro-
gress, in this case we cannot do better 
than turn to the insect itself for the 
real answers to some Df the most far-
reaching problems. 
The Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Colum-
bia is published annually. Individual volumes may be had for 
$1.00. Special rates on sets. Address C. L. Neilson, Secretary-
Treasurer, Entomological Society of British Columbia, Court 
House, Vernon, B.C. 


A model problem in insect ecology

Ross, D. A.

Evans, D.

+ 0 E:-1TOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH CO I. UMIlU, PROC. ( 195+ ), VOL. 51, NOVEMnER 3 0 , 195+ 
ANNOTATED LIST OF FOREST INSECTS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 
PART I-LASIOCAMPIDJE, SATURNIIDJE, LIPARIDJE ':' 
D. A. Ross "! AND D. EVANS t 
Introduction 
This is the first of a series of annotated 
lists of insects collected or rea red by per-
sonnel of the Forest lnsect Survey in 
British Columbia since 1937. For the 
most part, the insect species to be con-
sidered are feeders on forest trees, al-
though in sects of shrub-sized Alnus spp. , 
Salix spp. , and Prunus spp., etc. , are a lso 
included. Families or genera of insects 
for which our data are most complete will 
be trea ted first. 
Precise collection localities a re noted 
only where there are less than five scat-
tered loca lity records for a given species; 
otherwise, broad di stribution categories 
are used. Categories employed herein are 
as follows: Vancouver I sland ; Coast 
(west of the Coast Mountain R ange); 
Interior British Columbia (east of the 
Coast Range); Southern, Northern , and 
Central British Columbia. For conve-
nience , " Southern B.C." refers to th at sec-
tion of the Province south of 52 0 lat itude, 
exc lusive of Vancouver Isl and ; "North-
ern " refe rs to the area north of 57 0 lati-
tude; and " Central B.c." is that portion 
between. Little survey work has been 
done in Northern B.c.; whcn the term 
" Northern B.c. " is used, it refers to areas 
close to the A laska Highway. 
Brief descriptions. generall y of full-
grown l a r v~c , are included in the anno-
ta ted li st where such stages are known to 
one or both of the writers. The desc rip-
tions a re by no means complete but in 
most cases sho uld be adequate for specific 
determ i na tion. 
Lasiocam pida-
The ca terpill ars of this famil y a re lea f-
ea lers . Species in the genus Malacosoma, 
'" Contribution No. 134. Fo rest Bio logy Di vision. 
Science Ser vice . Departmenl o f A gri culture, Ottawa, 
Ca nada. 
T Fo res t Bio logy Laho ratnry. Vern o n. R .C. 
t Fo res t Bio logy L aho rato ry , Vi cto ri a. B.C. 
the tent caterpillars, frequently are spec-
tacular defo liators , denuding the trees or 
shrubs over extensive areas . Common 
characters of the las iocampid l arv~ are: 
Head dull , i. e. , not glossy; head and body 
covered with simple hairs , the hairs not in 
di screte tufts; body smooth. The l a rv~ 
sp in cocoons on the host or adjacent trees. 
Overwinter in egg stage. 
TolYlle dayi Blkm . Pseudotsuga taxi-
folia , TSliga heterophylla ; Vancouver 
Island. L ARVA: 11/2 inches; wide and 
flattened, fl ecked in pastel shades of brown 
and grey, light subdorsal and supraspi-
rac ul ar patches; subspiracular lappets 
with clumps of long fine hair, hair shorter 
and less dense on remainder of body; 
humped tubercles on subdorsum of each 
segment , la rgest on T3 and AS ; transverse 
orange fold on dorsum of T3; venter 
pinkish with dark blotches shaded to 
orange. 
Tolype laricis Fitch. Larix occiden-
talis, Vernon; PselldotslIga taxifolia, Bar-
ri ere . 
/l1(ll(l('osomll pluviale (Dyar). West-
ern tent caterpillar. Prunus, spp ., Alnus 
spp., Salix spp., A melanchier spp., MalliS 
spp., Rosa sp p. , and other shrubby growth; 
Southern B.C. and Vancouver Island. 
Caterpilla rs form large , unsightly com -
mun a l tents of silk over the branches 
adjacent to the leaves o n which they a re 
feeding. Eggs la id o n twigs of host plant, 
c lose to the grou nd ; cemented in a curved 
mass, se ldom formi ng a com ple te band 
abo ut thc twig. L ARVA: 13J,i inches ; head 
grey ish , spec kled with black ; body black-
ish ; broken , grey ish-blu e middorsa l stripe; 
orangc blotchcs a long addo rsa l area ; 
grcyish-blue blotc hes on subdorsulll ; 
o range, wavy supraspiracular stripe; sub-
spi racu la r area , orange ; hairs orange. 
il1 ahu'osom(l lJluviale (Dyar) va r. ? 
So far as is known , the geographica l ranges 
of thi s a nd the preceding form are separa te. 
ENTOMOLOG ICAL SOC IETY OF BRITISH COLU MBIA, PROC. ( 195+ ), VOL. 51, NOVEMBER 30, 1954 41 
Limited to Betula glandulosa and Salix 
spp. bordering swamps and muskegs; 
Central Interior B.c. , 1947-defoliated 
scrub birch at Aleza Lake; 1950-larva: 
abundant near Stone Creek, Cluculz 
Lake, Wells, and north-east of Isle Pierre ; 
195] -caused light defoliation at various 
points in the Prince George area. This 
species makes communal silken tents simi-
lar to M. pluviale. Eggs in cylindrical 
mass about twig, similar to M. disstria. 
