Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia

Smith, G. Stace

Ilybius inversus Shp. (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)

Spencer, G. J.

A note on Tribolium destructor Utten. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Grant, J.

26 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRI:ISH C?,~,UMBIA, PROC. (1 958), VOL. 55 , .DEC. 22 , 195 8 
It wo uld sccm tha t th c flic s lay th e 
fir s t quo ta of 624 eggs and eith c r la y no 
more o r rcma in qui"SCCtll until th c second 
se ri es dcvelops . At th e tips o f the fo lli cles, 
in th e ge rmaria, wcre minut e embryonic eggs 
which prohably never dcvelo'p befo rc th c 
fl y season end s. 
Refer"nces : 
( I) Hearlc, Eric. 1938. In sec ts a nd a lli ed 
pa rasites InJUrlOUS to lives tock a nd 
poultry in Ca nada . Farm ers bull et in 
53, Dcpt. of Ag ric. , Ottawa, Ca nada . 
(2) Smar t, J o hn. 1943. A Handbook fo r 
the ldcntifi ca tio n of In sec ts of ~ [ edical 
Im po rt a nce. B riti sh :-1usc um, L o ndon, 
Oct. 1943, p. 78. 
- G. f. SIl encer, University 0/ British Columbia. 
A Food Plant of Or/hOl'is cro/chi Les. (Coleoptera, cruculionidae) 
On Se ptembe r 8, 1956, 1 found pupae of 
the wec vil Orthoris crotchi Lec. in th c secd 
pods o f s ti ck -l eaf, Men/zelia I(/evicalliis 1'. a nd 
G. at Ol ive r, H.C. ,'.,f o re than lOa ad ul ts 
wc re obtained in the en suin g 5 w eeks from 
dried plants k ept at room tempera ture. A 
pa rasit c, Brawn poss ibl y nllpera C ress . was 
idcnti fied by Mr. C. D. r. ]'v[il ler of th e 
Systema tics Lnit. in O tt awa. 
O n Jun c 14, 1947, adult wcev il s were lit-
e ra ll y swarming on s tick-leaf plants at Mid-
way, H.C. In s pitc o f its loca l abund a nce, 
thi s species is apparentl y rare in coll cc tio ns 
o f D.C. Coleoptera . 
- J. Grall/, Forest Biology Laboratory, V ernon, 
B.C. 
OBSERV A TIONS ON A PINE SHOOT MOTH, 
EUCOSMA SONOMANA KFT. (LEPIDOPTERA: OLETHREUTIDAE)l 
J. GRANTZ 
Th e shoot moth, E1Icosllla sOl/omana 
Kft. , is one of a g roup of six members 
of thi s large genu s whi ch Heim-ich 
(1923) li s ts as fe eders on coniferous 
trees. In Briti sh Columbia it is known 
to occur across the sout heas te rn part 
of th e provin ce from E lko to the 
Okanagan Valley and northwa rd a s 
far as Cha se. 
Ponderosa a nd lodgepole pines are 
the only hos t s so far reco rded in 
Briti sh Columbia; larvae have been 
reared on Eng lemann spruce in Mon-
tana. 
Th e following observations were 
macle in the summer of 1957 in the 
Grancl F ork s district, and refer only 
to attacks on ponderosa pine. 
Life History 
The pupa ove rwinte rs. It is be-
lieved that the egg is laid in ea rly 
spring on the g rowing tips of th e host 
tree. Young, open grown stands are 
most susc eptibl e but trees up to 40 
feet in heigh t may be a ttack ed. The 
larva bore s into the centre of the 
shoot, leaving only a minute tra il at 
1. Contribution :\0. 465, Fores t Biology Division , 
Science Serv ice, Department of Agr icu lt ure, O ttawa, 
Ontario. 
2. Fores t niology l..,aboratory, Ve rno n , B.C. 
fir s t , but in th e late instars, ho llowing 
out most o f th e centra l pith. Dur-
ing th e fee ding period th e re are no 
exudati ons of pitch or fra ss; the only 
symptoms a re a slight dwarfing o f 
infe s ted terminals , and a tendency to 
droop. When fully grown the la rva 
bores an exit hole throug h the side 
of the shoo t and drops to the ground. 
Larvae from Cascade and Midway 
pupated in the in sectary 'a t Vernon 
be tween mid-June and early July. 
P upa were kept in the in sectary until 
the autumn, wh en they were placed 
in cold sto rage at 35° F. Adult s hp-
gan to emerge th ree day s after the 
pupae were tran sfe rred to con sta nt 
t emperature cabinet s at 70° F. 
Economic Importance 
Althoug h Ellcosma sonomana may se ri-
ously di sfigure young pines by killing 
o r di storting th e new growth , it is not 
consid ered to be a pest of major im-
portan ce in Briti sh Columbia. Mul-
tiple stem s are the mos t serious 
deformity res ulting from t he death o f 
th e main leader, but as many of the 
infested leaders survive, the form o f 
the tree is no t always affected. 
Three types of injury ha ve been ob-
se r ved. Dead, s li g htly curv ed leade rs 


English

A Food Plant of Orthoris crotchi Les. (Coleoptera: Cruculionidae)

