Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia

Scudder, G. G. E.

22 PHew. E:"TO"O I.. So! '. BIlIT . C O I. (1 ~I 111 .\, VOL. 57 ( 1960). D F.t'. I , 1960 
DICTYONOTA FULIGINOSA COSTA (HEMIPTERA: TINGIDAE) 
IN THE NEARCTIC 
G. G. E. SCUDDER ' 
During 1959 samples of populations 
of Mirid Heteroptera on broom (Saro-
thamnus scoparius) were taken on 
the campus at the University of 
British Columbia. In July and August 
specimens of a Tingid, Dictyonota 
/uliginosa Costa, were also beaten 
from this plant; determination of the 
Tingid h as been verified by Prof. C. J . 
Drake of the United States National 
Museum. This capture appears to be 
the first record of this insect in the 
Americas, although the related D. 
tricornis (Schrank) occurs in eastern 
Canada and the eastern United 
States. D. /uliginosus is a common in-
sect on broom in Europe and since 
this plant has been introduced into 
British Columbia, it seems probable 
that this insect has also been intro-
duced. Broom was abundant at Bea-
con Hill , Victoria in 1911 (J . Davidson 
via G. J . Spencer, pers . comm.) , and 
was probably introduced by the early 
English settlers between 1890 and 
1900. Broom is now widely scattered 
in the lower Fraser Valley and on 
Vancouver Island; it also occurs in 
the lower Interior of the Province, 
but in the latter seems to bear little 
insect life. 
The broom Mirid collected in this 
study was the introduced Melanotri-
chus virescens (D. & S.) and this was 
found to be very abundant, yet it has 
not previously been taken on the 
mainland . Downes (1957) records 
, DepartIT'.e nt of Zoology, University of British 
Columbia. 
o M. virescens (D . & S. )= M. concolor of Downes. 
taking M. virescens 2 on Va ncouver Is-
land and I have seen specimens from 
Victoria, Nanaimo and Cowichan. 
Thus, although D. /uliginosa has not 
previously been recorded from the 
a rea in question , it is probably not a 
recent introduction. 
In the Heteroptera in Canada and 
th e United States, at least 90 species 
appear to be Holarctic, or at least, 
a re recorded from the Palaearctic 
and the Nearctic regions. A number 
of th ese appea r to have been intro-
duced into one of the areas. Species 
almost certainly introduced into the 
Nea rctic and occuring in British Col-
umbia include: M egalonotus chiragra 
(F.), Nabis major Costa, Heterotoma 
meriopterum Scop. , Campyloneura 
virgula Fieb., Dicyphus pallidicornis 
(Fieb.), and Blepharidopterus angula-
tus (FalL). These introduced insects 
may have come in On plants, for ex-
ample D icyphus pallidicornis on fox-
glove (Digitalis) (Downes, 1957) or 
they may h ave come in by other 
means as in ballast, suggested for 
MegaZonotus chiragra by Sla ter & 
Sweet (958) . However, these are the 
few exceptions and most of the other 
'Hola rctic ' species need critical ex-
a mination, since most if not all of the 
non-arctic species, with a wide dis-
tribution would appear to be endemic 
rather than introduced. A critical ex-
amination of a few of these has 
shown that the Old and New World 
representatives are not conspecific. 
References 
Downes, W., 1957, Notes on some Hemiptera which have been in trod uced into British 
Columbia, Proc. B.C. Ent. Soc. 54: 11-13. 
Slater, J . A. & M. Sweet, 1958, The occurrance of Megalonotus chiragra (F .) in the 
Eastern United States with notes on its biology and ecology (Hemiptera : Lygaeidae) , 
Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc. 53: 102-107. 


English

Dictyonota fuliginosa Costa (Hemiptera: Tingidae) in the Nearctic

Arrand, J. C.

Corner, J.

THE GROWING PROBLEM OF POLLINATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 
FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF EXTENSION ENTOMOLOGY 
J . C. AR P AND ' AN D J . CORNER2 
Extensio n work in the fi eld of 
p oll in a tion, even with the la rge 
a mount of research informa tio n 
availa ble (Bohart [1960], Free [1960 [, 
Todd & McGregor 11960'1) , is difficul t . 
The effects of adequ a te pollina tion 
a re 'only r ea lized wh en yields over a 
period of several years a re considered . 