The larva: frequently form communal 
cocoons; as many as six pupa: are en-
closed in a single envelope. L ARVA: 13;4 
inches; basic markings similar to M . 
pluviale, but very little orange coloration 
(replaced by black) in most specimens. 
llfalacosoma clisstria Hbn. Forest 
tent caterpillar. Populus tremuloides, 
Populus trichocarpa, Alnus spp. , Salix 
spp., Betula papyrijera, and other broad-
leaved trees and shrubs; during heavy 
outbreaks may spread to and damage new 
growth of conifers; generally di stributed . 
Medium to heavy infestations have been 
reported at one or more localities in Briti sh 
Columbia during the following periods: 
1938, 1941-43, 1945-47, 1949-53. 
Apparently the most recent of these out-
breaks is the largest and most widespread 
of those occurring during the past fifteen 
years. No tree mortality has been report-
ed following any of these infes tations. 
The depredations of thi s species cause 
considerable concern to tourist-camp 
operators and home-owners with dwellings 
within or adjacent to poplar stands. Eggs 
cemented together in a cylindrical mass 
about a twig, usually in upper crown of 
the tree. No tents formed. LARVA: 2 
inches; head and body, pale greyish-blue , 
speckled with black ; black-bordered 
orange subdorsal and suprasp irac ul ar 
stripes; additional orange and black line-
markings on dorsum ; off-white or cream-
coloured blotches along middorsum . 
Epicnaptera americana H arr. Lap-
pet moth. Populus tremuloides, Populus 
trichocarpa, Quercus spp., Salix spp. , 
Betula papyrijera, Alnus spp. , A melan-
chier spp. , A cer spp., Corylus spp., Cra-
tregus spp ., Malus spp.; generally distribut-
ed ; not recorded in outbreak proportions. 
LARVA: 2 inches; head and body, hairy ; 
flap-like projections beneath the spiracular 
area ; body greyish, finely speckled with 
black, some orange spots; two reddish or 
orange black-edged transverse bands on 
dorsum of thorax (bands concealed when 
body contracted); middorsal protuber-
ance on A8; venter flattened, orange with 
black blotches. 
Saturniidre 
The si lk moths are relatively unimpor-
tant defoliators in this Province . Their 
large size and the striking coloration of 
some species attracts much attention from 
the general public . The larva: have spi ne-
bearing tubercles or dense groups of spines 
and branched spines on the thorax and 
abdomen. 
Hyalophora ellryaills (Bdv.). Cea-
nothus si lk moth , incorrectly called " Ce-
cropia." Ceanolhus sanguineus, A lnus 
sp., Salix spp. , Ribes spp., Belula spp., 
and other deciduous hosts; Southern In-
terior, Victoria , Saltspring Island, Quesnel. 
Cocoon , pointed at one end, firmly at-
tached to twig on host tree; overwinters. 
LARVA: 3 1;4 inches, stout ; head and body, 
yellowish-green ; elonga te tubercles, each 
tipped with small black spines; subdorsal 
and lone middorsa l (A8) tubercles red, 
those on the meso- (T2) and meta-thorax 
(T3) , and middorsum of A8 ringed with 
black; tubercles in supra- and sub-
spiracular rows, white and bluish, black 
at bases. 
A uthercea poly phe m us (C ram.). 
Polyphemus. Betula papyrijera , Quercus 
garryana, A lnus sp., Prunus sp. , Salix spp. , 
POPlllus Irell7uloides; Vancouver Island, 
Southern and Central Interior B.C. Co-
coon broadly rounded at both ends, usual-
ly formed wi thin leaves; as a rule wi nters 
on the host tree suspended on the twigs 
or the trunk. LARVA: About 3 inches ; 
head yc llowish-brown; body green ; row 
of elonga te tubercles, with pale bristles 
along subdorsa l, su pra- and sub-spiracular 
areas; a ll tuberc les, except the yellow 
+2 EI<TOMOLOGI CAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMllIA , PROC. (19 5+ ), VOL. 51, NOVEMllER 30, 195+ 
anterior subdorsal pair, are an orange-
red , those above the spiracles with silvery 
bases; a lmost vertical cream-coloured 
line behind red spiracles on A 1 to A8 ; 
suranal pla te edged laterally with purple 
and white. L arva takes hunched stance 
when at rest. 
PselUlohazis eglanterilla Bdv. R ange 
moth. Salix spp. , Populus frernuloides, 
Amelanchier spp. , Spirem spp.; Vancou-
ver Island, Si lver Creek, Rock Creek, 
Vernon. Probably has two-year cycle ; 
overwinters in cocoon or in egg stage. 
Eggs in mass about twigs . LARVA: 214 
inches; head , brown, hairy; body, dark 
brown, paler intersegmental areas ; rather 
obsc ure , off-white, subdorsa l, supra- and 
sub-spiracu lar and midventral stripes ; row 
of dense clumps of brown spines a long 
subdorsum; rows of dark-brown branched 
spines along supra- and sub-spiracular 
areas; portions of body clothed with fine 
grey hair. 