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COL UMB IA , PROC. (1958) , VOL. 55, DEC. 22 , 1958 35 
r a nge where the insect has not been 
fo und. A lpine La rch, Larix fyallij ParI. , 
occ urs at high elevat ion s ove r much 
of the range' of we s tern la rch, but has 
never been recorded as a hos t of la r ch 
saw fl y in B ritish Colum bia. 
References 
),I cLeou, ]. H. 195 1. Kotes o n the populat ion a nd pa ra s it ism of the larch sawfly, Pristi-
phora erich.ronii (Htg.) (Hym e nop tera: Tent hredinida e), in Briti sh Columbia. Ent. Soc. 
D.C. P roc. ( 195 1) , 48 :8 1-85. 
H o ppin g , G. R., H . B. L eech, and C. V. G. 110rgan. 1 9~3. The larch sawfl y, Pristiphora 
erichsonii (Hart ig) in Britis h Columbi a , with spec ia l ref ere nce to the cocoon pa ras ites 
MesoleillJ teli /hrediniJ Morl ey a nu Tritll eptis klli.~ ii (J{at ze ourg). Sc i. Ag ric. 24(2): 53 -63 . 
A Record of a Sand Cricket,. Stenopelmalrnae, from the 
Coastal Wet Belt of British Columbia 
The Ste no pe hn;lti nae co ns titute th e fir s t 
o i five sub-families of th e T e tli goniiu ae o r 
lo ng- horned g rass ho ppers t hat occ ur in Brit -
ish Colu mbia. In sec ts of this suo-fam il y, 
ge nera lly ca ll ed Sand o r ] e ru salem cricket s, 
h ;lve eno rmo us, smooth h eads and hc;tvil y 
spined fro n t legs fo r di ggin g in t he sandy 
soil in w hi ch th ey liye. Th ey arc noct urna l, 
hid in g by day in bu rroll's excavated und er 
sto n es and bits of wood. 
I n hi s li s t o f t he OrtllOpte ra o f Driti sh 
Columbia ( I ), B uckel l r eco rd s three spec ies: 
Stenopel711ct/lIs fl/scIIs Haldeman of w hich h e 
coll ected o ne speci men iro m F",ir view, jus t 
sou t h of O lil'er; S. longispill(t Brunn er, record-
ed from Vancouver by Ca rl B runner ( in 
Ve hr-Zoll -bo t. Gesell sch. ' Vei n XXXVIII, 
p. 26 1, ( 18RR), and Cyphoderris mOIl J/rows 
U h ler, th e Il oc turn:tl w ood c ri cket I"hi ch 
is comm o n in the D r v Delt in the a spen 
groves tha t f ri nge tim lier line. 
S pec im en s o f S/enopellll(//lls ha"e no traces 
o f "' in g,, ; CYl,boderris m ale s h;tl'e sho r t, stub-
by tegmina lI' ith which they s tridulat e, but 
th e femal es arc ent irely lI·in g le ss . 1 11:\\·c 
take n a felV spe cim ens of S. fll sclis from un de r 
boa rd s nca r the in ternation; d bo und:try at 
O SOI'OOS but ha d no r ecord from the CO:1s t 
un ti l I r eceived a full groll" n s pecimen f ro m 
~Irs . Mi nnie Peterson of Semiamu Bay w ho 
sa id it was destroyin g po t:ltoes in he r 
gard en . KolI' thi s bay is g iven, in th e Geo-
gra phica l Gazettee r fo r B.c. as "Georg ia 
S t ra it Eas t of Bou ndary Bay, NelV , .vcs t-
min s te r Di st ri c t" a nd may lVe ll be con sid e red 
t he Vancouver regio n. the refore the spec i-
men I r ecei ved f r0111 }'I r s. Peterson is 
pro bably S/ellopelmatlls IOl1 gispill(/ Brunne r 
a nd it would be th e fi r st t :1 king of th is 
insect s ince 1888, the "eco nd record fo r the 
pro vin ce. 
iml11ediate ly wro te to 11rs. Peterson 
begg in g her to sacr ifice her potato patch 
for th e sake of sc ience and to coll ec t me 
all th e s pecimen s sh e co ul d, bu t the fi rs t 
is th e only o ne r eceived so fa r; M rs. Peter-
son is appare n tly not a scientist, o r th e 
in sect is cx ccss i"ely rare at the coas t . 
Reference : 
( I) Duckel l, E. R. 1930. T he DerJna pte r:l 
:t nd Ort ho ptera o f \ ';lnCOUyer I s land. 
Proc. Lilt. S oc. D.C. 27 : p. 46. 
- G . .f. S/ICII Cfr, L'!1ireni/y () j B,i/iIh Colllmbi(/. 
Jll e!./Ild/)d J/rid/.I Say at Vernon, 
T he OCC UIT(,IlC e o i ,1felcllldnd J/ri(/ /a Sa,' at 
Co urten; ty, n.c.. h:l s been recorded b,' C're-g-
son (Enl. Soc. B.c. . Proc. -11. 36, 19-1-1). Th e 
o nl y ot her H. C. s pec imen, tktt I hayc bee n 
able to locat e arc in the Canadi:tn ?\ati ll nal 
Col lec tion: o n e is from \ ' ic to ria and th e 
o th e r is of do ubtful au t h e n t ic it,· as there is 
B .C. (Coleoptera, Melandryidae) 
no loca lity o n t he label. -
A new record of An/lapbild .trr.rlis 
I took a fi ne s pec imen of AI1I1(/phi/(/ (/r1 'cr/is 
1n Saanich. \ -ancouve r I s land o n :-Iarc h 
10. 1958. Thi s appears, fro m Ill y informa -
ti on, to be th e fir s t reco rd s ince t,yO " 'ere 
taken oy E. 11. Anderso n :1 t Golds tream, 
V. T .. }.Iarch 22, 1903. 
This s pecies fo rm e rl y ma squeraded as 
Brephos fi e/cheri in our Jlubli sherl list s. but 
recen t i l1I'eq-i ga t io ns ha ye sho ll'n it s r c :\ I 
s tatus (sec P ro "in cia l Mu seum R e po r t 1932). 
Some do ubt ha s exi s ted t ha tit "'as pre s-
ent in B. C. since no spec im en s had been 
011 }. ray 16 and 17, 1 9.~ () , I col lec ted lJ 
!:t r,·:,,· . -1. pupae and 5 ca ll o \\" ad ul ts o f titi s 
hcc tlc ir"" 1 , ltI1I1PS of ,,·itite birch Be/ltl(1 
I,.I /'Jri fcrd ~\hr s h. 8 mile s e; ls t o f Vernoll, 
I\ .C. Ti le lan'al Q'a l lcri es \I'e r e traced 10 a 
depth oj ~ ill c ites' it l tit e ro tting Iyood, b\lt 
lite p\lp al cell s lI"en, IlW>1ly " ' ithi\l an 
in c it oi l ite s \lr !:tcc . 
- J. Grdll/ . i'ureJ/ 13iolo.~y Laboret/ory, J T ernOI!, 
B.C. 
Hy. Edw. III British Columbia 
taken fo r so long. Eyidelltlv it is a n 111 -
sect th at c:t lln ot be co ll ec ted del iberately 
o,,-in g to th e !:tct that its habits do no t 
co in ciu e ,,·ith our m e tit od o f a pproac h . It 
seems to oe met ,,·ilh o llly by pure chance 
alld good lu ck. 
Th e C:1 tc rpill ar is kn O,,' n 10 feed o n M ontia 
l'f /f() lia/(/. th e r e fo re it sho uld be looked fo r 
lI·here thi s plant gTOlY 5, hut always I'ery ea rl y 
in the seaSO Il. 
-Geo rge A. H ardy. 