The r esults of a single fi eld demon-
stration may be obscured by uncon -
trollable factors, such as weather , the 
g'eneral physiologica l condition of the 
pla nt, competing bloom, or the popu-
la tion level of wild pollinators . As a 
r esult, a n important extension tool 
is often rendered ineffective. Further -
more, because of the complexi ty of 
the problem, many growers develop 
th e a t titude tha t with or withou t 
pollina tors successful yields a I' e 
la rgely a ma tter of cha nce. For ex-
a mple, the yields of legume seed in 
the Peace River district of Northern 
British Columbia fluctu a te consid er-
a bly from year to year. The yields of 
n 'ops that are adequa tely pollina ted 
tend to be higher than the district 
a verage . However, the fact that the 
va riability is general sugges ts to 
m any gTowers tha t the success or 
fa ilure of the enterprise lies ou tside 
r.heir control. 
In some areas a reasona ble wild or 
h oney bee population exists and the 
gTowers obta in fa ir or good yields of 
",elf st erile crops without a ny specia l 
effort. Under these conditions it is 
difficult for the individua l to accept 
his responsibility for preserving the 
~ollinators . It is even more difficult 
for him to r ealize that an increase in 
the number of pOllinators could re -
sult in increased yields, better qua lity 
and more even ripening. 
I A ' Provin c ial Entomolog is t , Ve rno n , B.C. 
2 Provin c ia l Ap iari s t, Ve rn o n. B.C . 
The fruit- or seed-grower a nd the 
beekeeper often fail to understand 
each others ' problems. The beekeeper 
in the Okanagan may feel tha t the 
orcha rdist is spra ying' da n gerous in -
sec ticides unnecessa rily and indis-
criminately . The seed grower in the 
Peace River district may feel th at 
th e beekeeper is ge tting something 
for nothing a nd should pa y for put -
ting bees near the fi eld . Bringing 
oh ese two groups to a common point 
of understandin g' is a ma jor part of 
th e extension program in pollina tion . 
A discussion of the program in 
British Columbia including what h as 
been done , future plans and where 
research ca n help, is best considered 
under the ma in crops involved . 
LEGUMES 
Several methods have been used to 
give growers the fac ts on legume pol-
lina tion. For the past three or four 
years considera ble informa tion has 
been included in the annual shor t 
courses in beekeeping in the Peace 
River district, and meetings fo r bee-
keepers and seed gTowers h a ve been 
held. Severa l forma l addresses h a ve 
been presented to the British Colum-
bi a Seed Growers Associa tion a nd to 
th e British Columbia Honey Produc-
ers Associa tion . An exhibit ori pollin-
a tion was prepared and exhibited at 
fa ll fa irs. Two pa mphlets, "I nsects 
:.tnd Legume Seed Production" and 
"Clover Seed Growers, Why Ga mble? 
Use Bees", h a ve been written a nd dis-
tributed . A successful demonstration, 
described in this paper , of planned 
pollina tion of alsike clover h as been 
(!onducted . 
Alfalfa 
In Ca n ada the economic production 
of a lfalfa seed depends on the popu-
lation level of certain species of wild 
bees. Honey bees are able to obtain 
50 PH"(' , J ~ :''I'O ''') I" 8'1(', 131: 1'1', C"I. 1'.1 I 1<1.1, \',,1., ;) 8 (l~I E;ll, rh:(', L J ~Gl 
nectar by going into the side of the 
flower and consequently they " trip" 
only a small percentage of the flowers 
visited. They obtain pollen from other 
sources. Extension efforts to conserve 
wild bee nesting sites have been al-
most helpless against the economic 
facts which demand that the grower 
clear and break more and more land 
.~o that cash crops can be planted. 
The result has been that alfalfa seed 
production in the Peace River district 
has followed the familiar trend des-
cri bed by Stephen (1955). As the 
acreage increases the yields drop , 
growers are forced to turn to other 
crops, and alfalfa becomes confined 
to the hinterlands. 
Fu ture extension programs will 
probably depend on one or more of 
the following developmen ts: 
A. Establishing areas for alfalfa 
seed production where the wild bee 
population can be conserved. 
B. Developing practical methods of 
semi-domesticating wild bees. 
C. Finding ways of forcing honey 
bees to pollinate alfalfa under our 
conditions. 
In the meantime extension efforts 
will have only a very limited effect. 