Liparidre 
Members of this fami ly are defoliators 
of coniferous and deciduous trees . The 
caterpillars are hairy, and a ll but Stilpnotia 
have prominent tufts of plumose hairs. 
Liparids may be distinguished from the 
larvx of other families by the eversible 
glands (bright red on Hell1 erocampa and 
Notolophlls) on the middorsum of ab-
dominal segments 6 and 7. Pupation 
occurs within thin grey or whitish silken 
cocoons spun on the leaves , branches , or 
trunks of the host or adjacent trees. Wings 
of female Notolophlls and Hemerocampa 
are rudimentary. 
NotololJhus alltiquus (L.). Rusty 
tussock moth . Alnus spp., Salix spp ., 
Betula papyrifera , A cer sp ., Malus spp. , 
Tsuga he ferophylla, Pseudotsuga taxifo fia , 
Picea engelmanni, Picea sitchensis, Larix 
occidenfalis, Abies iasiocarpa, Abies gran-
dis, Thuja pficala (two records) , Pinus 
conlorta (two records); generally dis-
tributed ; occasionally numerous. Over-
winters in egg stage. LARVA: I inch; 
head , glossy black; dorsum of body, grey 
with black dorsal stripe, narrow on thorax, 
broad on abdomen (body may be almost 
entirely blackish); orange tubercles; 
brush-like tufts of cream or buff-coloured 
hair on segments A 1 to A4 (in eady 
instars , the first two tufts are black, last 
two are pale); a long pencil of black 
plumose hairs on AS , and similar lateral 
pencils on T I; females have an additional 
la teral pencil-tuft on A2. 
HemerocamlJU l)Seuclotsugata McD. 
Douglas-fir tussock moth . Pseudotsuga 
f((x ifolia; this species may spread to other 
coniferous hosts during an infestation. 
Southern Interior. Outbreaks in the 
Southern Interior occurred during the 
fol lowing periods: ] 918-22, 1928-31 , 
1938-39 , and 1946-49. In most infes-
tations heavy defoliation on a given area 
apparent ly was limited to one or two 
yea rs. Overwinters in egg stage. LARVA: 
I I4 inches; head, glossy black; body, 
hairy , grey and black with broken orange-
ye llow subspiracu lar stripe ; red tubercles; 
two prominent black lateral pencil-tufts 
on T 1 and one black dorsal pencil-tuft 
preceded by a shorter recurved rust-
coloured tuft on A8 ; a dense rust-tipped 
brush-like tuft on dorsum of each segment 
A I to A4 ; venter pale. Contact with the 
larva l hairs of this species causes a skin 
rash on some persons. 
Parorgyia styx (B. & McD.). Tsuga 
heferophylla, Pinus monticola (two rec-
ords); Coastal B.C. and Vancouver 
Island. Parorgyia spp. have a two- or 
three-year cycle . LARVA : I Y2 inches; 
dark brown; prominent brush-like clumps 
of mole-grey hai r on dorsum of Al to A4; 
very long pencil-tufts of dark clubbed 
set~e on subdorsum of Tl and A9, single 
tuft on dorsum of A8; balance of dorsum 
with tufts of long yellowish setre, more 
den se subdorsally on T3 and A5; inter-
spersed with longer clubbed dark setre 
subspiracularly. 
Parorgyia grisejacta (Dyar) . Pseu-
dotsuga taxifolia, Tsuga heterophy/{a, 
Picea engelmanni, Picea glauca, Abies 
lasiocarpa, Larix occidenfalis, Pinus con-
forfa ; Interior B.C.; no infestations re-
corded. Overwinters in the larval stage . 
E NTOMO l.OGICAl.. SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMll IA, PROC. ( 195+ ) , VOL. 51 , N OVE MllER 30, 195+ +3 
L ARVA : 1% inches ; head, da rk brown; 
dorsum of T1 and AS to Al 0 rusty-brown; 
sides of body, occasionally whole body, 
blackish; a long black pencil-tuft on the 
dorsum of AS and similar lateral pa ired 
pencil-tufts on Tl and A9 ; shorter tufts 
of plumed black hairs a long the supra-
and sub-spiracular areas; dirty white 
brush-like tufts on dorsum of segments 
A 1 to A4; numerous short, white plumed 
hairs in most of the setal tufts on body 
above spiracles. 
StilfJnotia salicis (L.). Satin moth. 
Populus rremuloides, Populus trichocarpa, 
Salix spp . (Populus nigra and P. alba-
exotic species). An introduced insect, 
first di scovered at New Westminster dur-
ing 1920 ; spread to Vancouver Island by 
1932, and up the Fraser River as far as 
Clinton and east along Thompson River 
Valley to Bestwick by 1953 . During 
1944 and 1945, cottonwoods at Botanie 
Valley, near Lytton, were defoliated ; in 
1946 a light infestation was observed at 
a point 10 miles south of Clinton. During 
1949, defoliation occurred in several new 
loca lities-Savona, Ashcroft , and Stump 
Lake in the Nicola Valley. Overwinters 
as young la rva in hibernaculum . LARVA: 
About 2 inches; head , dull black ; body, 
blackish, with a row of constricted white 
blotches on the dorsum ; broken , white 
subdorsal line; prominent reddish-brown 
tubercles bearing clumps of brownish 
hairs on upper portions of the body. 