A Record of a Sand Cricket, Stenopelmatinae, from the Coastal Wet Belt of British Columbia

Pielou, D. P.

Problems in the compilation of a spray calendar for orchards in British Columbia

20 
tained in Va x Va x 18 inch strips. Cut 
these into % inch lengths for mounts. 
Insert a number 3 insect pin vertically 
through the balsa mount 1/ 16 of an 
inch from one end. Press the mount 
to a height of % inch on the pin, using 
the appropriate step on the "pinning 
block." With forceps, grasp the pin 
holding the moth and press the point 
1 16 of an inch vertically in to the 
balsa mount Va of an inch from the 
end. The mounted specimen is then 
ready for labelling. (Fig. 2) . 
Fig. 1. Moth on spreading board. 
Fig. 2. Muunted and labell ed moth. 
Pine Siskins Killing Forest Tent Caterpillars 
In June 1954 the trembling aspen wood-
lands along the Fraser River Valley south 
of Quesnel, British Columbia, were denuded 
by an outbreak of the forest tent caterpil-
lar, Malacosoma disstria Hbn. On June 22 
in the semi-open country about Castle Rock, 
flocks of pine siskins, Spiinus pinus (Wilson), 
were numerous and two instances of preda-
tion upon the fully-grown larvae were ob-
served. The bird carried a larva to a su it-
able branch, then standing on the insect's 
body, grasped the head in its bill and pulled 
until the viscera were removed . These were 
laid along the branch and a small portion of 
the body contents were selected and eaten. 
One siskin killed three larvae in this man-
ner in a few minutes. 
- .1 . Or(ll/t. rnrcs l Rio/OflY [ ,oboralory. VeT-
I/on. R. C. 


Pine Siskins Killing Forest Tent Caterpillars

Marshall, J.

Williams, K.

