Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia

Spencer, G. J.

16 ENTOMOLOGIC AL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COL U MBI A, PROC. (195 8 ) , VOL. 55 , DEC. 22, 1958 
es tablished in the south -wes tern U.S. 
I t has no t yet appeared in H.C. nor is 
it li ke ly to become es tab lished because 
th e climate is un suitable (Howe and 
Lindgren 1957) . 
Aca rina a re of economic importance 
a t th e coast , especially A carus sifO L. 
J loweve r , mites are no t included in 
thi s li st since they are seldom im-
po rt ant away from the coast , and be-
ca use th ey cannot be recognized on 
sig h t. 
R eferences 
F oll we ll , J. H. Kotes on some Pt in idae of Briti s h Columbia (Coleopt era). 1'roc. E nt. Soc. 
13. C. 48 : 60-63. 1953. 
Fo ll we ll , ] . H. Sto red produ ct in sec ts a nd th eir co ntro l in B ri t ish Columbia . British 
Columbia Dept. o f Ag ri culture Cn t. eirc. No. 1. 1953. 
Gray, H . E . S to red produc t in sec ts 1Il Ca na da In 1952. Ca n. In s. Pes t Rev. 31 : 11 9- 120. 
1953. 
Gray, H. E S to red product in sec t s In Canada In 1953. Can. I n5. Pest Rev. 32 : 125- 126. 
1954. 
Gray, H . E . S tored prod uct in sects 111 Canada In 1954. Ca n. In s. Pest Rev. 33 : 129- 130. 
1955. 
Gray, H . E. S tored produ ct in sec ts In Ca na da In 1955. Ca n. I n5. Pes t Rev. 34 : 132-133. 
1956. 
Howe, R. VV. a nd Lind g ren, D. L. H ow much ca n the K hap ra bee tle spread in t he U.S.A. 
J. E COll . E nt. 50: 374-375. 1957. 
Kin g, K.)'1. I nsec t pest s of s to red products a nd th e hOll sehold . Proc. VII Pac. Sci. 
Co ngo 4: 146- 148. 1958. 
S]lence r, G.]. In sect s and o ther arthropods in buildings in B riti sh Columbia . P roc. 
E nt. Soc. H.C. 39 : 23-29. 1942. 
The Collection o f Coleoptera In the D epartme n t o f Z oology , 
U niversity of B ritish Columbia 
When I arrived at this Unive rsity in the 
A utumn of 1924, I set out to build three 
collections of in sects: firs t, a sys tematic 
collection representing all Orders occurring 
in the province ; second, a synoptic collec-
tio n for teaching; and third, a demon stra-
tion collection of insects of economic im-
portance. It soon became evident that th e 
sys tematic collectio n was the first es sential, 
so skeleto n collectio ns only were made for 
teaching and of economic in sects, and I 
concen trated 0 11 taking every in sect o f nearly 
every Order that I came across every Satur-
day afternoon ancl Sunday during summer 
mo nth s o r when ever el se I found them 
throug hout th e year. 
A t that tim e th ere were available ill th e 
Province, fo r reference, the H o pping collec-
tion o f Coleo ptera and th e Buckell collection 
o f Ortho pte ra at Ve rn on, the Blackmore col-
lecti on o f Le pid optera a nd the Downes 
coll ect ion of Hemiptera-Homoptera in Vic-
to ri a and the Glend enning coll ec ti on of 
a phicl s at Agassiz. So I took no L e pidoptera, 
but conce ntrated 0 11 th e smaller Orders, 
coll ec ting onl y those hee tl es and bugs that I 
happened to find without actually hunting 
for th em. 
Th e late Kenn eth Auden , a stud ent in hi s 
fourth yea r in 1924, was a ve ry keen coleop-
te r ist and gave me what he called "trash", 
namely dupli ca te s of a few common specie s 
o f which he had la rge se ri es a nd th ese con-
stituted the beginning of the beetl e collec-
tio n. 
In time I had accumulat ed some 26 Schmitt 
boxes o f beetl es so that when Mr. George 
HopPJlJg was loan ed to the University by 
the Federal Governm ent in the winter of 
1945-46 to lecture in forest entomology, he 
spe nt seven months a rranging the beetles 
int o two IS-drawer cabinets and one cabinet 
of duplicates. H e also added some speci-
m ens from hi s fath er 's collection to fill con-
spicuous gaps in the University collection, 
chiefly of representative species from out-
side this provinc e. 
}[ eanwhile I kept on collecting. In the 
\los t-Hoppin g years, much of the m aterial 
was identified by ProfessorM. H. Hatch of 
the Un iversity of Washin g ton, Sea ttl e. and 
mo re latte rly by J\h. Gordon Stace-Smith 
o f Crest on wh o probablv ha s th e most ex-
tensive coll ection o f B .C. beetles extant. 
T o th ese three spec ia li sts l owe a g reat 
debt of g ra tit ud e and offer my since rest 
thank s. 
No o ne, however, ha s been a better 
e ntomol ogical fri end to our Un iversity than 
Hug h B. Leec h, fo rme rly o f th e Divisio n o f 
Fores t In sects, Verno n, but now in charge 
o f th e immense coll ect io n of Coleoptera at 
the Califo rnia Academy o f Sciences, San 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC IETY OF BRITISH COLUMB IA, PROC. (1 958 ), VOL. 55, DEC. 22, 1958 17 
Francisco. :-1 r. Leech not o nly named a ny 
beetl es I se nt him, but eve r since his s tudent 
clays at thi s University, has g iven me insects 
of many Orders for our collect ions. In the 
one year that he was a s tudent here in 
1956-57, Hug h's so n Robin carri ed o n in, his 
father 's beet ling footste ps. 'vVe owe a great 
deal to this father and son team and acknowl-
edge it with pleasure a nd g ra titude. 
Many students also, over the years, ha ve 
given us specimens we lacked or those of 
which we had very small series. 
On II March, 1952 the beetle collection 
was counted by five senior students in 
Entomology and again on IS October, 1957 
by :Michael ]. Daniels, a graduate student 
in Zoology: th e totals are s hown below. 
Number o f families 
Total specimens 
Duplicates only 
No. of B. C. species 
Total species 
March 
1952 
24484 
I()()S4 
1138 
1864* 
October 
1957 
SO 
30616 
10231 
1538 
2211 
* Errors, omi ssio ns and additions excepted. 
The ga in in five and o ne half years is 
exac tly 400 species and 6132 s pecimens, a 
pleasing to tal. There is s till a long way 
to go to catch up to lV[r. Gordon Stace-
Smith who has ove r 2400 B.C. species and 
a n unknown numb er of specimens. On th e 
other hand, considering that there was not 
ONE SINGLE beetle here when I arrived, 
these total s are g ratifying especially when 
o ne consid ers the other o rders I have 
assembled, e.g ., some 6000 specimens each of 
Hymenopte ra and Hemiptera, about 4000 
Orthoptera, 12000 Diptera and minor Orders 
in propo rtion. 
These figures emphasize what I have point-
ed out repeatedly, namely, that British 
Columbia is an entomologist's paradise. 
-G. f - Spencer, Unive1'Jity o f British Columbia, 
Vancouver. 
TRITHION AS AN ORCHARD INSECTICIDEI 
D . P. PIELOU and R. S. DOWNING2 
Entomology Laboratory, Summerland, B.C. 
Trithion3, formerly known as Com-
pound R -1303, is th e brand na me of a 
ma te rial conta ining- 0 , O-diethyl 5-
(p- chlorophenylthiomethyl) phosphor-
o dithioate (Stauffer Chemical Com-
pany, 1956) . 
This paper is a summa,'y of the 
main , or typica l. findin gs of eXlJeri -
ments th a t ,,, e carried out with Tri-
thi()n ill the Okanag-an Va lley of Brit-
ish Columbia from 195 5 tu 195 7. 
Th ough ot he rwise exce ll ent , this ma-
terial ha s a shoncoming indicated 
here in. that precludes it s recomm en-
dation fur use In B,-itish Columbia 
orchard~. 
Trithion ha s bee n availab le as a 
25 per cent (by weight) wettable 
powde r and as a "fl owa hl e" material, 
an aqueous em ulsi on conta ining 4 
po und s of the technical chemi cal per 
·C.S. gal lon. W e do no t know the 
1. Con tributi on :\0. 3Rt!). Ento mology Di\' i ~ ion, 
Sciell ce Sen-ice , Departlll e llt o f :\ g ricultllr e, Ottawa, 
C aTlada, 
2. EJ1to Jllo l ()g- i ~t a lld . .\ 5~oc i a te E nt o ll1oiog- is t. 
3. S tau ff er Chemi c al Co mpany , C;1lifo rtlia . 
nature of the so-call ed ille rt mate ria ls 
in either fo rmula ti on. 
Th e compound intere sted us as a 
gen eral in sect icide compa rable with 
Diazinon [0, O-die thy l 0- (2- isopropy l-
6 - m ethyl -4-pyrimidinyl) phosphoro-
thioate] in having "wide-spectrum" 
effect iven ess against several groups 
of o rchard insec t s a nd mites (Pielou 
and Proverbs, 1958) a nd wa s compared 
directly vvith Diazinon in many of our 
o rcha I'd tri a ls. 
Method of Application and Deposits 
on Leaves 
Th e m ate rial was applied in two 
w ays. First, large block s of trees were 
sprayed with a stanclard a ir-bl as t con-
ce ntrate m achin e m oving at one mile 
pe r hour a nd applying 75 gallons of 
liquid per ac re . Thi s amount, in a 
mature o rchard, gives full foliar co\'-
crag-e w ith pract ica lly no leaf-drip. 
vVith thi s meth od the in sect icid e was 
u sua lly applied at 8 pounds of 25 per 
ce nt " 'e ttabl e powder per acre (con-
cen trat ion of active ing redient in 