Aisike and Sweet Clover 
Alsike and sweet clover are readily 
pOllinated by honey bees and are good 
nectar sources. Consequently more 
extension progress has been made in 
the pollination of these crops than in 
the pollination of other legumes. An 
increasing number of seed growers in 
the Peace River District are realizing 
the value of honey bees on alsike or 
sweet clover and are urging beekeep-
ers to put colonies near their fields. 
They are not yet, however , willing to 
pay for the bees either in cash or on 
a share crop basis . The beekeeper is 
the~'efore necessarily concerned only 
with honey production , consequently 
he tends to use insufficient colonies 
for g oo d pollination . Further-
more , he brings the colonies in before 
the fields are in bloom and does not 
.Qpace them - factors which greatly 
influence their effectiveness. It is 
important that the alsike or sweet 
clover seed grower and the beekeeper 
fully appreciate each other 's position. 
As a part of the extension effort a 
demonstration of alsike pOllination 
was conducted in the Peace River dis-
trict of Northern British Columbia: 
On July 18, 1960, at Mile 24 Alaska 
Highway, forty colonies of honey bees 
were se t ou t in 65 acres of alsike 
isolated by about 3 miles from other 
legu mes. This acreage consisted of 
three adjacent fields of 20, 30, and 15 
acres respectively. The colonies were 
spaced evenly around the cen tre 30 
acre field. 
By early September the seed had 
ripened evenly on all three fields. An 
average of 450 lb. of clean seed per 
acre was harvested as compared to an 
estimated district average of 250 lb, 
per acre . The most impressive feature 
was the appearance and quality of 
the seed. 
It is interesting to note that the 
honey yield was 160 lb. per colony. 
The district average was 150 lb. 
Red Clover 
Red clover pollination presents sev-
eral special problems. Although cer-
tain species of bumble bees are ideal 
pollinators, they are seldom present 
in la rge enough numbers except in 
newly settled areas. It has been 
pointed out elsewhere in this paper 
~hat attempts to conserve wild bee 
populations have generally proved 
futile. Honey bees are good pollin-
ators of red clover if they are used in 
large enough numbers and if com-
peting bloom is kept to a minimum 
(Bohart 1960). Unfortunately, bee-
keepers a void putting colonies on red 
clover because it is an unreliable 
nectar source. The use of honey bees 
on red clover has to be consciously 
and specifically for pollination. Con-
sequently, widespread acceptance of 
planned pollination on red clover will 
probably come only after it is an 
PI:',... 1':""'"0 ."01. . SOl". HI:I"I. ('Ol.t ·.\ II :I.I. \ ' 01.. " S (Ut61 l . Dt·: ... 1. 1!ir,1 51 
accepted practice on sweet or alsike 
clover . 
FRUIT TREES 
There is a large amount of research 
int'ormation on tree fruit pollination 
(Free 1960). However, the fact that 
little of the research has been con-
ducted in British Columbia is a ser-
ious handicap to the extension 
worker. 
Where the need for increased pol-
lination is obvious, as with plantings 
(\f Red Delicious apples, cherries , and 
pears, certain fundamentals can be 
applied . For example, it is well known 
Lhat honey bee colonies should be 
brought in after and not before the 
beginning of bloom. Several other 
questions are, however, impossible to 
answer. What is the value of hand 
collected pollen? Are beehive inserts 
more effective than hand applicators? 
How should honey bee colonies be 
spaced in the orchard? What are the 
effects of prevailing winds in pollin-
a tion? In many cases the information 
from different areas on these ques-
tions is not in agreement. 
The importance of pollination is 
sometimes unclear. McIntosh apples, 
for example, generally have an over-
set of fruit. With this variety, how-
ever, would there be an improvement 
in quality and evenness of ripening if 
the king' blossoms were set up quickly. 
even though thinning sprays were 
used subsequently? 
There is also a lack of basic infor-
mation on such questions as the for-
aging area of worker honey bees 
under various conditions. It is evident 
that only limited extension work is 
possible until an increased amount of 
research is conducted under local 
conditions and until more basic infor-
mation becomes available . 
THE PROBLEM OF INSECTICIDES 
The widespread use of insecticides 
has no doubt been a factor in pollin-
ation in the Okanagan Valley fruit 
gTowing area. The chemical pOisoning 
of honey bees except from the arsen-
icals has probably not been great, but 
in recent years some losses have 
occurred (An"and & Corner, 1959). 
Partly because of a fear of insecti-
(~ ides , some beekeepers are moving 
their colonies to other areas. This 
:llong with the probability that wild 
pollinator populations have been 
reduced has increased the importance 
of planned pollination in this area. 