PI{QC. E !'i T OM O I .. SOl'. Bill'!'. CO I. D lnl.\ . Vo r. . 1)7 ( 1960), D EC. 1. 1960 .9 
AN EXPERIMENT IN CONTROLLING DDT-RESISTANT CODLING 
MOTH, CARPOCAPSA POMONELLA L. ' 
J . MARSHALL AND K . WILLLI\MS 2 
The presence in Brit ish Columbia 
of a race of the codling moth, Carpo-
capsa pomonella L., resist.ant to DDT 
was demonstrated in a laboratory ex-
periment in 1958 by Marsh a ll (1). The 
same year, in an attempt to save the 
crop in the orchard that was most 
heavily attacked by the DDT-resistan t 
insect, second brood spraying was 
carried out with a new imecticide that 
had given good results in 1957 a gainst 
what had been considered a normal 
codling moth population. The n ew 
insecticide was the carbamate Sevin 
(N-methyl-l -naphthyJ ca rbama te). 3 
The results of this la te spraying 
were encouraging enough to justify a 
careful orchard assessment of Sevin 
in 1959. To broaden the experiment a 
second new insecticide, h aving a mol-
ecule structurally quite different from 
either DDT or Sevin, was also exam-
med. It was the organo-phosphate 
Ethion (0,0,0', O'-tetraethyl, S, S'-
methylene bisphosphorodi thioa te) •. 
Experi menta I 
An orchard in the Glenmore district 
near Kelowna was used for both the 
1958 and 1959 experiments. In 1958 
one acre was sprayed twice, and in 
1959 seven acres were sprayed five 
times. 
The trees were mature McIntosh 
and Delicious with a diameter of 20 
to 30 feet, and an average height of 
about 18 feet. One series of seven 
,Cont r ibutio n No. 46 fr o,,'. the Reg iona l R c· 
sea r ch Stat ion, Canada Department of Ag ri culture, 
Summ erla nd, British Columbia . 
2 En tomologis t a nd Chemis t r espec ti ve ly . 
3 Union Carbide Corp., Whi te Plains, New Yo rk, 
U.S.A . 
• Niaga r a Ch emical Div. F ood Mac hine r y Cor p. , 
Middleport , Ne w York , U.S.A. 
5 Oka nagan Turbo Spraye r s Ltd ., Pen tiet on, Bri t · 
is h Co lu mbia. 
€> Swa nson Spraye r s, Oka nagan Cen t r e, Bri t ish 
Columbia. 
plots was in a block of McIntosh trees , 
and a second series of seven plots, 
sprayed with th e same ma terials and 
the same equipment, in a block partly 
of McIntosh a nd partly of Delicious 
trees. 
The two experimen tal chemicals 
were applied to separate half-acre 
plo ts, each conta ining 20 to 30 trees, 
with three differen t orchard concen-
tra te sprayers. Of these a 1955 model 
Turbo-Mist s and a 1959 model Swan-
son 6 were independently powered, 
with gasoline en gines . The third ma-
chine was a compact. experimental 
power- ta ke-off unit designed and 
built a t the Summerland Research 
Station. Designa ted Okanagan Ex-
perimental Sprayer Mark II, it is the 
subject of a separa te a rticle by Mc-
Mechan and Williams (2) . DDT was 
applied to only one plot (duplicated) 
with the Turbo-Mist machine. 
In the course of the season three 
cover sprays were applied against the 
first brood codling moth , and two 
against the second brood . The first 
application was made a week after 
petal-fall. 
DDT and Sevin were used as 50 per 
cent wettable powders, and Ethion as 
a 25 per cen t wettable powder. The 
dosage in a ll plots was 50 imperial 
gallons of spray concentrate per acre. 
Frui ts were analyzed for spray de-
posits immediate ly following the last 
cover spray, and again, at harvest 34 
days later. Ten apples were sampled 
from each of six t rees per plot. 
At harves t th e numbers of worm-
infested and "st.ung" frui ts were noted 
in 500 frui ts sampled from each of 
fi ve 25-bush el bins f rom th.e centre 
trees of each plo t. 
10 Pnoc. El"TOl\IOL. Soc . BRIT. CO Ll;:\ [BU , V O L. 57 (1960 ), D E C. 1, 19GO 
Results 
Bearing in mind the percentage of 
active ingredient in each of the three 
insecticides, and the quantities ap-
plied per acre, the chemical determin-
ations listed in Table 1 show that the 
three different sprayers applied 
roughly simila r amounts of insectic-
ides to the tops, and to th e bottoms, 
of the trees. In each case about one-
fourth as much insecticide was de-
posited on the fruits in the tops of 
the trees 12 to 15 feet above ground as 
on the fruits in the bot toms of the 
trees. 
TABLE I-Average Spray Deposits from Duplicate Plots Following Last Cover Spray 
Amount 
per acre, Parts per million 
Plot Machine Material lb. 
1 Turbo-mist DDT 50% 12 
2 Turbo-mist Sevin 50% 6 
3 Expt. Mark II Sevin 50 % 6 
4 Swanson Sevin 50 % 6 
5 Turbo-mist Ethion 25% 12 
6 Expt. Mark II Ethion 25% 12 
7 Swanson Ethion 25% 12 
Table 2 giving the spray deposits 
immediately following the last spray 
application, and the resi due that was 
present 34 days later, suggests that 
Sevin is less persistent, and Ethion 
Top of tree Bottom of tree 
1.9 9.2 
1.0 4.1 
0.8 3.5 
1.3 4.0 
1.4 5.1 
0.8 4.4 
1.3 4.3 
more perSistent, than DDT. (In a 
short article there is only room to 
tabulate averages; but the averages 
do sum up what was suggested by the 
unabridged results.) 
TABLE II-Average Spray Deposits, Bottoms of Trees, Immcdia tely Following Last 
Spray Application and at Harvest. 34 Days Latei' 
Amount 
per acr e, 
Plot Machine Material lb. 
1 Turbo-mist DDT 50 % 12 
4 Swanson Sevin 50% 6 
7 Swanson Ethion 25 % 12 
The next table shows that many 
more fruits were injured by the codl-
ing moth in the plots sprayed with 
DDT than in the plots sprayed with 
the two experimental compounds. 
But the difference was, in fact, far 
greater than the figures suggest. That 
was because, first , the amount of ac-
tive ingredient applied per acre was 
twice as great in the DDT plots as in 
the Sevin or Ethion plots. Second, as 
the outcome of codling moth infesta-
tion, at least half of the fruits had 
Parts per 
Last spray 
9.2 
4.0 
4.3 
million 
Harvest 
3.3 
0.8 
2.2 
fallen from the DDT-treated trees be-
fore h arvest; these were not assessed 
for codling moth in ju ry. Virtually 
none of the dropped fru its in the 
other plots sh owed codling moth 
injury. 
This experimen t demonstrated in 
the field what h a d been suggested in 
the la boratory, and what had been 
the experience of the owner of the 
property; in this orchard the codling 
moth can no longer be controlled with 
DDT. 
Prro C' . E'IT0 1fO l.. Soc. BlOT. CO I.l;)!III.\. VOL. 57 (1960), DEC'. I , 1960 11 
TABLE III-Codling Moth Infestation in H3rvested Fruit (5,000 Fruits 
Each Plot Including Duplicates) 
Amount 
per acre, 
Plot Machine Material lb. 
1 Turbo-m ist DDT 50 % 12 
l A 
1A 
2 Turbo-mist Sevin 50% 6 
2A 
2A 
3 Expt. Mark II Sevin 50% 6 
3A 
3A 
4 Swanson Sevin 50 o/r 6 