English

The collection of Coleoptera in the Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia

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 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COL U MBIA, PROc. (1958) , VOL. 55, DEC. 22 , 1958 27 
and branch t erminal s are th e most 
conspicuous evidence of infe s tation ; 
because m o rtality occurs b e for e 
growth is compl e ted. the needle s o f 
th e dead shoot s are not fully expanded. 
The second type of injury is caused 
by the breakage at the larval exit hole , 
of shoots that would otherwise have 
survived ; th e third is the di s tortion of 
g rowth of shoots survlvlDg borer 
a ttack. 
Near Cascade in a sample of 47 
ponderosa pine saplings betw een 4 and 
10 feet in heig ht, 40 pe r cent were in-
fested in 1957, 70 per cent of the in-
fested shoot s di ed after la rval 
em ergence . whil e the remainder suf-
fered va ry ing degree s of deformity. 
Reference .. 
H einri ch, Carl. 1923. Revi sion of th e North American Moths o f the S ub family Eucos-
minae of th e Family Olethrcutidae. U . S. Nat. Mu seum Dull. 123. 
NOTES ON THE LIFE HISTORIES OF THREE SPECIES OF 
LEPIDOPTERA FROM SOUTHERN Y ANCOUYER ISLAND, 
BRITISH COLUMBIA 
GEORGE A . HARDY 
Provincial Museum 
The foll o wing butterRy and t wo 
mo th s do no t seem to have had th eir 
ear ly stages desc ribed in a ny readily 
referable publication, if at a ll. Accord-
ing ly, they are submi tted in the hope 
that they will be of in terest to st udent s 
of thi s g roup. 
S peyeria bremllerii Edw. 
A fema le of thi s large l\'ympha lid 
butte rA y , caught in Saanich , wa s con-
fin ed ove r a g rowing plant of V iola 
palllslris on A ugust 11 , 19:;6. By 
August 19 it had laid between 30 and 
40 ova, scatte l-ed abo ut the s tem a nd 
leaves a nd among the surrounding 
m oss . 
Th e eggs hatc hed August 31, a nd 
aft e r consuming the eggs hell s, th e 
lar vae we n t in to a dormant conditi on. 
They bask ed in th e sun shi ne on \"arm 
days, bu t no furth e r feeding o r g rowth 
wa s noted. Th e 10 in . po t conta ining 
the young la r vae was pl aced ou t of 
doors under the eave at the south 
sid e of the house, where they rem a in -
ed for the rest of th e winte r. 
Ovum. Size 1.0 by .60 ml11., conl c-
truncate, coa rse lv ribbed and cross-
ri bbed, shiny; dl;Il cream. 
_ Larva. 1st Instar. Length 2 mm. 
Head jet blac k, shiny. Body drab dirt 
co lour, with a small shiny, black, 
ce r vica l plate on T.l ; rest o f body with 
long. fi ne, un-bran ched, b lack ha irs. 
By March 29, 195 7, th e whole brood 
see med to h ave hibe rnated success-
fully and was com m encin g to nibble on 
pansy shoots. By A pril 9 they we re 
-+-5 111m . long, t he co lour a s befo re. 
Th e cate rpill a r s we re g rega rious, 
bun ching up in sunny patches when 
not fced in g on the ye ll ow pan sy leaves 
o r th e " io let which \\'a s then becom-
ing available . 
2nd Instar. Apr il 16. Length 5 111111. 
Head shiny, black. n()ll), bla ck \\·ith 
black bran ch ed spine s ari s in g [ro ln the 
usua l tube rcl es. They s till ma ssed to-
ge the r wh en not feeding. 
3rd Instar. Apri l 22. L ength 8 111 Ill. 
Head as be fo re. Body a s befo re bu t 
thin g reyi sh subclo r sa ls ev ident. 
4th Instar. May 10. Length 10-
12 111m . Bead black, sparse ly sho r t-
ha irecl. Body blue-grey due to w hiti sh 
Il ecks on a fu scous and ochre back-
g round; a black do rsa l and a da rk 
long itudina l lin e connecting th e tu-
be rcl es; tubercl es ye llowish, 1110s t 
not icea bl e on the spiracular row. The 
ca t e rpill a r s became m o re independent 
a nd d id not mass together so III Ll ch. 
Jjy May 16 the length va ri ecl from 


Observations on a pine shoot moth, Eucosma sonomana Kft (Lepidoptera: Olethreutidae)

Scudder, G. G. E.

36 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BR ITISH COL U MBIA , PROC. (1958), VOL. 55, DEC. 22, 1958 
A NEW ASPECT ON THE FAUNAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN 
EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST 
G. G. E. SCUDDER 
University of British Columbia 
Lindroth ( 1957) ltl an excellent 
Look entitled "The Faunal Connec-
tions Letween Europe and North 
America" has dealt with the animals, 
especially the insects, common to the 
two continents. He shows that the 
introduction of foreign plants and 
lower animals in Newfoundland has 
been brought about , to a large extent, 
by their unintentional introduction in 
ballast. Hence there is no need to 
postulate land bridges, etc. This bal-
last was carried over in sailing vessels 
of the North Atlantic trade and dump-
ed on or just off-shore from the 
areas in which these ve ssels loaded 
cargo fo r shipment to Europe. It wa s 
found that much of the ba llast tran s-
ported to Newfoundland originated 
from southwestern England. 
On pp. 170-172, in stances of simibr 
balla st dumping in th e Pacific North-
wes t are cited: one for Puget Sound 
and one fo r P ortl a nd, Oregon. Dr. 
J R. Adam s o f the U niversity of 
Briti sh Co lumbia te ll s m e that De -
parture Bay, just no rth o f Nanaim o on 
Vancouver I sland, was a centre fo r 
ballast dumping: coal mined there 
from 1852 o n wa s shipped to all parts 
of the ·world. Figs. 7 and 8 in Lind-
roth's work show the di stribution o f 
introduced specie s o f Carablls in North 
America, and sh ow s the area around 
Vanco uver to be one of the primary 
centres . It is sugges ted that the balla st 
dumping in this area may have played 
a considerable part in introducing 
European fo rms to th e ai-ea. Most 
of the European insects introduced into 
the Pacific Northwest have been late 
arrivals compared with eastern Cana-
da; this is correlated with the fact 
that the Panama Canal was not opened 
until 1914. We do not know, at pres-
ent, the place of origin of the ballast 
dumped in the Pacific Northwest. 
Perhaps much of it also came from 
·Southwestern England. 
Va rl ey (1958) in a review of Lind-
roth 's book, when discussing the 
g roups of animals considered therein, 
states that "the vast majority of 
animal groups are excluded because 
taxomic study is insufficiently ad-
vanced, and careful collation of the 
de sc ribed species on the two sides of 
the Atlantic has yet to be undertaken." 
The prese nt author has collected 
H eteroptera in Great Britain for the 
pa st 11 y ea rs and is now undertaking 
such a. colla tion in thi s group. Whil st 
collec ting with Dr. 'vV. J Le Quesne , 
in southwestern England in 1956, the 
auth o r took the o pportunity to collect 
in many of the area s, mentioned by 
Lindroth a s thos e from ·which balla st 
wa s taken . 
It is of interest to no te that a num-
ber o f the species o f Hemiptera, 
recorded a s new to Briti sh Columbia 
sin ce 1914 by Mr. W. Downes are of 
European origin. The author hopes 
to be able to collect specimens and 
trace reco rds of ballast dumping for 
the Departure Bay area . Any assis-
tance in this fteld would be greatly 
appreciated. 
RefereAces 
Lindroth, C. H . 1957. The Fallnal COlllzectionJ betll'een Europe and N orth America. New York. 
Varl ey, G. C. 1958. Revi ew: Lindroth, C. H . T he Fallnal COl/nections be/ween Europe alld 
N orth A merica. E llt. m OIl. :'lag. 94: iii . 


A new aspect on the faunal connections between Europe and the Pacific Northwest

Arrand, J. C.

18 8JsTO~I O I.OUlC\ L SOCrF;TY OF' B HITl "Il CO LI' ~\fIH . \ . 1'1<0(,. (1 ~j 5 ~). VOl. . 56. Nov. 4, 195!J 
In June, 1957, 156,000 acres of west-
ern hemlock were sprayed to control 
the black-headed budworm. The op-
erational spray consisted of DDT in 
Standard base oil diluted with diese l 
oil to yield a solution containing 1 
pound of DDT per gallon with an 
emulsifier of 1.64 per cent. Spray was 
applied at the rate of 1 gallon p er 
acre. The indicated average control 
of about 90 per cent was sufficient to 
prevent serious defoliation in 1957. 
Fish populations, particularly cohoe 
fry, and fish food organisms in some 
stream s were severely depleted . 
Summary 
Although there were a number of 
puzzling inconsistencies in results ob-
tained from the assessment of fish 
mort a lity, it is clear tha t under the 
conditions of the operation, fish and 
fIsh food populations in some str eams 
were severely depleted . 
References Cited 
Brown, G. S., A. P. Randall, R. R. Lejeune and G. T. Silver. 1958. Black-headed bud-
worm spraying experiments on Vancouver Island , British Columbia. For. Chron. 
34: 299-306. 
Crouter, R. A. and E. H. Vernon. 1959. The effects of black-headed budworm control 
on salmon and trout in British Columbia. Canadian Fish Culturist 24 : 23-40. 
Lejeune, R. R., A. P. Randall and K. R. Elliott. 1957. Aer ial spraying operations for 
control of the black-headed bud worm, Vancouver Island , British Columbia, 1957. 
Interim Report 195'7-1. Forest Biology Laboratory, Victoria, B.C. (Multigraphed). 
THE DISTRIBUITION OF THE WHEAT MIDGE, SITODIPLOSIS 
MOSEL,LANA (Gehin), IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 
J. C . ARRANfJ 
A/Provincial Entomologisl 
The wheat midge, Sitodiplosi s mos-
ellana (Gehin), was first reported in 
the Pacific Northwest in 1904 at Chil-
liwack, B.C. Since that time it ap-
pears to have spread through the 
province. It was lis t ed as a n import-
ant pest of grain in the lower Fraser 
Valley in 1905. In 1921 serious d a mage 
was reported in the Salmon Arm dis-
trict. A wheat field was damaged by 
this pest near Lumby in 1936 when 
there was also serious damage on 
Vancouver Island and in coastal dis-
tricts. Light damage was recorded at 
Merritt in 1951 and at Nelson in 1953. 
In 1954 infestations were reported 
from Larkin, Armstrong and Enderby. 
Damage occurred on spring wheat at 
Revelstoke, Grindrod , Enderby and 
Salmon Arm in 1955 . 
In 1957 a h eavy infestation was 
examin ed in a fIeld of Garnet wheat 
at K ersely, south of Quesnel. Accord-
ing to the farmer this field h a d been 
similarly infested in 1956 . In 1958 
severa l fie lds were infested in the 
K er sely a r ea and serious d a mage oc-
curred. This infestation appears to 
be so severe that unless it subsides it 
is questionable whether the farmers 
in the a rea can continue profitably to 
grow gr a in . The farmers report that 
fall whea t and ba rley as well as spring 
wheat have been attacked. In the 
literat ure , these grains as well as oats 
are list ed as hosts of the pest. 
Since the wheat midge h as become 
so well established at Kersely, it seems 
reasonable to assume that it may 
eventua lly move into the Peace River 
a r ea. 
References 
Reeher M. M. 1945. The Wheat Midge in the Pacific Northwest. U.S.D.A. Circ . 732. 
B.C. Dep't. of Agriculture Annual Report-1921, 1936, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958. 