During the past few years in British 
Columbia , beekeepers have been in-
formed , by various methods, of the 
t oxicities of new orchard chemicals 
a nd of possible ways of avoiding bee 
pOisoning. Abstracts of pertinent 
papers have been mimeographed and 
distributed and the problem has been 
e1iscussed fully at several beekeepers 
meetings. However, there has been 
:ittle attempt made to bring the 
problem to the attention of fruit 
growers other than the warnings in 
the spray calendars. 
Research can aid by glVll1g more 
attention to the bee toxicity aspect 
of new chemicals that are being test-
eel. The subject appears to be of 
increasing interest to researchers in 
uther areas (Johansen [1960] ; Ander-
son and Atkins [1959]) . 
BLUEBERRIES 
Research information from other 
areas indicates that there is consid-
erable variability in the self-fruitful-
ness of high bush blueberry varieties. 
However, the stigma of the flower on 
all varieties protrudes considerably 
beyond the anthers and regardless of 
the degree of self-fertility, bees are 
important in transferring pollen 
(Merrill, 1936). In addition, there is 
fairly general agreement that cross-
!)ollination increases the size of 
berries and the earliness of ripening . 
Once again extension is handicap-
ped by a lack of information under 
local conditions and with local var-
ieties. Many growers in the blueberry 
growing areas feel that their crops 
are not being adequately pollina ted 
a nd are asking for information . 
52 
MISCELLANEOUS 
In British Columbia the pollination 
of cranberries, greenhouse cucumbers. 
melons and holly has had little atten-
tion by research or extension workers. 
References 
Arrand , J. C. , J. Corn er. 1960. Observations in the Interior of British Columbia during 
1959 of the e ffect on honeybees of orchard spray ing with Sevin . Proc. B.C. 
Ent. Soc. 57 : 21. 
Anderson , L. D. and E . L. Atkins, Jr . 1959. The toxic e fl'ects of pesticid es on bees, 
Agric . Chern . 14 (7): 59. 
Bohart, G. E. 1960. Insect pollinat ion of forage legum es. Bee World 41: 57-64, 85-97. 
Free, J. B. 1960. The pollination of fruit trees. Bee Wodd 41 : 141-151, 169-186. 
Johansen , Carl , 1960. Bee poisoning, a haza rd of applying agricultural chemicals. Wash-
ington State University, Sta. Circ. 356, Revised Jan . 
Merrill , T. A., 1936. Pollination of th e hi ghbu sh blue berry. Tech. Bul. No. 151 , Agric. 
Exp. St. , MichigulJ State College . 
Stephen , W. P . 1955. Alfalfa pollination in Manitoba. J . Econ . Ent. 48: 543-548. 
Todd , Frank E., S. E. McGregor. 1960. The use of honey bees in the production of crops. 
Ann. Rev. Ent. 5: 265·278. 
MUSINGS OF A RESEARCH OFFICER, AGRICULTURE (ENTOMOLOGY) 
J. MARSHALL, Research Station, Summerland, B.C. 
En tomological research in Canada 
grew from virtually nothing in 1918 
to a well organized profession 40 
years later. There were at first more 
positions to be filled than trained 
f'ntomologists to fill them, and so men 
with some background in zoology , 
and even amateur insect collectors, 
were pressed into service. It was not 
by chance that a number of those 
entomological pioneers were born in 
England , or were sons of English par-
ents. The English , generally speaking, 
have a more lively interest in insects 
and other aspects of nature study 
than Canadians. Since the beginnings 
of entomology in this country a t least 
n ine of our universities have institut-
ed Depa rtments of Entomology, or 
courses in Entomology. The colorful 
da y of the amateur entomologist 
turned professional is over. 
Since many of the early problems 
in entomology h ad to be solved 
quickly and with no nonsense , the 
pioneers of the science tended , on the 
whole , to emphasize the practical 
viewpoint ; and they did well with it . 
Then, as the more straightforward 
problems were cleared up, a ttention 
had to be paid to less obvious issues. 
There arose a growing band of brigh t 
and shining young college graduates 
complete with Ph.D. degrees and a 
tendency to regard their predecessors 
as well intentioned but really some-
what ignorant cha ps. One scintillat-
i!1.g mind has ~:ummed it up in a 
word-"nozzle-heads", he calls the 
pioneer entomologists and those of 
his contemporaries who work in ap-
plied research . 