4A 
4A 
5 Turbo-Mist Ethion 25% 12 
5A 
5A 
6 Expt. Mark II Ethion 25 % 12 
6A 
6A 
7 Swanson Ethion 25% 12 
7A 
7A 
What then of the experimental 
chemicals? Of the two, Sevin, as 
applied with the Turbo-mist sprayer 
in plot 2, undoubtedly was subjected 
to heavier codling moth attack than 
Ethion because, in both of the experi-
mental blocks, plot 2 immediately ad-
joined the DDT plot. So plot 2, doubt-
less, was heavily invaded by second 
generation moths that had developed 
due to the failure of DDT. That is 
probably the explanation for th e 
slightly heavier infestation in plot 2 
than in the other plots, (3 and 4) , 
that were sprayed with Sevin. The 
over-all performance of Sevin, in this 
orchard experiment, shows that this 
material was evidently about as ef-
fective against DDT-resistant codling 
moths as was DDT against non-re-
sistant codling moths when the later 
insecticide was introduced into British 
Columbia 15 years ago. 
To judge from the records of in-
festation alone, Ethion, although ap-
parently less effective against DDT-
resistant codling moth than Sevin, is 
nevertheless a promising material. 
There is, however, another consider-
ation; about a month before harvest 
Apple Fruits 
variety % stung % wormy 
McIntosh 3.2 14.1 
McIntosh -- _ ________ 0 _______ 4.8 39.0 
Delicious - ---"---_. __ ._------ 7.2 41.2 
McIntosh ._-------------- -- 1.8 0.6 
McIntosh . - ---- -_ . -.------ 3.4 2.0 
Delicious --- --- -- -- ---_ .. _--- 1.6 2.3 
McIntosh . _-- ----- -_ .. ... -- -- 2.1 0.4 
McIntosh --- - --- .. --------- - 2.5 0.4 
Delicious -- -------- ------ -- 1.2 0.5 
McIntosh ._-- -. _- ----- ------- 1.8 0.9 
McIntosh -- ----- .--------- - 1.0 0.1 
Delicious ---- -------_ .... ---- 1.3 0.5 
McIntosh ----_ ... _.-._-- ---- 3.3 2.2 
McIntosh ------- --------_.- 0.6 0.1 
Delicious -- ------ ------ - - - . -~ 1.7 0.9 
McIntosh --- ----- _._----- 7.4 4.3 
McIntosh --- -.---- ----------- 2.0 0.6 
Delicious ---- -- --+.+------- -- 1.7 1.1 
McIntosh -- --- ------ -- ------ 6.6 3.8 
McIntosh ---- ---- ---------.< . 1.7 0.3 
Delicious -.-. -.--------.---- 2.0 1.3 
some defoliation occurred on Delicious 
trees that had been sprayed with 
Ethion . On the other hand, Sevin 
gave no evidence of phytotoxicity in 
this orchard, but experience elsewhere 
indicates that Sevin may have a thin-
ning effect if applied to fruitlets 
shortly after petal fall. 
The experimental effects of Sevin 
a nd Ethion on orchard pests other 
than the codling moth may be sum-
marized in a few words. Five applica-
tions of Sevin gave adequate control 
of the green aphid, Aphis pomi DeG., 
but resulted in a heavy infestation of 
th e mite, Tetranychus mcdanieli McG. 
Ethion, on the other hand, gave good 
control of the mite, but not of the 
aphid . 
Summary 
1. Against a codling moth popula-
tion h ighly resistant to DDT, the car-
bamate Sevin and the organo-phos-
phate Ethion gave good control. 
2. Sevin gave adequate control of 
the green aphid, Aphis pomi DeG., but 
resulted in a heavy infestation of the 
mite, Tetranychus mcdanieZi McG, 
Ethion had the opposite effect, 
12 BRoc. ENTOMOL. Soc. BRIT. COLUMBIA .. VOL. 57 (1960), DEC. I, 1960 
3. On apples, Sevin left, a less per-
sistent deposit than DDT, and Ethion 
a more persistent deposit. 
4. Ethion caused some defoliation of 
Delicious apple trees a month before 
harvest. Sevin caused no phytotoxic 
effects either on McIntosh or on De-
licious. 
References 
l. Marshall, J .. Resistanc~ to DDT in the codling moth in British Columbia. Proc. Ent 
Soc. Bnt. ColumbIa 56: 59-63. 1959. . 
2. McMechan, A. D:, and K. Williams. A new and compact orchard concentrate sprayer 
In preparatlOn. . 
A BREEDING PLACE OF XESTOBIUM ABIETIS FISHER 
(Coleoptera: Anobiidae) 
In his check-list of the Coleoptera 
of North America, Charles Leng re-
cords only 2 species of the anobiid 
genus Xestobium, X. rujovillosum 
(DeG.) the notorious deathwatch 
beetle of Europe which Leng records 
from New England, Illinois and In-
diana, and X. affine Lec. from Van-
couver and California. 
In mid-February, 1960, Professor K. 
Graham gave me 2 chunks of very 
punky wood taken from a rotten top 
branch of a broad-leafed maple Acer 
macrophyllum Pursh. at Langley 
Prairie in the lower Fraser Valley and 
a couple of beetle grubs which he had 
dug out of the wood. I dug out another 
grub and put the wood into a plastic 
bag. In a few days time 2 beetles 
emerged which keyed out to genus 
Xestobium but were definitely not 
rujovillosum of which I have several 
specimens sent to me for reference 
from the government laboratory at 
Princes Risborough, England. My 
specimens have exactly the same type 
of markings consisting of scattered 
patches of pale golden-yellow recum-
bent hairs on a black background, but 
are only 4/ 5 the length and 1/ 3 the 
breadth, of rujovillosum. 
I sent the specimens to Mr. Gordon 
Stace Smith of Creston who replied: 
"I have spent a lot of time with your 
Xestobium; it was your host record 
that puzzled me. I collected a type 
series of 4 specimens, extracting them 
from pupal cells in a dry tree of Abies 
grandis Lindl, the white fir. No other 
specimen is known until yours so it 
must be regarded as very rare. Fisher 
who described the species retained 2 
and I have 2 paratypes". 
The wood from which my beetles 
emerged and (August, 1960) are still 
emerging is so rotten that one can 
easily stick a finger into it; it is white 
with the dry rot fungus Poria which 
Dr. R. J. Bandoni of the Department 
of Botany at the University tells me is 
either Poria jerrea or P. jerruginosa, 
both of which cause white rot. Em-
ergence records of the 10 specimens 
that I retained are Feb. 26, 2; March 
1,2; March 5, 2; March 26, 3; August 
4, 1. 
I kept some of the beetles alive in 
a glass jar for 2 weeks where they did 
not seem to feed on anything, not 
even on the brown mycelium of the 
Poria but they periodically drank 
water sprayed into the jar. Some 
mated and went through the motions 
of laying eggs in bits of fungus-
covered wood so I hope to raise an-
other generation. On bright days they 
were very active but on dull overcast 
days they were qUiescent, hiding 
under trash. 
Note 
On 26 August I received this note 
from Mr. W. J. Brown, coleopterist of 
the Science Service "Xestobium 
abietis Fisher. The habitat seems 
wrong but I can make it nothing else. 
Our specimens are from long-dead, 
standing fir." 
-G. J. Spencer, University 01 British Colum-
bia, Vancouver. 