R eference 
Jones, J. R. 1. L. An a nnotated chec k li st of the macro lepidopte ra of Briti sh Columbia. Occa-
s ion a l Pa per No.1 , Ent. Soc. B.C. 148 pp. 1951. 


Annotated List of Forest Insects of British Columbia, Part I - Lasiocampidae, Saturniidae, Liparidae

10 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, ?ROc. (1956) , VOL. 53, FEB. 15, 1957 
Order PASSERES, Perching Birds 
Hylocichla ustulata (Nuttall), Olive-backed 
Thrush. 
Philoplerus sp. 
Ixoreus naevius (Gmelin), Varied Thrush. 
Bruelia sp. 
Philopterus sp. 
Sialia mexicana Swainson, Westcrn Bluebird. 
Philoptems ? sialii (Osborn). 
References 
1. Taverner, P. A. 1926. Birds o f Western Canada. Ca ll. Dept. Mines, M uscum Bull. 
No. 41, BioI. Scr. No. 10. 
2. ~Iunr(l, J A. and Cowan, I. MeT. 1947. A R c\"i ew of th e Bird Fauna of B ritish Colum-
bia. Provincial Muse um, V icto ria, B.C., Special l' ubli cati on :1\0. 2. 
3. 
~ . 
Hopkins, G. H. E. and Clay, Theresa. 1952. A Check Li st of The Genera and Spccics 
o f Ma llophaga. H .:-L Station cry Offi ce, L ondon. 
::> . 
Harri so n, Launce lo t. 1916 The Gene ra and Specics o f :-Iallophaga. Parasitol. 9(1) . 
Emerson, K. C. and Pratt, Harry D. 1956. Th e II[enoponida e found on No rth Am eri-
can Swift s. J Kansas Ent. Soc. 29(1). 
ANNOTATED LIST OF FOREST INSECTS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 
PART V - DIORYCTRIA SPP. (PYRALIDAE)1 
D. A. ROSS2 and D. EVANS3 
1. Contribution :\0. 29.~, F ores t B iology Diyi s ion , 
Science Service, D epa rtment of Agriculture, Ottawa, 
Canada. 
2 F ores t Biology Labora to ry, Vernon, B.C. 
3 Fores t Diology Labora tory, Victoria, D.C. 
Snout moths of the genus Dioryctria 
(includes Pinipestis) are a n important, 
although rather imperfectly known 
group of conifer pe sts. Their larvae 
attack cones, fo liage, and the bark 
and outer wood of twigs o r trunks. 
L a rvae of most Dioryctria are drab and 
of uniform coloration. Some specie s 
have pigmented pinacula giving a 
spotted appearance; o thers have 
broad, and in some in s tances, obscure 
stripes. All m embers of the genu s 
have a prominent , pale-coloured, 
black-r inged pinacu lum above each 
spiracle on As, and an even more 
prominent, similarly marked pinacu-
lum on the side of T~ . Dioryctria spp. 
over-winter in th e la r val stage ; most 
of the boring species pupate in a silk-
lined cell w ithin the hos t plant ti ssue . 
Excepting D. abietella D. & S. which 
emerges in the spring, adults emerge 
during midsummer. 
D. auranticella (Grote). Pinus pon-
derosa (cones and staminat e flowers); 
Southern Interior. During 1949 to 
1954, was in epidemic proportions 
through much of the Okanagan Val-
ley; as many as 80 per cent of the 
cOlles from some sample tree s were 
in fested. Usua lly cone s that have 
been attacked by this borer do no t 
open. I nfested cones have small, 
round, clean exi t holes. Often seve ral 
brvae feed in a cone leaving it a 
m el-e shell. Thi s in sect pupates in a 
silk-lined cell in the cone. Larva: 
length, 1 inch ; head, r eddi sh-brown 
and black ; prothoracic shield and legs, 
hlack ; body, blackish to dirty light 
brown, may be reddi sh tinge on thor-
ax; Stu-anal plate, anal prolegs, and 
circular spot 011 eig-hth abdominal 
segment , pale tan, the latte r with 
nan-ow bbck border: browni sh abou t 
seta l bases. 
D. sp. nr. auranticella. Pinm POIl-
dero.ra (cones) : Southern Interior; 
111 uch le ss common than atmmticella ; 
habi t s simila r to D. allrallticella. 
Larva: :): inch; reddi sh -brown head ; 
protho racic shi eld, suranal shield and 
sides of a nal prolegs pale tan; body 
fl esh-coloured; subdorsal - supra spir-
acular stripe clark g rey; pinacula not 
pigmented. 
D. abietella D. & S. In the 
cones of pJeudotsuga menziesii, Picea 
engelmanni, Abies lasiocarpa, Pinus ponder-
osa, Pinus contorta (and from Cronartium 
gall on branch), Pinus montico/a (from 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROc. (1956), VOL. 53, FEB. 15, 195 7 11 
mechanically injured portion of bole) ; 
generally distributed throughout In-
terior B.C. Larva forms a mass of 
frass and castings about burrow en-
trance; the cone boring form over-
winters on the ground as a fully 
developed larva in a silky cocoon 
coated with adhering bits of duff and 
soil. Douglas fir cones were infe sted 
lightly throughout much of the 
Southern Interior during 1950 and 
1951, although the species was 
less numerou s than Barbara colfaxiana. 