The distribution of the wheat midge, Sitodiplosis Mosellana (Gehin), in British Columbia

Cottrell, C. B.

AS KWO:\ WLUGI CM . S On ET)' OF BIl ! T I::l H COL\.; .\1 RI. .. . PROt' . (1959), VOL. 56, No\'. 4, 1959 
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE POPLAR AND WILLOW BORER, 
Sternochetus lapathi (L.), IN BRITISH COLUMBIA' 
By C. B. COTTRELl. 
The poplar and willow borer, ster-
nochetus lapathi (L.), introduced 
from Europe, was first observed in 
North America in 1882, when a single 
specimen was collected in New York 
(Herrick, 1935). During the next 20 
years the weevil was observed in 
many localities in the northeastern 
United States (Matheson , 1917) . In 
1906, the first Canadian records were 
taken at three localities in Ontario 
(Cosens, 1912), and in 1908, Carolina 
poplars were attacked at Dundurn , 
Saskatchewan (Fletcher and Gibson, 
1908). Between 1909 and 1916, occur-
rences were reported from many 
widely separated pOints in Ontario, 
and at Montreal , Quebec (Caesar, 
1916) . 
The first known record of the pop-
lar and willow borer in the Pacific 
Northwest was at. Vernon, where in 
1923, the late Col. A. E. Parlow col-
lected a specimen. In 1924, poplar and 
willow trees in the Tourist Park at 
Kelowna were found to be infested, 
followed by reports of infestations at 
Penticton in 1932 and Summerland in 
1934. The weevil's widespread distri-
bution in the Okanagan Valley sug-
gests that it was probably well 
established before these dates. 
Other early records in the west 
were: Priest River, Idaho (P. C. John-
ston, in !itt.) and Tacoma, Washing-
ton, 1931 (M. H. Hatch, in litt.) and 
near Portland, Oregon in 1933 (Fur-
niss, 1939). 
A report of the borer's occurrence 
at Riske Creek in the Chilcotin area 
appears in the 1931 edition of the 
Canadian Insect Pest Review. For 
several reasons this record seems 
questionable: no specimen was taken; 
the host, trembling aspen (E. R. 
Buckell, in litt.) , is unusual; and no 
weevil activity has been recorded in 
this area before or since. 
1 Contribution No. 555, Forest Biology Division, 
Research Branch, Department of Agriculture , Ot-
tawa, Canada. 
2 Forest Biology Laboratory, Vernon, B.C. 
On the Lower Mainland of British 
Columbia the first damage report 
came from a Vancouver garden in 
1930, although it was stated in the 
Annual Report of the Forest Insect 
Laboratory at Vernon (W. G. Mathers, 
1930), that the insect's presence had 
been known in this area for at least 
three years. In 1933 willows were at-
tacked in Stanley Park, in 1934 at 
Green Timbers, and on Sumas Prairie 
in 1936. 
Few infestations were recorded 
from 1936 to 1946, but in the period 
1947 to 1949, with the expansion of 
the Forest Insect Survey staff, many 
new locality records were established : 
Chilliwack, Yale and Pitt Lake, 1947; 
Seymour Creek and Hope, 1948; Sur-
rey, Allouette Lake, and Chehalis 
River, 1949. This indicates that the 
weevil was distributed throughout 
the Fraser Valley prior to 1947. On 
Vancouver Island, four records were 
obtained in 1948: Nanaimo, Coleman 
Creek, Port Alberni and Cowichan 
Lake. 
Dr. M. Hatch of the University of 
Washington apparently has the first 
Kootenay record - a specimen col-
lected at Creston in 1941; otherwise 
very little is known about the weevil's 
activities there before 1949. That year, 
numerous specimens were collected 
around the west arm of Kootenay 
Lake in the following localities: 
Queens Bay, Balfour, Kokanee, Nel-
son and Harrop. In 1951 several col-
lections were made between Castlegar 
and Trail, and on the east side of 
Kootenay Lake at Crawford Bay. In 
1952, damage was noted around the 
north end of Kootenay Lake and at 
Grand Forks in the Kettle Valley. In 
1953, attacks were observed at Nak-
usp and Arrowhead, and at Kimberley 
and Bull River in the East Kootenay. 
Weevil attacks have continued in 
most of the above-mentioned infesta-
tions and in each successive year new 
locali ty records were obtained: Slocan 
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·18 ~~:XTO\lnLn'~ I L" , SOC' IETY OF n1lTT1SlI CO l.l ' \I IlT.\, PH"' , II~iifl), VIlI .. iifl , N,l\' , 4 , I fl5!l 
City and Natal, 1955; Revelstoke and 
Edgewood , 1956; Canal Flats, 1957; 
and Invermere, 1958. 
At least four major infestations 
have occurred in British Columbia. 
At Sumas Prairie in 1936, approxi-
mately 12 years after Sumas Lake was 
drained , R. Glendenning reports, 
"this insect was so abundant on the 
several willow species that it effected 
some measure of control." By 1937, 
thousands of young willows had been 
killed . A stem sample, two and one 
half inches in diameter and two feet 
long contained 175 adults (H. G. FUl-
ton, in litt.) . 
At Tranquille in 1958, an estimat-
ed 250 acres of mature willows, Salix 
sp ., were killed . 
On Creston Flats at the south end 
of Kootenay Lake, many willows, 
Salix spp., and black cottonwood, 
Populus trichocarpa , have been dam-
aged. 
All willows in a square mile area 
two miles northeast of Hope were 
hea vily damaged and many trees were 
killed in 1958. Tree mortality also 
occurred at other pOints in the Fra-
ser River Valley. 
Al though poplars and willows were 
attacked at Kelowna in 1924, native 
willow was the only known host in 
the Lower Mainland until 1939. In 
1939, a black cottonwood was attack-
ed at Vancouver, while ornamental 
willows were attacked in a nursery 
at Sumas. In the interior of British 
Columbia , Sitka alder, Alnus sinuata, 
has been infested at Celista, Sica-
mous and Brilliant, and moun tain 
alder, Alnus tenuijolia, at Taghum. 
Occasionally weeping willow, Salix 
babylonica and Lombardy poplar, 
Populus nigra, have been infested but 
to date attacks on trembling aspen , 
Populus tremuloides, are rare . 
Although the weevil is most num-
erous at low elevations in valleys or 
along waterways, where its favoured 
hosts are usually found, several col-
lections have been made at high alti-
tudes. In 1953, S. Hicks collected a 
specimen trom willow in Garibaldi 
Park at the 3100 foot level (G. J. 
Spencer, in litt.). Near McCulloch , 
Sitka alders were attacked at 4100 
feet elevation in 195H. In Hl46, G, 
Stace-Smith collected a specimen 
from under a stone on the summit of 
a mountain near Creston, at an ele-
vation of 'i147 feet . 
During the 36 years since the pop-
lar and willow borer was first detect-
ed in British Columbia, this intro-
duced species has become well 
established across the southern por-
tion of the Province. (Fig. 1). Native 
willows and black cottonwood are its 
favoured hosts but it is also known to 
attack mountain and Sitka alders 
and several cultivated varieties of 
poplars and willows. 
There is not sufficient evidence to 
draw any definite conclusion about 
the source of the original borer 
population in British Columbia. The 
borer's appearance in several local-
ities in the Okanagan Valley in the 
1920's, and in Vancouver in the 
1930's, within a period of four years 
indicates that there may have been 
two separate introductions. The ab-
sence of Alberta and Montana rec-
ords and the borer's early detection 
in British Columbia as compared with 
Idaho and Washington, may indicate 
that its entrance into this province 
was not the result of a natural spread 
from surrounding territory. 
Unless otherwise stated, all data in 
this paper are from the files of the 
Forest Biology Laboratories at Ver-
non and Victoria . 
References 
Caesar, L. ,(1916) The Imported Willow and Poplar Borer or CurcuJio, Cryptorhynchus 
lapathr (L.). Ann. Rept. Ent. Soc. Ontario 46 (1915): 33-43. 
Cosens, A. (1912) Division No.3. Toronto District , Ann. Rept. Ent. Soc. Ontario 42 
(1911) : 15. 
Furniss, R. L. (1939) Insects Attacking Forest Products and Shade Trees in Washington 
and Oregon in 1937. Proceedings Ent. Soc. British Columbia 35 (1939): 5, 
Fletcher, J . and A. Gibson (1909) Entomological Reccrd 1908, Ann. Rept. Ent. Soc. 
Ontario 39 (1908): 109. 
Herrick, G. W. (1935) Insect Enemies of Shade·Trees. Comstock Co. , lthaca. N.Y, 
Matheson, R. (1917) The Poplar and Willow Borer , Cornell University, Agricultural 
Experiment Station, Bulletin 388. 4!18 , 