An experiment in controlling DDT-resistant codling moth, Carpocapsa pomonella L.

Molnar, A. C.

Cottrell, C. B.

16 Pf(OC. El\TO ~I Or.. SoC' . B ln T. COLl; ~' BIA , VOT.. 57 (1960 ), D EC. 1, 1960 
A WHOLE-BARK METHOD OF REARING DRYOCOETES CONFUSUS SW. 
A. C. MOLNAR ' AND C. B. COTTRELL3 
Introduction 
During studies on the relation of a 
fungus, Ceratocystis sp ., to the west-
ern balsam bark beetle, Dryocoetes 
con/usus Sw., it was found necessary 
to rear the insect in the laboratory. 
Lacking proven methods, a search 
was made among those used for other 
cambium-feeding insects, to find one 
which would be suitable for Dryocoe-
tes or which would at least serve as a 
starting point for developing a satis-
factory method. With a few modifica-
tions, a whole-bark rearing method 
used by Finnegan (1) to rear the pine 
weevil, Pissodes approximatus Hopk., 
was found very satisfactory. All stages 
of Dryocoetes con/usus, from egg to 
adult developed well in alpine fir , 
Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt., whole 
bark and were readily observed dur-
ing their development. 
Method 
Finnegan placed newly hatched 
larvae in small grooves in the cambial 
surface of freshly cut Scots pine, Pin-
us sylvestris L. bark discs. The discs 
were then pressed tightly, cambial 
surface down, in the bottom of petri 
dishes by filling them with moist 
sand and applying pressure on the 
cover with rubber bands. He indicated 
the importance of using sterilized 
glassware and sand and keeping to a 
minimum the exposure of the cambial 
surface of the inner bark to the air 
during preparation. 
Finnegan's method as used for Pis-
sodes approximatus was moderately 
satisfactory for Dryocoetes con/usus 
but a number of changes effected a 
marked improvement, particularly 
where the insects were reared 
I Cont rib ution No. 662, F orest Biology Division, 
Research Br anch, Departme nt of Agricult ure, Ot· 
tawa, Canada . 
2 Forest Biology Labor at or y, Victoria, B.C. 
3 Forest Biology Labora tor y, Vernon, B.C. 
throughout their life stages in a 
single rearing chamber. The changes 
made were largely in connection with 
improving the maintenance of suit-
able moisture conditions and with 
getting rid of the objectionable fea-
ture of sand sifting out of the cham-
bers during handling. The sand was 
replaced by vermiculite, for vermicu-
lite dried less quickly and more even-
ly. It also had a slight tendency to 
sift out but this was overcome by 
placing two slightly oversized pieces 
of filter paper in the chamber, one 
n ext to the bark and one next to the 
lid, to enclose the vermiculite. The 
filter paper provided the additional 
advantage of assuring an even distri-
bution of water, which was added 
after about five weeks in long term 
observation chambers. 
The procedures used for the pre-
para tion of materials and setting up 
r earing cha mbers for D. con/usus 
were as follows: 
1. Preparation of bark discs 
Discs were generally cut from fresh 
alpine fir logs with non-corky bark, 
but equally satisfactory results were 
obta ined using logs several weeks old 
when the ends were sealed with wax 
a t the time of cutting and the logs 
were kept in a cool place. Immediate-
ly before cutting the discs the logs 
were scrubbed with 70 per cent methyl 
a lcohol and the thin outer bark was 
sliced off with a clasp knife or draw 
knife. Discs of the right size to fit the 
100 mm. dishes used were readily ob-
tained by cutting around a template 
with a sharp-pointed, sturdy knife 
a nd sliCing through between the in-
ner bark and cambium. To maintain 
the bark as aseptic as possible until 
being used in the rearing chambers, 
the discs were stacked in sterilized, 
metal petri dish holders alternately 
PRoC. E NTOMOL. Soc . BRIT. COL UMBIA . VOl.. 57 (1960), DEC. 1. 1960 17 
with fresh filter paper. It was found 
desirable to use the bark within a few 
hours after cutting, although over-
night storage in a refrigerator did 
not appear to be detrimental. Com-
plete asepsis is not possible, of course, 
for even if the bark were rendered 
aseptic, beetles or larve gathered in 
the field would introduce their na-
turally associated flora and fauna . 
These were in fact found to develop 
in the rearing chambers but very 
rarely inhibited the development of 
the insects. 
2. The mOistening medium 
The moistening medium was pre-
pared in advance by dry-sterilizing 
fine-grained vermiculite at 95° C for 
48 hours. To this was added sterile 
water at the rate of one volume of 
water to four volumes of vermiculite. 
Two gms. of sodium benzoate were 
added to 1,000 mls. of the sterile water 
to inhibit bacterial activity. 
3. Setting up rearing chambers 
The procedure for setting up the 
rearing chambers was essentially that 
used by Finnegan except that some of 
the materials were different as indi-
cated. A number of features were 
particularly critical to the success of 
the rearings and should be empha-
sized: 
a) The nature and size of the bark 
niches in which the insects were 
started was important for eggs 
and larvae. A size just large 
enough to hold the larvae, pre-
ferable triangular in shape, ap-
peared to be the best. A small 
triangular niche cut with a scal-
pel provided the necessary pur-