Larva: } inch ; head, reddish-brown, 
prothoracic shield paler; upper half 
of body, pinkish-red, rather obscure 
dark dorsal and subdo rsal stripes; 
venter pale; surana l plate and centre 
of As pale tan, speckled with bro·wn. 
D. reniculella Grt . complex. Picea 
glallca, Picea enge/manl1i, Pseudo/suga men-
zies;i, Abies lasiocarpa; generally dis-
tributed. The form on spruce may be 
a species distinct from the fir feeders. 
D . renimlella is almost exclusively a 
needle feeder in British Columbia; 
only one adult was r eared from a 
Douglas fir cone. No outbreaks 
recorded. Larva: ~ inch; head, tan t o 
dark brown to black; pro thoracic 
shield yellowish-tan; ground colour 
of body, pale yellow; upper portions 
of body, pale cinnamon, with faint 
yellowish dorsal and subdorsal stripes; 
dark brown patches or black stripe 
along supraspiracular area. 
D. zimmermani (Grt.). Pinlls con-
torta (bole and branches, and ex 
Cfonartilnll sp. galls on branches) ; 
Pinus mon/ico/a (bole). This species is 
chiefly secondary and only occasion-
ally is primary in British Columbia; 
generally distributed through the In-
terio r. Larva:l inch; head, reddish-
brown, m outhparts, blackish; prothor-
acic shield dark brown ; suranal plate 
pale tan; body, dirty off-white; black-
ish pinacula; irregular rows of minute 
black plate lets on thorax and abdomen 
observable under magnification. 
D. sp. nr. zimmermani~ Pin!ls pon-
derosa (bole); Nicola R. Valley. Four 
adults were reared from the area sur-
rounding a patch o f rodent-damaged 
bark. Larva: unknown. 
D. cambiicola Dyar. Pinus ponderosa 
(twigs); Okanagan Valley. A light 
infestation occurred in mature pon-
derosa pine. Summerland Experimen-
tal Farm, 1953-1954. The larvae bore 
into sides of twigs and feed on the 
hark and cambium of branchlets; 
their pre sence is indicated by a mass 
of pitch-coated frass and castings. 
Th e terminal portion of the infe sted 
branch dies. Larva: "~ inch; head, 
reddish-brown, black about mouth-
parts; prothoracic shield, black; body, 
dirty white; blackish pinacula; under 
magnification, irregular row s of 
minute black platelets discernible on 
thorax and abdomen; centre of sur-
anal plate and anal prolegs. reddish-
brown or black. 
Acknowledgment and note 
The writers are indebted to Dr. E. Munroe for identifying adult material reared during 
inves tigations of the genus Diol"yctria. 
One change in a species name was made by the se nio r aut hor after the pape r was in press. 
This was done following a perusal of the newly released "American lVf o ths of the Subfamily 
Phycitinae" by C. H einric h. U.S.N.M. Bull. 207. 1956 
Gyrophaena Insolens Csy. 
GYl"ophaena in so/ens Csy. (Coleo ptera: Sta -
phylinidae). I took a good series of this 
ins ec t at Creston. B.C., from a large ye llow 
mushroom.9-IX-19Sl. By that time Seeve rs' 
Revision of Gyrophaena was a lread y in press , 
so my capture was too lat e to r eceive notice. 
But in his letter identifying the species 
Seevers mentioned he had seen only three 
or four specimens of illso/ens, thes e from the 
tvne locality, I sle Royale, 1[ichigan. The 
Revi sion li s ts five species from B.C., all of 
\\"hich I have: af1illiJ SahIb., lIIeana Csy., keeni 
Csy., c:dijornica Csy. and nana Payk. But 
inJO/enJ is larger and more distinctive than 
any of these.- G". Stace Smith, Creston, B.C. 


Annotated list of forest insects of British Columbia Part V - Dioryctria spp. (Pyralidae)

22 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1956), VOL. 53, FEB. 15, 1957 
One, on a point, collected by G. J. 
Spence r at the University campus, 24 
March 1945 from Microtus serpens, 
Merr. 
One, on a point, collected by a 
student at 4200 ft., Silverhill mme, 
Tulameen, B.C., 12 Aug. 1955, from 
Sorex sp. This man, a student taking 
his doctorate in wild life management 
at this University, told me that the 
beetle was common on a number of 
small rodents tha t he had trapped in 
1955, but since he was interested only 
in fl eas, lice and ticks he disca rded 
the beetles. He is working- in the 
same territory this summer, 1956, and 
has promised to keep for me all that 
he collec t s. Thi s species is supposed 
to be a nest inhabitant, but all our 
specimens have been tak en from the 
fur of their hos t s. 
The main beave r pa rasite in this 
Province seems to be Leptinelills 1/alidlls 
(Horn) or a species so labelled by G. 
Hopping. A ll our specimens are from 
4 to 4.2 mm. long. Re sembling- young 
cockroaches in shape, they are in that 
..respect like other members of this 
family, a lthough not so flat. They are 
much darker coloured. The elytra are 
tightly locked together, or fused on 
th.e meson. In gene ral they agree 
With Park's and Barnes' description, 
quoted from Jeannel, 1922. Records 
include : 
One, on a point , collected with 
seve n la rvae at Lempriere, 13.c., 15 
May 1944, by O. French. 