Entomology in much of the western 
world has been going through a sort 
of scientific adolescence, a period 
when on the Slightest pretext, the 
a mateur statistician churns his ex-
perimental results in an electrical 
calcula tor until finally they butter 
into so me sort of statistica l odds. 
There is an urge to substitute statis-
Lical formulae for common sense . 
Even simple bits of research may 
emerge so gaudily bedecked in statis-
tica l finery that only a knowing few 
would ever guess their true stature. 
Perha ps the entomologists, and other 
biologists , have been moved to strive 
for profundity in the belief that if 
t·l1 e layman can comprehend it can't 


The growing problem of pollination in British Columbia from the point of view of extension entomology

Wilde, W. H. A.

1'? 
It was obvious, from both criteri a, 
that DDT, a lthou gh used at double 
the strength r ecommend ed in prev-
ious control cha r ts, did not giv e sa tis-
factory control. 
Although no counts werc made of 
a phid populations, it was obse rved 
that they wer e n umerous enou gh to 
cause considera blc injury to plants in 
the ch eck plots and to t hose treated 
with Th ur icid e. They increased less 
ra pidly on plants r eceivin g DDT . an e! 
were not observed on those treated 
with Dibrom or Phosdrin . This m ay 
h ave accounted in pa rt, at least, for 
th e la r ge r h eads produced in the plots 
trea tee! wi th Dibrom or Phosdrin . 
We sho uld like to express our 
thanks to Mr. E. M. Kin g, Horticul -
turi st (Vege tabl es), B.C. Departmen t 
of Agricu l tu re , Kelowna, for indicat-
ing the n eed for th e experiment and 
for a rrangin g for a suita ble experi -
m en tal si teo 
EFFECT OF TWO SPRAY PROGRAMS ON LEAFHOPPERS IN CHERRY 
ORCHARDS IN THE KOOTENAY VALLEY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA1 
W . H . A . WILDE 2 
Introduction 
The purpose of this pa per is to 
presen t resul ts of an experimen t to 
assess the va lue of di eldrin ground 
sprays as compa r ed to DDT and SUI-
phenone tr ee sprays for control of 
leafhoppers in swee t ch erry orchards . 
Assessm ents of spray programs wer e 
made by comparing the numbers of 
leafhoppers caught on sticky boards 
in t h e tree canopies (2) . Spraying 
t ree canopies with DDT a nd Sulphen-
one was a proced ure used by some 
Kootenay Valley growers for con -
tro lling leafhoppers and mites. Diel-
dr in was selected for use as a ground 
spray because of i ts reported residual 
a ction against ear wigs , spittle bugs, 
a nd thrips, p ests prevalent in Koot-
enay Valley ch erry orchard cover 
crops, and because it was consider ed 
possible that such a n insecticide 
wo uld provide economic con t l' 0 I 
against leafhopper populations . Most 
of the leafhoppers r ecorded in this 
test work a re known to spend part of 
their li fe -cyc le in covel' crops. 
Materials and Methods 
Three plots were used, each con -
sisting of a block of 24 sweet cherry 
1 Contri butio n No. ;)V, Resea rc h Stat io n, Resea rc h 
Branch , Ca nada D epartment of A g ri culture, Su rn ~ 
merlancl , Br iti sh Co lu mbia. 
2 Entomo log i st. 
::'I H exac h lo ro-e po x:y'·oc l a hydro-eli m ethanonaphtha-
Jc nc, She ll Oil Company o f Ca nada, Limite d , 
t r ees, a lmost a ll of the Lambert 
variety, 10 to 16 yea rs old. Each plot 
was bord ered by a buffer row of trees 
on a ll sid es. The two treated plots 
were in one orchard and the check 
plot was in a nother. The two orchards 
immediately a djoined each other and 
were sepa r a ted by a fence somewhat 
over grown with native shrubs includ-
ing Symphoricarpus sp ., Ribes sp ., 
Crataegus sp., a nd Rosa s p . The check 
plot, which simula ted conditions in 
many K ootenay Va lley ch erry or-
ch a rds , was not irrigated , mowed , 
pruned , or sp rayed for eight years , 
includin g the year of the experiment ; 
the ground cover was tall couch grass. 
The check t r ees were vigorous but 
growth was not so succulent as that 
in the trea ted plots. 