A brief history of the poplar and willow borer, Sternochetus lapathi (L), in British Columbia

lines on dorsum and a broader whit-
ish spiracular line . Underside striped 
with alternate light and fuscous 
lines. 
4th Instar 
August 23. Length 16 mm. General 
colour and markings as before. Some 
individuals dark fu scous green with 
a broken whitish spiracular line , dark 
intersegmental rings and a pair of 
black spots on sides of A. 1 and A. 2. 
5th Instar 
August 31. Length 23 mm. Head 
milky green , mottled and feathered 
with light brown. Body grey-green 
with a tinge of cinnamon on ring 
joints, dorsum and sides with closely 
spaced pale brown lines, underside 
with black dots on segm ents. Some 
had a black m a rk on the centre of 
sides, in others the black was replac-
ed with yellow. The cinnamon tinge 
varied among the la rvae. The over-
a ll effect was to simulate the oak 
twigs, even to a thin short pubes-
cence. They were full grown by Sep-
tember 4 . Head pa le biege with brown 
feathering as befor e. Body yellowish-
brown with many fin e lines and pale 
yellow dashes on sides of segments. 
September 12. All la rvae pupated 
a mong the dead leaves at the bottom 
of jar. 
Pupa 
Size 11 mm. by 3 mm. Slender, 
smooth, slightly shiny, finely wrinkl-
ed on wing cases, punctate on A. 
segments, dark piceous brown. Cre-
master a bifid spine with strai ght 
t ips . 
On Mounting Lice by the Ris Lambers Method for Aphids 
In the spring of 1958 Mr. Ron Forbes of 
the Federal Crop Insect Laboratory on the 
Campus showed me some microscope slides 
of aphids-the finest and clearest prepara-
tions of their kind that I had ever seen. He 
stated that they were made by the Hille 
Ris Lambers method and I immediately 
wondered if Mallophaga and Anoplura 
could be enslided by the same technique. 
Through the efforts of Miss Eleanor 
Higham, student technician, I now have 
about 1000 slides of these 2 Orders mad p. 
by this method. FOI- practical purposes it is 
nearly as good as the standard KOH-Canada 
balsam method with the advantage that it 
is very much faster; one can have fini shed 
slides in about 45 minutes. 
The method is as fo llo ws: 
Place the insects in 90 per cent alcohol 
in a just-boiling water-bath until soft and 
soggy-looking i.e. in from 2-5 minutes . Then 
remove them and place in 10 per cent KOH 
in hot water-bath for from 1 to 5 minutes; 
experience tells how long. Transfer to 
Chloralphenol solution in the hot bath for 
2 to 3 minutes to clear and mount in Hille 
Ris Lambers medium. 
The formula for the mounting med ium 
is: 
Gum arabic, clean white 
powdered 12 grams 
Concentrated pure glycerine 
Chloral hyd rate 
Distilled water 
6V2 cc 
__ 20 grams 
40 cc 
Dissolvc the gum arab ic with the other 
reagent s in the water and filter through 
glass \1"001 two or th ree times until crystal 
clea r. Place in a dust-free oven at 40° C 
in a flat dish and let the medium eva porate 
to half its original volum e. Cool, and keep 
in dropping bottle. 
The chloral phenol is made from equal 
p;]rts by weight of chioralhydrate and crys-
tals of pure phenol or carbo lic acid, heated 
uvcr a water-bat h for 5 to 10 minutes . 
This tec hnique works better for Mallo-
ph;]ga than for Anoplura whose tough hide 
sometimes prevents penetration of chemic-
als and clearing. It is a curious thing that 
some sucking li ce will clear and make per-
fectly transparent mounts and others from 
th e same batch become only semi-transpar-
ent: th e same trouble occurs with the KOH-
balsam method , and is not the fault of the 
Hiil e Ris Lambers technique. 
Reference 
D. Hille Ris Lambers. 1950. On mounting 
aphids and other so ft-skinned insects. 
Entom . Berichten 13:55-58. 
~u . ./. I-lPPII<·/'I". ( ' lIirersily li f Brilis71 ('0/1011 -
II ill. \ 'I(((I"()/( rl '/". 


On Mounting Lice by the Ris Lambers Method of Aphids

Smith, Kenneth G. V.