Twenty-one, on points, collected by 
Game Warden E . Holmes a t Bowron 
Lakes, 10 Sept. 1949. 
Forty-five, in a lcohol , same date, 
place and collector, making 67 speci-
mens of thi s species. 
Finally, the third North American 
species Leptilltls (Leptinellus ) aplodontiae 
Ferris 1918, is specific to the mountain 
beaver Aplodontia sp. Our record is: 
Four specimen s on one slide, 2 males 
and 2 females, collec tion by Dr. C. 
Andresen Hubbard at Fort Dick, 
Californi a, 8 Aug. 1943 from Aplodontia 
pacifica. 
SOME RECORDS OF CERCERIDAE FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA 
(SPHECOIDEA : HYMENOPTERA) 
G. J. SPENCER 
Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia 
Continuing the task o f getting 
named the insects of this Province, 
which I have collected for the Uni-
versity over the years , I assembled 
the sphecoid wasps Cerceridae and 
sent them to Professor Emeritus 
Herman A. Scullen of Oreg-on State 
CoJleo'e who had volunteered to name 
them~ I am deeply indebted to Pro-
fessor Scullen who 11 0t only named 
and returned m y collection in short 
o rder, r etaining only one specimen 
for further study, but even added a 
male and female each, of three species 
which we did not have . Such g-ene r-
osi ty on the pa rt of a sys tema ti st is 
indeed excent ional and m erit s special 
mention and thanks which are here-
with g ratefully extended. 
Most writers on the Hymenoptera 
and autho r s of t ext books place these 
wasps in the Family Cerceridae of the 
superfamily Sphecoidea: the Synoptic 
Catalogue of the Hymenoptera of 
America North o f Mexico by Mues-
heck , Krombein, T ownes et ai, places 
them in the Superfamily Sphecoidea, 
Family Sphecidae, Sub-Family Philan-
thinae , Tribe Cercerini . I have u sed 
the older nomenclature . 
These small black and ye llow, hard-
hodies wasps a re apparently not well 
rep res ented in this Province. When-
ever I encountered th em in the course 
of some 28 year s general collecting, 
I a lways captured them, but the col-
lect ion contains only 83 specimens o f 
four species, all but fi ve of my own 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC IETY OF BRITISH COL UMBIA, PROC. (1956) , VOL. 53, FEB. 1 5, 1957 2;; 
collecting. Their habit s a re difficult 
to study and have not been well work-
ed out, but as far as known, they 
provision their nests w ith small t o 
medium- sized weevils. 
In the r ecords fo llowing, I have 
taken their con tinen ta l di st ribution 
and records of prey from the Synoptic 
Catalogue of Hymenoptera. 
Cerceris cali/ornica Cresson. Record-
ed from "Southwestern States". We 
have three males f rom Kamloops 
taken during J une and July . No prey 
r ecords g iven. 
Cerceris Iligrescfns Smith. Recorded 
from the northern S tate s and south e rn 
Canada, from the Pacific to the At-
lantic. We have 2S spec im ens of C. 
nigrescens taken from the dry belt , 
from Ke lowna to the Chilcotin and 
from Royal Oak nea r Victoria; they 
w ere captured from May to August. 
Prey is reco rded a s (a) H yperodes de-
Imnbis (Cyll) of which vve have no 
specimens : but a cl ose r elat ive H . illter-
stitialis (Dietz ) occurs in the Nicola 
Valley; (b) Sitona hispid!lla (Fab.) 
which is common a ll over th e dry belt; 
(c) GymllaetroJl sp., o f which genu s we 
have G. tetmm, the mullein weevi l, 
from Kam loops and Chill iwack; (d) G. 
anti1'Yhini Pay k. w hi ch OCC t1l·S i n Va n-
CGuve r . 
Cerceris sextoides Banks. Listed as 
occurring from Washington to Cali-
fornia. No prey is recorded fo r this 
species. Vie have 41 specimen s, a ll 
from Kamloops, collected during the 
summer months. 
Ellcerceris fiavocincta Cresson. Record-
ed from the Rocky Mountains and the 
\Vest at 2000 ft. and above. We have 
14 specimens taken from May to 
J ul y, from Oliver to the Chilco tin and 
two males from nea r Nanaimo on tide-
water. This apparently, is a new and 
unu sual a ltitudinal record. The prey 
is lis ted as Dyslobitls lecontei Casey, of 
whi ch we have only two specimens, 
both from Victoria: but D. vermci/er 
Ca sey occurs a ll ove r the dry belt and 
D. granicollis (Lee.) at Langley, Vic-
to ri a and Cowichan. 
The gift species from Professor 
Scull en are a male and female each of 
Etlcerceris mOlltana Cresson. E. can ali CIliata 
(Say) and E. tricolor Cockc rell , of 
w hi ch none ha s apparent ly been 
r ecorded from Canada. 
D oubtless seve ra l more specie s wi ll 
be recorded fo r th is Provi nce, but at 
pre sent I reco rd only four native ones 
and threc from ou ts ide British Col-
umbia. 
THE LIFE HISTORY OF EUTHY ATIRA SEMICIRCULARIS GRT. 