The sprays were a pplied by a high 
volume sprayer. Fogging in the tree 
canopy a pplications held spray run-
off to a minimum. The ground sprays 
of 20 per cent emulsible d ieldrin 3 at 
t h e r ate of 0.75 gallon per 100 gallons 
of water wer e applied on May 15 and 
August 12. The tree spray was 50 per 
cent DDT wetta ble powder at 3 
pounds per 100 gallons with 40 per 
cen t Sulphenone wettable powder at 
2.5 pounds per 100 gallons applied on 
May 15 and August 12. A s ingle spray 
PI<OC . E:S'()\''' ' . "'w. 131<1"1". C OI.J" .\ II:J.\. VOl.. ',~I (1~lfj:'J. Ih:, ·. 1. ]~16~ I ·, ., 
of 40 per cent nicotine sulfate at 1 
pint per 100 gallons of water, a stand-
ard black cherry aphid control spray 
used by Kootenay cherry growers, was 
applied to tree canopies of both 
sprayed plots on June 27. 
The leafhoppers were sampled by 
hanging plywood sticky boards, mea-
suring 6 x 12 inches, in the cherry 
trees. Each board was sprayed on one 
side with "Deadline" tanglefoot, a 
material which remained sticky in 
any weather (2) and was capable of 
holding large insects. The boards 
were hung at random with wire hooks 
up to a height that could be r eached 
conveniently from the ground, on 
trees of which the numbers were 
randomized each week. The boards 
were also numbered; odd-numbered 
boards were painted yellow, even ones 
white . Yellow or white board colors 
were used to determine if variations 
existed in leafhopper color prefer-
ences (3). Ten boards were hung for 
one week a t a time in each of the 
three plots. The boards were changed 
each Tuesday or Wednesday for 20 
weeks from May 7 to September 18, 
1957. 
With la rge numbers of insects in 
fairly homogenous groups it was pos-
sible to determinue the value of 
ground- versus tree - sprays, and 
population changes in the spray plots 
wi th those in the check plot. 
Mean monthly temperatures at 
Creston (elevation 1,990 feet) were 
somewhat below average during 1957, 
except in April ( + 2 F .) , May ( + 6°F .) 
and September ( + 4'F.) . Precipitation 
was about Y2 inch below normal for 
Fig. I.-Leafhopper populations ill tn.'e spray, ground spray, and check plots in sweet 
cherry orchards, Cr eston . B.C. , May to September 1957. 
1'1:1,, ' I,;, ,<) " ", .. S IH' , H,,,,.,. , (,111., ',111:1.1. VIII, . ~:, (1~6 2 ). D" :I . 'I. 196 :! 
every month except May ( - .26 in ch ) 
and June ( - .03 inch) . There was 
good snow cover in the previous 
winter. Killing fros t in 1957 occurred 
September 16. 
Results 
The reduction of leafhopper p opu-
la tions by tree ca nopy sprays as co m -
pa red to ground sprays is s hown in 
Figure 1. 
Although mesophyll - fe edin g leaf-
hoppers of th e gen us EclwaTClsiana a r e 
unlikely to transmit littl e cherry 
virus, they were in cluded in tota l 
leafhopp er counts beca use th ey could 
be id entifi ed on s ight, a nd because 
their high n umbers showed th e 
eff ects of the sprays. The resid ue of 
the foliage spray of August 12 a p-
p eared to hold down their numbers. 
Ground spraying h a d no deleterious 
effect on this predomina n tly tree -
and shrub-livin g group. The first gen-
eration bred mos tly on nativ e shrubs 
growin g a long the f ence referred to, 
but from early Jun e the s ucceeding 
a nd overlappin g ge nera tions bred on 
the cherry trees. 
Macl'os t el es a nd Psammo t et t ix wer e 
ge n er a collected r egularl y. Wee k by 
week compa risons a mon g cou nts of 
adult Macrost eZes / asci/rons sh ow 
tha t numbers in t h e ground spr ay 
plot were greater than in the others. 
Ther e a ppeared to be no migratory 
fli ghts of MacrosteZes . When the 
pooled numbers were plotted against 
time, the curve was bimodal with 
pea ks a bout July 3 and September 4, 
s ugges ting two gen erations. 
The pooled numbers of other speCies 
of lea fhoppers were reduced by both 
programs. These species are likely to 
in cl ude vectors of little cherry virus . 
Leafhopp ers were more attracted 
to yellow colored sticky boa rds than 
they wer e to white colored s ticky 
boa rds (3). 