THE CONOPIDAE (DIPTERA) OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 
KENNETH G . V . SMIT H 
Hope Dept. of l<:ntomology, Univer sity Museum , Oxfo rd, En gla nd 
Through the kindness of Dr. G. G . 
E. Scudder I have recently been able 
to study a collection of Conopidae, 
taken in British Columbia by Profes-
sor G . J. Spencer, of the University of 
British Columbia. Since the collection 
(104 specimens) was a comparatively 
large one for this rather rare family 
it seems worth while to review all the 
species hitherto recorded from Brit-
ish Columbia. The classification fol-
lowed is that of Parsons (1948) with 
additional synonomy from various 
papers by Camras and others. Keys 
for the determination of North Amer-
ican Conopidae will be found in the 
references. A list is given of collectors 
names and initials. 
CONOPINAE 
Physoconops obscuripennis (Williston) 
rOIl(l / )!; O/)!;"uri p"lIl1i s \Vill.. 1 8 . ~ . Tra n ~. 
Conn. Acad. Ar ts & Sc i. 4: 328-~. 
("ono/)s IJ rachyrh./fTw li:us Macq uart ot' \\' il · 
li s t on anti oth e r s i n error . 
('ouops foxi Va n Du zee . 1927 , Proc. Ca lif. 
Acad . S ci. 16: 57 4. 
Camras (1955: 181) includes British 
Columbia in the range of this species. 
Western specimens have the posterior 
margin of the wing hyaline which led 
Van Duzee (1927) to describe them 
as a distinct speCies, toxi . New data : 
Kamloops , 13.vU943, G .J .S . 
Physocephala burgessi (Williston) 
('OW)/)S , ~u r[Jcssi Willi ston . 1882 . T r a n ". 
Co nn . Acacl. Ar Ui & Sc i .. 4: 337. 
P h :uso,'c /Jf/(/ /u IJrec iru8 / ris Vall Dlizee . 
IH27. P r oc. Ca li f. Aca d. Sc i. , 16:579. 
Camras (1957 :213) includes B.C. in 
the range of this species, but gives no 
details . New data : Cobble Hill , 16.iv. 
1912, Hooke ColI. ; Goldstream 15.vii. 
1923, K.F.A.; Newcastle I s., Nanaimo, 
10.vi.1925, G.J.S. ; Quesnel, 16.viU947, 
20.vii.1947, 31.vii.1948, 14.vU949, G. J . 
S.; Salmon Arm, 20 .vU929 , H .B.L.; 
Salvlls, 17.viii.1946, G.J.S . 
Physocephala texana (Williston) 
( 'unu /JS t " ~' (/Il ns W illi ston. 1 88~. Tr'I Il ". 
(\ IIlll . Acad . A rl s & Sc i., 4::'::5g , 
( 'U )I'Jf!s (tJjillis \ \, ill ist() ll . T r a il ';. C Oil II. 
Aca d . A rt ~ & Sc i. , ,, : 3;]9 , 
('( ))W /) S udl./'I ·i,.,.ps Bigot. 188 7. Ann . Soc . 
~J Il t. F r a n ce. 7:39. 
f' hysoccp l/a la h U:llu'ralis Va ll Ouzee. 1927 , 
IJr oc. Cali f. Acad . Sc i. . 16 :580. 
PII..lI8oce pil. aia i! u)'neral-is s'i,?nu la 'ns Va ll 
J)u zee, 192 7, Proc. Cali f. Aca d. Sci. , 16: 581-
PI, yso (' tjJha /a Iwri!(u ' ies Va ll Ou zee. 1927. 
P r o(! . Ca lif. AcacI. Sc i.. 16:581-
P lty,\' ocejJ/w ia /.nicca lis Va n Ollzee, 1927. 
lOme. Calif . Acad . Sc i. , 16 : 582. 
P hyso(;e jJhu la rn/J'ida Van J) lIhee. 1934 , 
Alln. E n t. Soc. Ame r ., 27: 315. 
Camras (1957:213) includes B .C. in 
the range of this species, but gives no 
details. The high variability of P. 
texana has resulted in a number of 
synonyms. The speCies has been bred 
from nests of the Bembicid wasps 
Bembix comata Parker and B. occi-
dentalis beutenmuelleri Fox (vide 
Bohart and MacSwain, 1939, Bull, So . 
Calif. Acad . SCi., 38: 84 and 1940, Pan 
Pacific Ent., 16 : 16). New data : Kam-
loops, 16.vii.1934, 25.viU937, 13.vi. 
1943, G .J.S .; Penticton, 16.viiU920, 
W.D.; Quesnel, 13.viU948, G .J .S .; 
Summerland, 26 .viU920 (no captor 
given) ; Walhachin, l.vU917, E.R.B. 
Physocephala marginata (Say) 
(' uno} )" 7Jl o rfj ina t a Say. 1823, .J our. Acad. 
Nat. Sc i. P hilad. , 3:82. 
Physu('cp ha l a (/ak utcnsi8 Van D uzee, 1934, 
Ann . En t. Soc. Amer.. 27 :317. 
Ph yso cc)J /w./a sty/ifeJ' Van DUhee. 1934, 
I\ II n, ~n t. Soc. Am e r. , 27:3 18. 
Parsons (1948: 232) records a speci-
men in the American Museum of 
Natural History from Nicola Valley, 
B.C. 
DALMANNIINAE 
Dalmannia picta Williston 
LJu i mWJ?I i a lIi ela W illi ston, 1883, T r a ns. 
('011 11, Acad. Ar ts & Sc i. , 6 : 94. 
This is the first member of this sub-
family recorded from Canada. One 
m a le , Kamloops , 24 .v .1935, G.J.S . 
MYOPINAE 
Myopa vesiculosa Say 
J tYU!)(i GCSi,{,1i/U8 U Say. 182:3, .J ourn . Acad. 
Nat. Sc i. . Ph ila d ., 3:80, 
.11'jUIIU (l IJi cu li s Wa lk er. 184!J. L is t of ni p!. 
Ill S, in H.M .. ::: G7 !1. 
.Hi/u l )(/ I,is l l'i ll \\ '" Ik e r , .1 1:148. lil t' . [; i l . : 
0,8-8 u, 
E:~To ~rOL()l;Il' .\ L SOCIETY II V B HITI ,.; 1l (;O I.l ' ,lI11 .\ . P HO( ·. \1~5 H I. VOl.. :,6. 1\:0\' . ~. 1 [li)H 55 
M,I}opa eo n j 'Un('/a Thomson . 1868. r~ u geni es 
Hesa, Dipt e ra: 515·6. 
alo~8 igollu ·/Jlu clI.li tro Jls Bigot . 1887. Ann . 
Soc . h:nt. France, 7: 206·7. 
lH,I}()/Ju uta/t ("Jlsis Stai ns and Kn ow lton . 
1940, P roc. Utah Aca d . Sc i. Ar ts L etter s, 
16 : 51. 
Not previously recorded from RC., 
but known from Quebec. New data: 
Chilcotin, 28.v.1929, G.J.S. ; Salmon 
Arm, 4.v.1930, H.B.L . 
Myopa longipilis Banks 
l ~J ,I}()P([ /ongipWs Banks. l~Hj , Ann . Ell t. 
Soc. Amer., 9: 197 . 
Previously only known from Cali-
fornia , Idaho, Oregon, Utah and 
Washington. New data: Cobble Hill , 
15.iv.1912, Hooke CoIl . 
Myopa rubida (Bigot) 
Ulossiyonu l'ulJ'i(/a Bigot. 1887 . Ann . Soc . 
I<;nt. ~'rance, 7 : 20(i. 
iI!I!Jupa t t'c /Uf'(I Adams. 1 90:~ , Ka ns. Ullh' . 
SC i. , Bull. , 2:35. 
JlIJy opu c/a.usa. va l'. (/ pl'rla Hod e l', 1889. 
Wein . Ent. Zeit.. 8:5. 
!l1 ,l}OjJU ~ern-i'llllci(/. Ba n ks. 1916, Ann . Ent. 
SO('. Ame r., 9: 198 . 
Not previously recorded from Can-
ada. Camras (1953: 101) states that it 
is commonest in Washington, which 
adjoins B.C.; it appears to be fairly 
common in RC. as the present collec-
tion contains nine specimens with 
data as follows : Salmon Arm, 3.v. 
1920, 17.vJ932, 27 .v.1932, H.B.L . (on 
shepherd 's purse) ; Vancouver, 4.v. 
1931, H.B.L.; Vernon, l.v.1920, M.H.R. ; 
Victoria , 28.vi.1919 , 29 .vi.1919 , W.D. 
Myopa clausa Loew 
JJyopa (' /0 1lS0 l ~oe\V. 1866. Cen t uria e V II. 
110. 72:10l. 
Camras (1943:101-2) gives the 
range of this species as 'Southern 
Canada and United States (Maine to 
Georgia, West to Washington and Cali-
fornia .) '. He does not specify a Cana-
dian province, neither does Parsons 
(1948:238) . New data : Chilcotin, 13. 
vU921 , E.R.R; Kamloops, 12.vU946, 
G.J .S .; Quesnel, 24.v.1949, 28.v.1949, 
30 .v.1949, H.R.M.; 26 .vU949, G .J.S.; 
Yale (pair in copula) , 24.v.1948, G . J. 
S .; Cariboo Distr. , Sorenson Lake, 25 . 
v.1959, G.G.E.S . 
Myopa vicario Walker 
.11.1/(1)(/ ·v i co r i l.l Walke r. 1849. Li s t of Dipt. 
In s. in B.M .. 3:679. 
J1yojHl. llilos(t W ill bton . 1885, Tra il S. Conn . 
Aca d . Ans & Sc i. . 6::383·4 . 
Not hitherto known from RC., but 
recorded from Ontario and Quebec in 
Canada and the type in the British 