(LEPIDOPTERA: THYATIRIDAE) 
G EORGE A. H ARDY 
Provincia l Museum , Victoria, B.C. 
The handsome moth Ellthyatira semi-
circularis Crt. turn s up occasionally at 
light in May ;lncI Jun e, bu t is by no 
m eans common on south ern Van-
couver Island, a s far a s m y expe ri ence 
goes. 
It has a wing expanse of 40 to 4S 
mm . It s colour is a blend of various 
shades of grey and brown, w ith a 
series of dark semicir cula r lines cross-
ing the fore-wings, concave t owards 
the wing bases, a characteristic which 
has c\' iclent ly prompted the speci fi c 
nam e. A white basa l patch and a 
light grey area on t he wing tips con-
t rasts with the preva iling sof t greys 
and browns. W hen at r es t , w ith the 
wings closely appli ed to t he body, the 
moth re sembles a piece of dead, 
broken-off twig so closely as to make 
detection difficult even for the prac-
tised eye. 
In British Columbia this moth 
a ppears to be confined to southern 


Some records of Cerceridae from British Columbia (Sphecoidea: Hymenoptera)

Downing, R. S.

r~TOMOLOG ICA L SOCIETY OF BR ITISH CO L U MBIA , PRO C. (1 957) . V O L .. 5·1, DEC. 16, 195 7 19 
CHEMICAL CONTROL OF THE BROWN MITE, BRYOBIA ARBOREA 
M. & A., AND OF THE CLOVER MITE, B. PRA ETIOSA KOCH, 
IN BRITISH COLUMBIAI 
R. S. DOWNING2 
Entomology Laborato ry, Summerland, B.C. 
Th e mite previously kno \\'n a s the 
c lo vcr mite, Bl'yobia pl'aeliosa K och , ha s 
rece ntly been separated into two 
s pecics. Bl'yobia al'bol'ea ::'II. & A. and 
B . fl'aeliosa K och, and th e comm on 
nam e ~ , bro wn mite and clo ve r mite, 
r e" pec tively , have bee n suggested 
( \'lurgan and Ande rson. in press ). Al -
t hu ug h the two mites are cl ose ly r c-
la ted, diffe ren ces in their life -h is tori es, 
, I S sho wn by Anderson and l\;(o rgan 
( in preparati on), are important in de-
tnmining chemical contro l procedure s. 
Th e brown mite is an o rchard pc s t. 
j ts life-hi s to ry and feecling habi ts are 
si mil a r t o thu se o f the E uropea n red 
m it e, il'lelalell'alJychlis II/Illi (K och ), but , 
exce pt fo r occa sional outbreak s, it is 
II() t :;u impo rtant a pes t. The cl ove r 
mi te, un t he o th e r hand , is no t s tri c t -
1,1' a n o rchard pest. j t feeds on a 
\I·ide range of hcrbacco us plant s. from 
Il 'hi ch it oftcn 111()\'e s into d\\'e llings; 
consequcntly it is be t tc r kllO\\'!1 a s a 
h'lu scho ld pes t , 
Thi :; re po rt co mpan: s th c chemical 
l'Olltr',,1 "f the se two close ly re lated 
mit es, 
Chemical Control of the Brown Mite 
At thc pink bud stagc of applc trec 
de ve lopment the brown mit e i::- :n th e 
larya l o r early nymphal stagc and is 
parti cul a rly vulncrabl e to ch emi cal 
nll1tro1. ] t ha s been rcported that 
t he sy s t emic preparati(ll1 ~ dem c ton 
(Systux, Geary Ch emical Company, 
l\ e w Yo rk, N .Y. ) and ~ chradall (I'es-
t(lX 3. Pe~ t Contrul Limited, Cam -
11I'idge, England) ( Down i ng-. 1953 ) . 
:llld the ~u l ph o ester::; fen so ll ( Mur-
\ e :;co, ~Iurph y Chemi ca l Company, 
\\h cathamp~tead . England ) and O\'ex 
1. Co ntri bution :\0. jtj68. E nto molog y n i\'isiotl , 
~(' it..' ll c(, St,>f\' ict' . i l::p art lllt"tl t of .-\ g ri culttl re, O tta wa, 
L"lIl ada . 
.!. ,\ ".;;!)c ia t t.' Elltn l ll () lc , g i ~ t. 
(O\'otran , Do w Ch e mical Company , 
M idl and, JI-li chi g an ) (Downing, ill 
press) , in pink bud a pplicati ons ha\'e 
given exce ll ent contro l o f the b ro wn 
mite fo r the whol e sea s()n, Fe ·.l son anci 
ovex, having lowcr mammalian toxici -
ty than Systox and schradan , are th e 
recomm ended mat e rial s ill n riti sh 
Columbia, 
The bl'own mi te C11l a lso be control-
led ill th e summ c r month s (Downing. 
in pre ss) bu t, owing to the prcsence (If 
eggs as w e ll a s acti\'e mite s, acari cide,.; 
a re less cffcc tiy e a s summer applica -
t ions than a s pink bud applicati ons, 
Chemical Control of the Clover Mite 
The life -hi s to ry of th e d o \er mil e 
is mo re complex than that of the 
iJrown mit e, A lth ough the fo rm e r 
~ pe ci es () \'e nvinte rs mainly in the egg 
and adu lt s tages, Iaryae and nymph s 
are sum e tim es prc scnt , tuo . Con 5e -
quently chemi cal contro l cann o t be 
directed again s t actiY e s tages a lone. 
a s \\'i th th e hrown mi te. T o be high -
ly effectivc again s t the clm'er mite , 
an acaricidc mu st bc effectiy e again st 
eggs as w ell a s active s tage s, o r ha\' c 
a persistent r es idual effect. 