chase for the larva to start feed-
ing. Adults were less critical in 
this regard and a round hole to 
simulate a nuptial chamber, cut 
with a cork borer, served well. 
b) After placing the insects in the 
niches care was necessary to 
make sure the inner bark was 
tightly pressed against the bot-
tom of the dish by inverting the 
dish over it and holding it firmly 
until the first filter paper, ver-
miculite, second filter paper, lid, 
and rubber band were added. 
Space between the bottom of the 
dish and bark permitted insects 
to escape into these spaces where 
they were often unable to start 
feeding again. 
c) It was necessary to avoid adding 
water to the extent that free 
moisture formed in the bottom of 
the dish, which tended to hold 
the insect immobile and often 
drowned it. 
d) The rearing chambers were kept 
in a dark cupboard at room tem-
perature. 
Efficacy of Method 
The primary purpose of the rear-
ings of Dryocoetes con/usus was to 
produce adults free from contamina-
tion by the apparently pathogenic 
fungus under study. Since the egg 
stage was the only one amenable to 
sterilization, it was necessary to rear 
the insect throughout its life stages. 
The results of rearings, however, sug-
gested the suitability of the method 
for rearing studies beyond the scope 
of the present investigation. It ap-
pears suitable to life history studies 
and other laboratory investigations 
involving detailed observations on ac-
tive living insects of this and prob-
ably other bark and cambial feeding 
species. Some of the results of rear-
ings, especially survival figures, are 
summarized below to permit the 
reader to evaluate the method in 
terms of his own requirements. 
Survival 
Field collections of Dryocoetes for 
rearing purposes were confined to 
larvae and adults but transfers to 
fresh rearing chambers were carried 
out at the egg and pupal stages as 
well. The survival figures for rearings 
and transfers are summarized in 
Table 1. The relatively poor survival 
obtained with field-collected larvae 
18 ?Roc. ENTOMOL. Soc . BRIT. COLUMBIA, VOL. 57 (1960), DEC. 1, 1960 
TABLE 1-Survivors from Rearing Studies of Dryocoetes confusus Sw. in Whole Bark· 
Petrie-Dish Rearing Chambers. 
A B C Time 
from 
start 
(weeks) 
Field larva 
(Oct. 1958 
collection) 
Transferred larvae Transferred pupae 
off-spring of "A" off-spring of "A" 
D 
Field adults 
(May 1959 
collection) 
Number living 
o 
2 
4 
8 
16 
289 
129 
119 
102 
71 
57 
55 
21 
16 
55 
44 
44 
Final 
disposition 
73 
Transferred 
for rearing 
studies 
All survivors 
adults; 
discarded 
All survivors 
adults; 
discarded 
Rearing study; 
eggs transferred 
as needed, 
rest discarded 
was not considered a reflection on the 
rearing method, for the larvae were 
sent by mall from Vernon to Victoria 
and nearly a week elapsed before they 
were placed in rearing chambers. In 
addition, they were first started with 
sand as the mOistening medium, then 
changed to vermiculite when it was 
found that the sand would prove 
troublesome. It can be seen that 55 
per cent of the mortality occurred in 
the first two weeks of rearings. In the 
other columns of this table it can be 
seen that relatively little difficulty 
was experienced in transferring lab-
oratory-reared larvae and pupae and 
field-collected adults. 
All eggs used in the egg-transfer 
studies came from breeding experi-
ments using the wholebark rearing 
chambers described. Transfers to 
fresh rearing chambers were carried 
out using two methods of egg steril-
ization. 
In the first method of egg steriliza-
tion, eggs were freed from boring dust 
and washed for 30 seconds with a 
1: 1000 solution of Hg Cl, followed by 
a sterile water wash for 60 seconds. 
The eggs were then placed in the des-
cribed niches in fresh bark. In the 
second method eggs were washed. 
with 95 per cent ethonal with a brush 
on sterile agar plates and moved to a 
clean part of the agar. A day later the 
eggs were transferred to bark niches 
with a sterilized needle. 
There did not appear to be a sign-
ificant difference in survival between 
the various methods and control used 
except for the poor results obtained 
in the second Hg Cl treatment (Table 
2), but the writers favoured the 
TABLE 2-Survivors of Dryocoetes confusus Egg Transfers 
Time 
from 
transfer 
(weeks) 
o 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
Eggs from adults reared Eggs from field adults Eggs from field adults 
from larvae (Table l"An) mated in whole bark mated in whole bark 
sterilized not sterilized 
Hg CI 
15* 
13 
13 
13 
chambers chambers 
sterilized not sterilized 
Hg CI 
Number living 
15* 15* 
3 11 
1 10 
1 10 
sterilized 
ethanol, inocu-
sterilized lated with 
ethanol Ceratocystis 
15* 25* 
10 17 
10 17 
10 17 
10 17 
9 15 
Final Broken up for isolation Broken up for isolation Broken up for isolation 
experiments. Larva only. experiments; 3 adults disposition experiments. Larva only. 
remainder larvae 
• Healthy appearing eggs but some may not have been viable. 
PI:OI'. 1;;i\ T"~ 1 01.. S(W. BHIT. C OLI: ~IIH .\. VOL. 57 (1960). 0,,;1'. 1. 1960 UI 
ethonal method because it involved 
less handling of the eggs and afford-
ed less opportunity for over-exposure 
of the eggs to the sterilizing agent. It 
should be pointed out that the cham-