Museum is from Nova Scotia. I have 
also seen a specimen from Saskatoon, 
Sask., 23.iv.1943, P . Larkin. New data : 
Marpole, 1.iv.1950, colI. Farr. Peace 
River , 1949, D.G .H. Vancouver, l.iv. 
1949, G .B.R. ; l. iV .1950 (Univ. cam-
pus), H.J.; 2.iv.1950 , colI. Richard. 
20.iiU950, E.F.; 9.iv.1950, H.A.M.; 4.iv . 
1950, H.w.M. ; 1.iv.1950 . H.R.M .; 29 . 
iiL ?, M.O . 
Zodion fulvifrons Say 
/.1)"iUII /ul v i / run s Say. 18:l3. JoUI'll. Acad . 
Nat. Sci. Philad .. 3:83. 
/. or/iOIl u/Jr/Ollli110 li s Say. 182;1. /0('. ,·it. 
:;: 84. 
M.lJI)IJU I'ulJri.jruJLs Desvo idy, 1830, Mem. 
Say. e tl' . Acad . Sci. Pa ri s, 2:247. 
/.U(/i OIl jlarip(''III/C Bigol, 1887. An n . Soc. 
En t. France. ( 6) 7:204. 
/.ocii on ZUti'1'P1Itl'f' Gl'aeni ch er. 1910, Canad. 
~:n t., 4l: 26. 
/to(tion s1t!!i l:I a nks, 191 6. Anll. Ent.. Soc. 
Amer. , !:J: 194. 
/.o(/ion o'J~' ''UI'IIIJ/ Ba nk ~. 1916. Ann . Ent.. 
Soc. Am er .. 9: 1~4. 
? /.o r/'ion bilill ca ta Va n Duzee. 1927, Proc. 
Cali f. Acad. Sci., 16:586. 
Camras (1944 : 122) includes South-
ern Canada in the range of this 
species and Parsons (l948:240) men-
tions specimens seen from Nova 
Scotia and Ontario . Severin (1937 , 
En t. News, 48 : 243) has found this 
species as a parasite of worker honey 
bees in Dakota. New da ta: Chilcotin, 
23.vU929, 20 .vii.l930, G .J .S . Jesmond , 
27.vU943 , 20.vi.l943 , G .J.S . 
Zodion intermedium Banks 
/'l)rl :O'1I illl e r111pr/i'll1l/ Banks. 1916, Ann. 
Ent. SO('. Ame!'. !l : ]93. 
/'orlioll UI'('irll'l1laie Banl( s, /0". r·it,' 1!l4. 
/.w/i1)1I U·f'/II.SII ?1I Ban k s. /0, ·. ,· it,' 194. 
/.o(lil)'// /)(I sa 1i s Va n Du zef>. 1927 . P roc. 
Ca lif. Acad. Sci .. 16: 586. 
Previously known from Quebec and 
Ontario in Canada, and U.S .A. New 
data : Quesnel. 10.vi.l947, 19.vU949 , 
G.J.S .; 10.v.1948, H .R.M . 
Zodion ?perlongum Coquillet 
/'()(/io'll. jJPI'/O'II(J1I1II CO<juill et. I~ 02. Ca n . 
~:nt. , 34: 19!1. 
Males of this species are usually 
indistinguishable from Z. julvijrons, 
but one male in the present collection 
lla:; a very rurou :; a bdomen and a ,,) 
Camras remarks in his key (1944: 120) 
'Some of the larger and more rufous 
individua ls a r e probably males of 
p erlongu1Il, ' A definite r ecord for Ca n-
ada if not for B.C. is a femal e in the 
Hope Dept. , Oxford , from Ottawa, 
Ontario, 21.vii,1897, Mary Holmes . 
The data on th e B.C . mal e which I 
can only place doubtfully as Z . peT-
longum are K a mloops , 18-22.vi.1954 , 
G.J .S . 
Occemyia propinqua (Ad am s) 
f ! n('UII}lli ' ! / ) '()l l illff/tll .--\ d ( llll ~ . l!)n:"L I \.al ! ~ . 
LIll i \', Sci. Bull .. :2::~:2. 
()JI (· (jiJI./fiu rt1l!11l,",: 1 i f UJ'I/i . ...,· \ ';111 I h l z( P. 1~1 ~7, 
PI'O(;. Ca li f. Acad. Sci .. 16: 5 ~I ;->. 
( ) /I ( 'o}//.lJ ifl 7() JI ,fl i fJuln is; Villl f)ll Z(-' t--' . l~I :: -J. 
Ann , Em . SQc. -""J"'!' .. :!7: :: ~ I , 
Camras (1945: 218) gives Southern 
Canada and United States as the 
range of this species, bu t n either h e 
nor Parson s (1948 : 244) give loca lity 
deta ils . New data: K amloops, 25 .vii. 
1937, 23.vii.1939 , 22.vii.1945 . 22 .viii. 
1958, G.J.S. ; Quesnel, 19 .vi. to 2.vii. 
1949 , G.J.S .; Roya l Oak , 8.ix.1925, G . 
J . S. ; Soda Creek , 27.vii.1949 , G.J.S. 
Occemyia nigripes Camras 
(J(Telll}/iu lI i!! ) ' i,) I ' .)' CanlrilS. 1~1 4 r) . : \1l11. 
1·:1l1. SOC'. AIl IPI' .. ::X: :!1 8- !1. 
Described from Ontario with para-
types from Quebec , Ontario , Mani-
toba, all parts of th e United Sta t es 
and Guatem a la. New data : Austra-
lian , 15.viii.1948, G.J.S. 
Occemyia lororia Loew 
(} JlI'(J IJly i (1 lorfl ri o I .ne " ' , 1 ~6(). ('e ntu ri ae 
\-11. :\'n. 74 Pi> 1() 1 -~. 
U nUJlII.II i (( /Hfl' O /li \\ 'i lli S!I )I l. 18R ::. TI';IIlS. 
('Olll! . AI'C~ cI. j\r( ~ & S('i .. 6: ~17 -~ . 
() lIf' u }}/lliu In ('!" ;"""l ,.i " \ ' ; 111 I )IIZ~ I(:', 1!1:!7, 
IJrcll·. CaliI'. ,\ (';['1 . Sc i .. I G:')~I: : . 
{)}lI'OIllI Ji o fll ' Illf f/lis V ~ 1I1 UU ZI l ' . II}!" . "ii " 
1 (j: i)'l4. 
()II " Ollill i li I'I'II/ i l/Illis \':111 1) IIZ P I' . I, H' . {·II .. 
I (i: ~n 4 . . 
/'1 11' ': 111/ {) I II/ t ll ' /fluill ('llrr:ill , 1~1 :~::. An1 P t" , 
:\1 t!~. Nn\'i i ;lt(:'S. H7:'::·I . 
1.!I" f)III.'ii" (r oll/ u lis \' ;111 J) IIZP{'. 1!):14. A I1I1 . 
j ': Il! ::S () ! ', Alller" ~"l: :122, 
Previously recorded from Ontario 
and the ra n ge also includes the Unit-
ed States. New data: Quesnel, 31.vii. 
1947, 10 .vi.1948, 19 to 26.viii.1949 . G . 
J. S. 
Occemyia modesto Williston 
( ,', ., (' llIi! f/ ill()I /I 'slo Williston. HS:t TJ'Hl1ti. 
( '''11 11 . i\c' ld. Arts & Sc i., 6 : %. 
Camras (1945: 220) gives the range 
of this species as southwestern Can-
ada a nd western United states, east 
to SaskatC'hewan , Colorado and New 
Mexico . New data: Agassiz, ll.ix.1925 , 
G.J .S. ; Chilcotin, 23 .vi.1929, G.J.S.; 
Midday creek, 11.viii.1920, N.I.C.; 
Royal Oak , 8.ix.1925, G.J.S.; Victoria, 
S.ix.1925 , G.J.S. 
Occemyia lute ipes Camras 
I) , {'{'/IIil' (1 IIIir' i /)('s C; lllIras. 194 5. Ann. 1'; 111. 
>'0" . A II ll'l' .. ::8: 220-1. 
Described from Washington with 
para types from California, Washing-
ton , Idaho, Utah and Colorado. New 
data: One female from Agassiz, l1.ix. 
1925, G.J.S. 
Ther e are four male Occemyia 
which I a m unable to determine to 
species . Intermediates in size and 
coloration occur in the genus and 
without the females such examples 
are impossible to determine with cer-
tainty. 
LIST OF COLLECTORS 
E .F.- E. Friclell H.J .-H. Johnson 
E.R.I3.- H.R.M.-
E. R. Buckell H. R. MacCarthy 
G.B.R.- G. 13. Ri ch K.F.A.- K. F . Auden 
G.G.E.S.- M.H.R.-
G. G. E. Scudder M. H. Ruhmann 
G.J.S.- G. J. Spencer 1\1.0 .- M. Oswell 
H.A.M.- H. A. Magel N.I.C .- N. I. Cutler 
H.B.L.- H. B. Leech W.D.- W. Downes 
D.G.H.- not known 
References 
Bohart, G. E .. 1938, .;)Yilf)lbis 01' th l' genus Dalmannia in North America (Diptera , 
Co nop idae ), P a n Pacific Ent.. 14 (3) : 132-136. 
Camras, S .. 1944, Notl 's ur. th e No rth Amer ica n species of th e Zodion fulvifrons group 
(Dipter a, Conopicl Cl ·~l. Pan Pac ific Ent. , 20 (4): 121-128. 
Camras , S. , 1945. A s t ucl ~ ' n[' t he gen us Occemyia in North Am erica (Diptera , Conopidae), 
Ann. En t. Soc. A;nc l'ic<: . 38: 216-222. 
Camras. S. , 1953, A rcv ic '.\· of t he ge nus Myopa in No rth Ameri ca (Diptera , Conopidae) , 
WaSIll . J ourn. Bio I .. 11 : 97- 114. 
l'a mra " S .. H155, A rev icII of t h(' nell II 'orld fli cs of till' genus Conops and a llies 
(Diptc ra, Cono piciac'l. Prot:. L.S. Na t. Mus., 105: 155-187. 
( 'amras, S., 1957 , A rcv icI'.· uf th(' 11('\1 ' \\'()rld Physocephala (Iliptera , Conopiclac ), Ann. 
Enl. Soc . Am er ica, 50: 213-218. 