1\105t of the chcmical control cx -
periments carried out against these 
mites in thc intcrio r o f B riti sh Co l-
umhi a \I'cre cond ucted around hom es 
and in ganl ens. T he acaricides we re 
applied \I'ith a bu ck e t pump spraye r 
to uUhid e \I'a ll s o f home s, or to in , 
fe s ted gra sses and o rnamental plant s 
ncarbv. Th e abundan ce of mitc s wa s 
not e ; timat ed hy sampling and count -
ing: in s tea d, it wa s approximated by 
genera l obse rvati on of t reatecl area s 
before and afte r sprayi ng. 
Sulph ur clu s t has bcc n recomm end ed 
in som e a rea s fo r th e contro l o f th e 
clOlT r mite a round home s ( Zappe . 
1939): hut seve ral hntl seholrl e l' s ill 
20 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROC. (1957), VOL. 54, DEC. 16, 1957 
Summerland and Penticton claimed it 
was ineffective. An experiment was 
carried out by dusting wettable sulphur 
on the soil around the foundation of a 
home in May, 1955. Although the 
mites moved freely through the sul-
phur they survived with little or no 
sign of injury. 
On another occasion malathion, a 
chemical recommended for control of 
the brown mite on fruit trees, was 
used by a householder to control the 
clover mite; he claimed poor results. 
A second experiment was undertaken, 
therefore, to determine the control of 
the clover mite by each of three 
acaricidal mixtures. The materials 
were applied as sprays to separate 
areas on the walls of the house, to the 
soil at the bases of the walls, and to 
plants in the garden. Malathion (25 
per cent; Pennsylvania Salt Manu-
facturing Company, Tacoma, Wash-
ington) at two pounds per 100 gallons 
and wettable sulphur (92 per cent; 
Canadian Industries Limited, Mont-
real, Quebec) at two pounas were each 
ineffective. Kelthane (18.5 per cent 
1, 1-bis (p-chlorophenyl) 2, 2, 2-tri-
chloroethanol; Rohm and Haas Com -
pany, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) at 
two pounds on the other hand, gave 
satisfactory control. 
The following year, May, 1956, 
Kelthane (18.5 per cent) was compar-
ed in the laboratory and in the field 
with Sulphenone (Sulphenone 50-W. 
containing 40% p-chlorophenyl phenyl 
sui phone and 10% related diaryl sul-
phones; Stauffer Chemical Company, 
Mountain View, California). The lat-
ter is currently recommended in Brit-
ish Columbia for summer control of 
the brown mite on fruit trees. In the 
laboratory a sheet of filter paper was 
dipped in an aqueous acaricidal 
suspension and allowed to dry. Then 
the sheet was placed in the bottom of 
a quartsize frozen-food container into 
which about 30 mites were introduced. 
The mites were confined in the con-
tainer for two days, after which liv-
ing and dead mites were recorded. 
There were five replicates per treat-
ment. Kelthane, two pounds per 100 
gallons, allowed eight per cent sur-
vival; Sulphenone, four pounds allow-
ed 31 per cent; in the untreated 
control, survival was 87 per cent. 
The two acaricides were applied to 
separate areas on the outside walls 
of a house heavily infested with the 
clover mite, and to the soil at the 
bases of the walls and to the lawn 
for a distance of eight feet from the 
house. Keithane, two pounds per 100 
gallons, gave excellent initial and resi-
dual control of the mites; Sulphenone, 
although fairly effective, was obvious-
ly inferior. 
Summary 
The brown mite, a species that at-
tacks fruit trees, was satisfactorily 
controlled with a pre-bloom spray of 
fenson or ovex, or either of the 
systemic insecticides schradan and 
Systox. The clover mite, which 
occurs as a pest on grasses and a 
wide range of herbaceous plants and 
is a pest in and around homes, was 
controlled with one application of 
Kelthane. Sulphenone controlled the 
clover mite fairly well, but was not 
so effective as Kelthane, whereas 
malathion and wettable sulphur were 
unsatisfactory. 
References 
And erson, N. H., and C. V. G. Morgan. Life-histories and habits of the clover mit e, Bryobia 
fJraeliosa Koch, and the brown mite, B . arborea M. & A., in British Columbia (Acarina : 
Tetranychidae). In preparation. 
Downing, R. S. Preliminary orchard trials with sys temic insecticides. Proc. En!. Soc. 
British Columbia 49 :24-26. 1953. 
Downing, R. S. Recent trials with new acaricides in British Columbia. Can. J. Plant Sci. 
In press. 
Morgan, C V. G., and N. H. Anderson. Bryobia arborea n. sp. and morphological characters 
distinguishing it from B. praetiosa Koch (Acarina: Tetranychidae). Canadian Ent. in 
press. 
Zappe, M. P. Clover mite in dwellings. In Connecticut State Entomologist, thirty-ninth 
report, 1939, pp. 317-318. Connecticut Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 434. 1940. 


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