bers with sterilized eggs did not re-
main entirely free from micro-organ -
isms but they were free from the 
pathogenic Ceratocystis under study . 
To obtain asept ic chambers a suit-
able method of sterilizing bark will 
have to be developed which does not 
change its essential properties. Steam 
sterilization, a method recommended 
by Holst (2) , rendered alpine fir bark 
somewha t plastic and unaccepta ble 
to both larvae and adults of Dry-
ocoetes. 
Development of Dryocoetes con/usus 
in rearing chambers 
Detailed observations and mea -
Eurements on the insect's develop-
ment were not included in the scope 
of these experiments and, since rela-
tively little is known of its develop-
ment in nature, little can be said con-
cerning the effects of artificial rear-
ing on development. A number of ob-
servations, however may be worth re-
cording here . 
1) The life cycle of D. con/usus was 
carried to completion and viable 
eggs were produced by females 
reared in the chambers. 
2) It was evident that the life 
cycle can be greatly accelerated 
through artificial rearings by re-
ducing the normal periods of in-
ac tivity induced by unfavourable 
weather conditions. The progeny 
of t.he first set of larvae collected 
in the fall of 1958 attain ed ma-
turity by the following May, a 
full year before this would have 
occurred under field conditions. 
3) Survivors of larvae collected in 
the field in October attained 
adulthood at nearly a 1: 1 male-
female ratio, while 250 adults col-
lected the following spring in 
the same a rea at Bolea n Lake 
were in the ra tio of 1: 12 males 
to females. 
4) Adults reared from larvae in the 
chambers started oviposition 6-7 
days after mating on fresh bark, 
while field-collected adults start-
ed oviposition within 3 days of 
being placed on fresh bark in the 
chambers. The field collections 
were made as much as 2 months 
before normal oviposition when 
the insects were still frozen in 
the host trees. Thus, a much 
wider time scope is available for 
laboratory work with eggs than 
would be possible with those col-
lected in the field; in addition 
field-collected eggs pose difficult 
handling problems and require 
time-consuming observations to 
collect the right stage. 
5) Apparently mating in the spring 
is not required for females col-
lected in the field. Females col-
lected from frozen trees in the 
spring and placed unmated in 
rearing chambers produced vi-
able eggs in abundance. 
Conclusion 
Finnegan's method for rearing wee-
vils in whole-bark rearing chambers, 
with minor modifications, met the 
requirements for the laboratory rear-
ing of Dryocoetes con/usus. The re-
sults of experiments indicate the suit-
ability of the method for detailed ob-
servations on all phases of the insect's 
development from egg to adult. The 
adaptability of the method to other 
bark and cambial feeding insects is 
suggested by its success with two 
widely separated species. 
The advantages of the method are 
the simplicity of the set-up and pro-
cedures, readily available materials, 
the lack of a troublesome moisture 
problem, and the ease of observing 
development at any time (Figs. 1, 2, 
and 3). While 100 mm. petri dishes 
were used in these studies, larger sizes 
are available if desired. 
I' IHI('. '']:,>ro\lol.. SfH . 13 1(11 . ('11 1 1 \l J: I\ . \ '11 1. . . )/ ( J ~(iO " 1)].:, . 1. J 96 11 
The possibilities of adapting this 
rearing method to sta nda rd insectary 
procedure for rearing larvae of un-
known bark and cambial fe eding in-
sec ts sent in th rou gh the Forest 
Biology Survey are worth in ves tigat -
ing. Materia ls and procedures could 
be readily set up . The main problem 
would stem from the unavaila bil ity 
of bark of the right species ; but this 
difficulty could be overcome by one 
or both of two ways. Logs with waxed 
ends could be kept in cool storage for 
co nsid erable periods without th e ba rk 
losin g its d esirable qualities, or the 
collector could a ir-mail a section of 
wooe! a nd bJ. rk with his collec tion of 
l!tlkn \~.'n I ~ rvae . 
Acknow ledgements 
Th e a uthur s wish to take this oppurtunity 
to thank Dr. D. A. Ross, Officer-in-Charge , 
Fu r i' st Biology Sub-laboratory, Vernon, Brit· 
ish l'li lumbia , for helpful suggestions and 
ass islanr l' duri ng the course of these 
st ucii rs . 
References 
Finnegan, R. J . 1958. The pine we evil, Pi ssodes 3pprox imatu5 Hupk., in so uthern 
Ontario. Can . En e. 90: 348·354 . 
. Holst, E. C. 1937. Ase pti c rea rin g of bark beeLll' s. ,J. I<:c un. Ent . 30: 676-677. 
Fig. 1.-Underside of whole-bark rear ing chamb ers showing Dryocoetes confusus 
feeding galleries on the left and egg gall eries on the ri gh t. 0.6 X. 
Fig. 2.-Egg gallery in whole-bark re~lring cham ber s howing deposited eggs and female 
Dryocoete5 in process or extendin g ga ll ery. P-.pproximately 8 X. 
Fig. 3.-Newly hatched larvaE' of D. conf usu5 in II' holf'-!lark r(, aJ ' i n~ cham ber. 
Approxima tel:v 8 X. 


A whole-bark method of rearing Dryocoetes Confusus SW.

Lansbury, I.

The Corixidae (Hemiptera-Heteroptera) of British Columbia

Downing, R. S.

Dimethoate, a systemic of low mammalian toxicity, as an orchard insecticide in British Columbia

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