The Conopidae (Diptera) of British Columbia

Stainer, John

the vehicle wi th the doors closed and 
aspirate the desired insec ts from the 
windshield, doors a nd screens. When 
50 to 100 insects are in the aspira tor , 
transfer them to a collecting ja r. This 
avoids damage from swirling pa rticles 
in the air stream or from the insects 
piling up. The transfer is easily made 
from a straight aspirator into a pre-
serving ja r, if the ja r lid h as a self-
closing va lve made from a piece of 
inner tube rubber . Shut oft" the vac -
ti,-. 
uum by pinching the a spirator tub-
ing, insert the nozzle of the aspirator 
in the jar and tap the aspirator gently 
to dislod ge the insects. Shutting off 
the vacuum in this way does not in-
terfere with the vacuum setting. 
Leafhoppers collected with this 
method showed a better ra t e at" sur-
vival in vector studies than those 
taken by convention a l methods, prob-
a bly because it was easy to select un -
damaged speci mens. 
References 
1. Peterson , A. 1953. A manua l of entomological techniques. 7lh Ed. PI. 68 . Edwards 
Bros. Inc ., Ann Arbor, Mich. 
2. Hurd , P. D. 1954. " Myiasis" re~ulting from th e use of th e aspirator method in the 
collection of insects. Science 119: (3101):814. 
a. Moore, H . W. 1943. A mechanical as pirator for ~ ()]"ting and cou ntin.g insects in th (' 
fip ]d . ('a n . En t . 75 : 162 . 
A COLLECTION OF HYMENOPTERA FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA 
By JOHN STAINER 
This collection co nsists of species 
taken during the summer of 1939, at 
Okanagan Mission , with a few species 
collected at Vancouver Island pOints. 
I am indebted to Dr. R. Lambert, C. 
D. Miller, W. R. Mason , and G . S . 
Walley of the Division of Entomology, 
Ottawa, for their id entifications; and 
to Prof. G. J . Spencer for his h elp with 
this paper. Most of the specimens are 
now in the National Collec tion at 
Ottawa, the remainder in my own 
collection in Parksville. 
Of the 50 species listed 11 a re not 
recorded from B.C. in the "Synoptic 
Cataloque of the Hymenoptera of 
America North of Mexico" (U.S. Dept. 
of Agriculture , April 1951) . Some in-
teresting points arise in geographical 
distribution . Of the Apoidea collected 
only 1 species has a continent-wide 
range; the ranges of 6 straddle the 
Rockies; and 23 are recorded West of 
the Rockies only . On the other hand 
of the other superfamilies 14 species 
have a continent-wide range, 3 more 
ha ve ranges which straddle the 
Rockies; and only 3 are restricted to 
the West side of the Rockies. This 
follows a pattern evident in the Syn-
optiC Catalogue. shown by these 
figures : 
Per cent of American species with 
ranges which cross the Rockies 
Genus Andrena 2.5 
Genus Dasymutilla ...... . 11 .2 
Genus Chl'ysis . . .... 34.0 
In the following list the specimens 
were taken at Okanagan Mission in 
1939, unless otherwise indicated . 
Months of capture are given in Roma n 
fi gures. 
TENTHREDINOIDEA 
Cimbicidae 
( ' i lll/)('. { ({/J/I Tin/J/f1 /HI/'iff/ 'u (' T' PSS. ~ P::t l'J.;s -
vi li p: 111 . v i i i. 54. 
'/ 'I' /lIIII 'PI/O ("{(/"ipi,.fus ."01"1 . q S I1"lI'n i g<l n 
I " iI« ' - \" . " ~ . 
ICHNEUMONOIDEA 
Ichneumonidae 
Pimplinae 
Ichneumoninae 
( '("", i '-/IIII ' /lli/i)/l ulliJasc'i(/I()I" i us S<I,·. P<lr1(s· 
,il l f': -~ ,·ii i. .'):~ . anrl 111. ix . ij::. 
CHRYSIDOIDEA 
Ch rysididae 
IIl'rlyl"il l"i rl i lllll .rtdc"/c ui Bod . ~ 4. ,'. Neareti l 
pr e v io ll s ly r ecorded runge: A lta .. Ida .. Ore. 
('II I"!!" ;" ({' /t !".lISII)"I( ) JJII/' ifi"' l Say . :,. Y. <lnd 
~:? \", 
('. ((' . ) lul'l Aaro n . ::11. i,· . Nl'a r es l preYiolls · 
I.,· record e d ra n ge : Id a., C() ln. 
(' . ( (' h '".l) s i s ) ( ' I)(' /" I//I/lIS F'ab . . "alluilllo : ] 2. 
\' i i i. ?If) . ~ :; . \' . 
GG I': " '!'" , ,OU" ' " ,\1. S" , II':TY 0" Il IOTl" 11 CU I.I " I I ' I.\. PH' '''. ( 1 !J5~). VO l .. 56. l'\O\' . 4, 1 95 ~) 
( '. p('1 /u.sl(I Cr ess. ~4. \'. Prev io ll s ly r eco rd ed 
range t hrou g h out U.S. 
e. ( PY l'iu j ju b /'ki i :Vlncsa r y. 20. vi. Neares t 
previolls]y r eco rd ed r a nge: Ca li f .. Ariz . 
SCOLIOIDEA 
Sphaeropthalminae 
/J os./fil i uli llu 1I i{ll'i1JCS Fab. (2) 27. iv. Not 
previo us ly r eco rd ed wes t of Alta .. Ari z. 
0 . l'('s tu Cr e:os. (2) l. v. a nd 7.v. No pre vio ll s 
recerd west uf Hocki es. 
VESPOIDEA 
Eumeninae 
. ll l<' isllil·"I' Ii S (l11ii/liPI' (lil li/ ()jl" Panz. 1-10 1'11 -
by Is laml ; - viii. 52. 
A. cu t s k ill (li/J IJ jlhalcl'ulus Sauss. (3) 22. V. 
"'-/j IlIIl IO J'/I /IUS "(lilu r/cnsis Sa uss. 7. ,'. 
Pompilinae 
.-I lluplius illS lilli/s Ballks. (7) 17. h '. to 
=:6. \'i. 
SPHECOIDEA 
Pemphredoninae 
fJ IISSU / /JI 'I ' u s 111111/(/ ,.'m/al'is Cr ess. Na llaim u; 
--. v iii. 51. 
Sphecinae 
Pu(/u/()lI iu I 'UIIII/tuilis C ress. ( 15) iv . to v. 
Lad ysmith, V.l. ; h', to v. 39. l{ange W est-
e rn U ,S.; not r ecord ed from B.C. 
8 1'e lip7l1'/J1/ l·a elllell /(lri u.lI~ Drury . 8. y , 
Nyssoninae 
Hc mbi.l' ( g IJi/) c lI1/liJ') coma /a Pa rke r. (4) 
Cherry P oin t; 5.v ii i. 42. Hornby l ~ l a nd; 
- .v ii. 52. Na n a im o; - .v iii. 52 . 
Philanthinae 
Phillmlll/(s jia cijrolls Cress. ( :\) Na n a im o: 
10.v i. 5 1. Fre nc h Creek. V. I. ; - .v i.!i4. 
APOIDEA 
Andrenidae 
rl il r//' /'I J(( "({urii (lll S lI1i t h . cl '2 :W.h·. C he rry 
Point: 4.v. 42. 
.4 . 1'([ I'/illijo/"lll i s Vi e r ec l; a nd Cuc ke r ell. 'i' '2 
8. anti 14 .v. 1\ earest prev iously re~o rd f'[l 
r a ng e : Ca lif .. Ut.a h , Wyo. 
. -II/(/l'eul/ (") l 'oll/ /Jlld isl'IJ /J([ Vi e r ee k 2 '2 '2 
14.v. 
J. I'I'P('/ I( Vip r e{' I;, '2 C he r r y Poin t.: ii. iv. 42. 
A Note on the Oviposition of 
On May 4, 1950, about 3:30 p.m., I noticed 
a female of the geometrid Nyctobia limitaria 
Wlk. flying in a leisurely way amongst the 
coniferous undergrowth bordering the creek 
at the Trinity Valley Forest Biology Field 
Station. I watched for about ten minutes 
before it fle w down a steep bank and was 
lost; while under observatio n it settled about 
ten times on young Douglas fir , Engelmann 
spruce, and western red cedar. By follo wing 
the moth I was able to pick out six eggs 
which it laid on the spruce and fir foliage. 
It showed no preference for e ither host, but 
was attracted to trees growing close to the 
water ; twice it r eturned and laid a second 
egg on a tree of each species almost over-
hanging the creek. When ovipositing, the 
, I . ( ?) /II T al'm([ l a Coc ke r e ll. cl 4 '2 '2 1 . to 
16 .iv. 
, \. / )/'/[ 11 1)/ 1111 / k illl'ai(li i Cock e r e ll 2 '2 <;I Ke l-
"wna : 10.v.::l9. Nan3 imo ;- .v ii. 52. 
A, s/([( / e lli Vi e r eck, 3 cl cl 5 '29. 10. to .L6. iv . 
LO 44.v. 
.4 _ I:J) sl /' i lll i f 1'0 lis Coc ke r e ll. :! <;I 'i' : 24. h' . 
10 24.\-. 
Halictidae 
II I/lit/li S I' lIu i(' ((JU/lIS Chri st. 8 '2 '2 15. to 
16.i\'. Ch err~' Point. 4.v.4:! . 
II . /' i /'!/I// e llus Cocke r e ll 'i' 2:Uv. 
Megachilidae 
( ' /tel Jj lliu ( JJ('/ullostclis ) ruM Coc ke r e ll. '2 
22.\-. Nea r es t r eco rd e d r an ge Alt.a .. vVas h .. 
Ca l i f .. Colo. 
/-/ oJ)lil is ( _11 0 1/1111 / , ' /1/(/ ) rt/bi j rnlls al'r}('n / ij /'ons 
C l'e~~. '2 6.v i. 
II , ( ('It //J /'I)s1lliu) (u /!l it/a j1ti!lit/ a Cress . '2 
6,v i. Near es t r ecord ed ran ge Alas l;a. Yu-
kon . Alta .. Ore. 
() 8111 iu. ( ()smia ) 7 iYllu/'ia J!/'upi llqua Cress. 
13 cl cl 5 'i' '2 4.iv, to 21. vi. 
IJ. ( ('/U[/coSlll i (( ) c%I'I((/ellsis C ress. cl 8.v, 
(I . ( C,/ / CJ'([1t(/. Cr ess. '2 Nana imo; - .v ii. 52. 
IJ. ( (' c IJ/t/lZUS III ia) IIwr.oin i/J (, 111/ is Coeke r ell . 
6 '2 ::lv .iv, a nd 16.v i. 
IJ . ( C. ) IIW II/(l 1/U Cress. cl 9 :lO .i v. 
(J. ( ('. ) 1)/l Sco l ' nsis Coc ke re ll. '2 30 .iv. 
IJ . ( J eu lll/lO sllloi ti e s ) (?) eni.ra Sand h ou se. 
9 14 .v, 
U. (_Y o /l lIJslI(ia ) t/CIl8(£ ( / 1'118([ C ress . cl 6.v i. 
I). ( ,Y. ) )(U / ([ S'II.b)11U1lU/'('Q Coc ke r e ll. is 8.v. 
.ll c(jl/ c lii/l' f U <'l()I1I( 'ga('iLilcj mc/([?/opiL([C'a 
('([l u.l/as l c/' Coc ke r e ll. '? Parksv ill e; 22. 
\'i. 53. 
.11, ( IJ .) IILcloIiUp /W(,(( lIIeill'l/o/J /IClCO Sm it h . 
? Nana im o: l .v iii. 52. 
Apidae 
.-111 111 Ul)/wl'(L i)()'IIItw i i/, '" "tulI(/jul'd iall([ Coc k-
er e ll. '2 2l.vi. 
A, J)/( ci/il'![ pl/ (' ijil'a C r ess, cl 4. \'. 
/';/Il phol'u/Jsis 1//lll' i lli l'/1I Coe l;e r e ll. 8 cl cl 
~I '" '2 2. i v. t n 14. v. Nea r est l'l' ('or<l ecl r a n ge 
Cali f. 
.1/ ('/(' ('/(/ /)(/I'i/i l' (( C re~ s. 2 cl cl 16. i\' . 
( '(' /'((Iillll 11 1'((1111/11 slIl)/(/([I'i/ima Coc ke r e ll. 
'2 H).v. ~ 
/lOJJ(.,')?[" /II i .rtLl" Cr ess. '? Na ll a illl o.5.\· ii i.5l. 
NYCTOBIA LlMITARIA Wlk. 
moth rested motionless, the wings half ex-
tended, on the upper side of a spray of foli-
age; the abdom nn was curved downward and 
forwa rd and the eggs were laid on the un-
der sid e of the need les. On at least one 
occasion when the moth perched on a cedar, 
its proboscis was extended and it appeared 
to be taking moisture from the surface of 
the foliage. 
At the time these obser vatio ns were made 
the sun was ,shining and the temperature at 
the nearby fi eld station was about 58° F. 
In the vicinity of the creek the temperature 
was judged to be at least ten degrees colder 
and most of the und erstory was in shade. 
- J. Gran t . "'Ol'r ,,/ H in l o(!y U [bOrat01·Y . VeT-
II()II. R .C. 


A collection of Hymenoptera from British Columbia

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. 