Summary 
Two sprays of dieldrin , a pplied to 
ground cover only, had little eff ect on 
th e numbers of leafhoppers in sweet 
cherry trees, By comparison , DDT-
Sulphenone sprays, applied to tree 
canopies, gave economic controL The 
effects of th e spray progra ms were 
assessed by comparing leafhopper 
counts on 10 sticky boards per plot 
wi th coun ts from 10 boards in the 
adj acen t check plot. Ground sprays 
were tested a gainst conventional tree 
ca nopy spra ys beca use many leaf-
hopper gen era found in cherry or-
cha rds spend a portion of their life-
cycle in orcha rd cover crop . 
References 
L Cox, Cons tan ce E. Ha ndboo k 0 11 sta tist ica l m ethods. Ca n . De p. Agr . Pub!. 3 
(processed) ]954. 
2. Ka loosti a n, G. H. , a nd M. S, Y ':OlllcIl1S. A sti cky boa rd trap used in scouting f or pear 
psy ll a. U.S. Dep. Agr. Bur. Entomoi. P la nt Qua rantine , E1' 220, 1944, 
3. Wild e , W. I-I. A. A note on cohr prefe rences of so me Hom opte r a and 1'hysa noptera 
in Briti sh Columbia . C' ttl. E ntum o!. 94: 107. 1962. 
Phyciodes r"y litta Edw. on Vancouver Island 
Available records make no menti on of this both sexes in the sam e district , thu s estab-
butt e rfl y as occurrin g on Vancouve r Is land , li shin g it ~ e xi ste nce on Vancou ver Isla nd. 
all hou gh r ecurds a re fr equ ent enough on It 1I'0uld in( en's! me to know if a nyone 
the mainl a nd 0f Briti sh Columbi a. e lse has come ac ross it. Why it ha s been 
I first ra n across it in Septem ber , 1961, overlook ed for so lon g is a mys ter y for it is 
when t wo males wer e ta ken in se pa r a te not pa rticula rly shy or i"etiring. It could be 
localiii es in th e ge ner a l a rea of Co ld strea m , a rece nt introduction e ither by natural or 
As P. mylitta is known to be doubl(' brooded artifici a l means, or with its very ea r ly and 
and to i ced O!l thi stl e in th e caterpill a r la te a ppeara ncp in th e year a nd r estrict ed 
sta ge, J sea rch ed in th e sp ring uf 1962 for habitat it co uld s impl y have eluded obser-
indi vidual s of the fi rst brood . Afte r in ves ti · va ti on , 
ga tin g Illany possible ha bita ts r \I'as a t las! --( ;I 'II !'I!I .1, 1-[ 111'1/.11. I' rr}fjlll'jill .1 1118(' 11111 
r ell'a rd ed by findin g a sma ll popul at io n of t 10'/ '1,1. 1 ' j,-f I> , ' j ll , 1t .l · . 


Effect of two spray programs on leafhoppers in cherry orchards in the Kootenay Valley of British Columbia

Woods, T. A. D.

abundance were N. hieroglyphica a nd 
P . lividellus whose numbers were 265 
and 262 respectively . Six leafhopper 
species found in trace numbers wer e 
C. unicolor, E. ex itiosus, Macropsi s 
sp .. G. angulata, Oncopsis sp. a nd B. 
pun ctata . Of th e 22 species record ed , 
N. hie1'Oglyphica, P. lividellus, M. tas-
ci trons, C. gem inatus, C. 17Lontanus, 
17 
S. [[ cu t u s, E. maligna, E . schenki, C. 
unicolor and M. terruginoides group 
a re either known plant virus vectors 
or are closely related to species known 
to be vectors of plant viruses . 
Acknowledgments 
Th e authur is g r a tefuL tu Messr s. W . A. 
Ke mp and A. H. T hu r s ton, Cr es ton , B. C., 
fo r t h e use uf th eir orc ha rd s. 
References 
.l. Be irn e , B. P . 1956. Leafhop pe r~ (]-Jomo pte ra: Cicade llida e) of Canad a a nd Alas ka . 
Can . Entom olog ist 88, SL:ppL 2. 
2. Ka Loosti a n , G. H ., and M. S. Yeo man s . 1944. A s ticky tra p boa rd use d in sco uti ng fo r 
pea r psy ll a. U. S . De p .. -\gr. Bur . E ntom ol. Pl a nt Qu a r antin e . ET220 . 