A breeding place of Xestobium abets Fisher (Coleoptera: Anobiidae)

PROC. E NTOMOL. Soc. BRIT. COLU MBIA , VOL. 57 (1960), DEC. 1, 1960 13 
ON THE NESTS AND POPULATIONS OF SOME VESPID WASPS 
G. J. SPENCER' 
The year 1957 was a year of wasp 
abundance in the lower Fraser Valley 
as was 1943 in the interior of the 
Province. 
I had occasion to remove a number 
of nests of Vespula (Dolichovespula) 
arenaria (Fabricius) and one each of 
V. vulgaris (L) and V. pensylvanica 
(Saus.) in West Point Grey district of 
Vancouver and kept counts of the 
populations in each nest. The pro-
cedure in taking the nests was to wait 
un til at least 10: 30 at nigh t when all 
activity had ceased around the nests 
and to set up a powerful spotlight at 
a distance on a stand so as to illumin-
ate the area, then to squirt the jet of 
a 5% D.D.T. aerosol bomb into the 
entrance of the nest while holding 
underneath a sack stretched open on 
a round frame of heavy wire. The 
wasps poured out into the sack; when 
no more came out the nest was cut 
from its supports, dropped into the 
sack and examined next morning 
when practically all wasps were dead. 
Later, I used a small compression 
sprayer filled, at the suggestion of 
Professor K. Graham, with carbon 
tetrachloride which was much faster 
than the D.D.T. aerosol bomb since it 
immobilized the wasps instantly; 
however those that had not received 
a good shot of it tended to recover 
and had to be re-treated. Since all 
the nests contained combs with cap-
ped pupal cells, they were caged until 
emergence had ceased, then counts 
were made of each caste and the 
nests were set aside for the emergence 
of parasites and scavenger moths, 
which may occur as much as 10 
months later. 
TABLE of Populations of Wasps Nests 
Nest No. Drones Queens Workers Total Parasites Caterpillars 
D. arenaria 
1 470 77 695 
2 132 160 612 
3 1 42 241 
4 159 6 146 
5 0 1 53 
V. vulgaris 
6 32 43 2230 
V. pensylvanica 
7 126 33 224 
Notes on These Nests 
The parasites mentioned in the 
table are Sphecophaga burra (Cres-
son), Ichneumonidae (3) and the 
caterpillars are those of the moth 
Vitula serratilineela Ragenot, pyra-
lidae, as determined by comparing 
their adults with those in the Black-
,University of British Columbia, Vilncouver, 
B.C. 
1242 150 1 
904 0 2 
284 3 0 
311 12 0 
54 3 0 
2305 0 0 
383 0 0 
more-Wynne collection at the Univer-
sity; this identity has not been check-
ed by an authority. 
Nest 1 taken 28 June 1957 from 
under the eaves on the south east 
corner of a garage, consisted of 6 
combs inside 4 outer paper walls. The 
number of drones in this nest is sur-
prising, being nearly 38% of the total 
population and 6 times the number 
of queens. 
PIlOC. E !'\TOMOJ.. Soc. BIlIT. COLU MllIA , VOL. 57 ( 1960), D E C. 1, 1960 
Nest 2 taken 5 July from under the 
steps on the south east corner of a 
back verandah, consisted of 7 combs 
and 4 outer paper walls. Samples of 
these wasps were weighed directly 
after being killed to give the relative 
weights of each caste ; 99 drones 
weighed 17 grams = 0.1717 grams 
each; 135 queens weighed 40.4 grams 
= 0.2886 grams each and 612 workers 
weighed 70.8 grams = 0.1157 grams 
each. 
Nest 3 taken 24 July was scraped off 
a window pane facing south in a cot-
tage on the first slope of Mount Sey-
mour; it consisted of 4 combs and a 
new and completely empty one the 
size of a silver dollar, under no fewer 
than 11 outer walls reducing to 6 at 
the entrance and was obviously a new 
nest. Of the 42 queens, 13 were race 
jernaldi and of the 241 workers, 3 
were jernaldi. The race jernaldi 
(Lewis) according to Bequaert (1), is 
only a xanthic form of arenaria char-
acterized by 2 large round yellow spots 
on the propodeum which are not 
found in normal arena ria. 
Nest 4 was brought in by a sanitary 
inspector on July 29 and consisted of 
7 large combs; he had removed it from 
a laurel hedge after drenching it with 
gallons of insecticide, thus reducing it 
to a soggy mess. From the size of the 
combs, this must have been a very 
large nest with a large population of 
wasps of which only a few (311) 
reached me . Since drones usually 
hang around a nest, their number, 
159, was probably normal but most 
of the workers were missing. Of the 
drones, 42 were race jernaldi ; of the 
6 queens, 4 were jernaldi and of the 
146 workers, 46 were jernaldi. Accord-
ing to Buckell and Spencer (3) drones 
are not usually of the race jernaldt 
so this number 42, is of note. No nests 
have yet been taken where all wasps 
were of race jernaldi. 
Nest 5, given me by Dr. K. Graham, 
was taken by him on 6 August at 
Langley Prairie and consisted of only 
2 combs of which the larger was 
2% x 2 Y2 ins. across. The nest had 
obviously been recently started be-
cause the queen only was of normal 
size, the 53 workers were very small. 
Nest 6, Vespula vulgaris (Linn.) 
was taken 23 August from under the 
roots of a clump of iris in a rock 
garden facin g north. The entrance 
was about one inch across and the 
combs when excavated from between 
the plant roots and stones were found 
to be of very irregular shapes and 
sizes and to occupy a hole roughly 12 
ins. x 10 ins. There were no outer 
walls. The labour involved in excavat-
ing such a large hole must have been 
colossal. One queen out of the 43 
taken was immense and was probably 
the founder of the nest; the others 
were apparently the season's brood. 
Amongst the normal - sized workers, 
were over 80 only one third the size of 
the others, being about 1 centimetre 
long; Mr. C. D. F. Miller, hymenopter-
ist of the Research Branch, Ottawa, 
informs me that such dwarfs some-
times occur in wasps' nests and are 
apparently only xanthic forms of nor-
mal specimens; the reason for their 
occurrence is unknown. 
Nest 7. On 19 October 1958 I was 
asked to remove a wasps nest from a 
compost heap in a friend 's garden. 
The heap consisted of regularly-cut 
slabs of turf built up like bricks in a 
wall with spaces between the sods. 
Taking this apart sod by sod, I found 
a number of little combs lying be-
tween the slabs with a dozen or so 
wasps around each comb, none of 
which contained brood or even eggs: 
each group had to be pOisoned separ-
ately and the wasps collected. Well 
down inside the pile was the main 
comb with a large number of Vespula 
FROC. ENTO?IOL. Soc. BRIT. COLUMBIA, VOL. 57 (1960), DEC. 1, 1960 16 
pensylvanica (H. de Saussure) wasps 
around it. As with Nest 6 of V. vUl-
garis in the ground, there were no 
parasitized cells or scavenger cater-
pillars in the combs: apparently sub-
terranean nests escape these in-
truders. It seems strange that workers 
should make isolated groups of cells 
away from the main colony; appar-
ently the urge of the workers to build 
cells was stronger than that of the 
queens to lay eggs in them. 
On 17 January 1958 a citizen in the 
Dunbar district of Vancouver tele-
phoned to say that he had a wasp's 
nest in the corner of a back verandah 
roof, that measured 3 feet across: in 
spite of my doubting it, he stuck to 
his story. So I went over and after an 
arduous journey through my lady's 
dresses in a clothes closet, up a ladder 
and through a small trap-door in the 
roof, across the whole house length of 
rafters travelled the last part of the 
way on my stomach, I reached the 
corner where the sloping roof of the 
house met that of the verandah. 
Across the right angle of the corner 
was a nest 3 feet across and 18 ins. 
high, even as the owner had stated. 
From what I could reach of the nest 
I scooped out a few handsful of comb 
and later recovered from it 2 dead 
workers and one male of Vespula 
pensylvanica (H. de Saussure), one 
Ptinus fur Linn. the white-marked 
spider beetle, one Ptinus ocellus 
Brown (tectus Boield) the Australian 
spider beetle, several exuviae of 
Anthrenus verbasci (Linn.) the var-
ied carpet beetle and one scavenger 
moth caterpillar. The owner said that 
the nest had been inhabited for 2 
years in succession and feared that it 
would be re-occupied the coming sea-
son. I urged its total removal and the 
blocking-up of the entrance holes 
since the dermestid beetles that it 
haboured could very well invade the 
house. 
Further note on the scavenger moth 
Vitula serratilineela Rag. 
In August, 1959, I was given two 
nests of D. arenaria and one of the 
white faced hornet Vespula maculata 
(Linn.) with a few dead wasps in 
each and evidences of caterpillar silk 
between the tiers of comb of arenaria 
but not of maculata. They were main-
tained in a carton with a loose cover 
and from the end of February, 1960, 
to the end of June, moths flew out of 
the carton and around the room 
where the better specimens were col-
lected and pinned. By August every 
comb was plastered with silk webbing 
and the frass of caterpillars, and the 
frass of wasp larvae which is com-
pacted at the base of every cell, was 
completely consumed; dried bodies 
of wasp larvae and pupae, were not 
eaten. This would indicate that the 
larvae of this moth are true scaveng-
ers and not predators of early stages 
of wasps. Further proof of the scav-
enging behaviour of these larvae was 
obtained when fifteen moths picked 
up dead from the window sill were 
placed in a covered Syracuse watch 
glass for relaxing later on. Some 
weeks afterwards when I examined 
the dish, I found that the bodies of all 
the moths had been eaten and a full-
g row n caterpillar was moving 
amongst the loose wings; this pupated 
and a moth eventually emerged. 
App~rently a moth had laid an egg 
on the body of one of those lying 
dead on the window sill and the re-
sulting caterpillar found enough food 
in 15 moth bodies, to complete its 
development. 
References 
1. Bequaert, J. 1931. A tentative synopsis of the hornets and yellow-jackets (Vespinae: 
Hymenoptera) of America . Entomologica Americana 12(2):71-138. 
2. Bequaert, J . 1935. Additions and corrections to the revision of North American Ves-
pinae (Entomologica Americana 1931). Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc. : 119-124. 
3. Buckell, E. R. and G. J . Spencer. 1950. The Social Wasps (Vespidae) of British Colum-
bia . Proc. Ent. Soc. Brit. Columbia 46: 33-40. 


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