3. Kaloostian, G. H. 1952. A cun'e n l r eport un vecto r s uf Weste rn X-d isease viru s of 
s lon e fruits. Proc. Utah Swk H art. Soc. 
4. MacCarthy, H. R. 1956. In sect P U!)U I ~l t io n s in Ca r iboo pota to fi e ld s. Proe. Entumol. 
Soc . Brit. Columbi a 52 : 8- ll. 
5. Oman, P . W . 1949. Th e Nea r ctir ll'Cil:hopp er s, a gen eri c c lassificati on a nd c h C' cK 
lis t. Proc. Entomo l. Soc. Wa Sil. , D. C. ~le m . 3. 
6 . St earn s, L. A. 1956. lVI ead v\': s:, iWe bu g a nd peach g Llmosis . . J. E con . Entomol. 
49: 382-385. 
7. Stearns, L. A. 1958. Tra nsie n t in , c'c ts in De lal'\'a re 's a ppl e and peach plantings . 
J. Econ . Entomol. 51: 81-32. 
8 . Turner, William F . 1952. T he n le uf in sect s ur veys in vi ru s-vector r esearch. 
U .S.D.A. Pl a nt Di sease Re pt!'. Supp l. 211: 47-50. 
9. Wadde ll , D. B. 1952. A preliminary li s t ot the H emiptera of the Koutenay Valley. 
Proc . Entomol. Soc. Bri t. Co lumb ia 48 : 93-96. 
10. W ild e, W. H . A. 1960. In sec t tra nsmiss ion of th e viru s causing little ch erry disease . 
Ca n. J. P lant Sci. 40: 707-7l2. 
11. Wild e, W. H. A. In press . Elfect of tw o spra y progra mm es on leafhoppers in c he rry 
or chards of t he Koote !1ay V ~illcy uf British Columbia . Proc. Entomul. Soc. 
Bri t. Co lum bia . 
Occurrence of Anoplcnyx spp. in the Larch Forests 
of British Columbia and Yukon Territory 
T . . -\ . I ). 
Fo u r sp eci es uf th t' larch sa ll' fl y genus 
Anoplonyx occ ur in Br it is h Colum bia , two of 
I"hich e xtend into Yukon Te rritory. Occi-
dens Hoss and laricivorus Ruh. and Midd . 
a r e found on lI'e st e rn larc h , Larix occiden-
talis i\utt. , in so uth eas t ern Britis h Colu mbia . 
Canadensis HafT . an rl luteipes (Cress.) occ ur 
on eastern larch. L. laricina (Du Roi) K. 
Koc h , in centra l a ncl nor th e rn Bri iis h C~) ­
lumbi a and south easte rn Yuk on Tt'rri to ry . 
/.\. occiden s has bee p coll e c ted throug ho ut 
it s host' s ran ge [r0m JUllt' 8 to Au g ust 6 . In 
southea stern Br iti s h Co lu m bia A. laricivorus 
larva e ha ve been co ll ec te d bl'l'I\ 'ee n Jun e 13 
a nd Se pt e mber 5. 
A. c<lnadensis l ~lJ' va(' have bee n co ll ected 
bet wee n AI.lg us t 2 a nci 3 1. i n 1960 . fi, 'e ia r -
I'ae of A. luteipos IIc r e t ;!i<e n un .Jul y 23 . a1 
1 F o r esl En totllo]og.\" Lahu nllol' ,\ , \ 'e rtl o n . B. ( ', 
Mil e 579 Alas ka Hig hwa y , 40 mil es eas t of 
L OII'er Pos t. SOlli e luteipes !;Irvae wer e col -
lected on .J1I1~· 20, 1961 a t Mil e 658, 25 m iles 
\I 'e, t of Wat son La ke, Y .l'. Prev iously. thi s 
,pec ies was knuII'n to occ ur onl y cast of th e 
Hoc ky Muunta in s (Wong, 1955 ), Th e cull ee-
li on <I ,lt es l' <e pl' <esc'n l th e tim es th a t s pec i-
me ns \l ere [oun d :ill cl do nul nect'ssari lv 
es ta bli s h thl' cOlllpl<ele la rval f eedin g period. 
Th e a bove inform a tion is based un d a ta 
e btain ed fronl th e r ecords 01 th e Fore st 111 -
"e ~ l S ' in ·C'.I· .. t Ve rnun , B.C. 
Re ferences 
\ VOIl " 11 R W 55. " ' r 'la " uf the Nea rct ic 
h , ~ pe~i ps ~)r A~~plo~yx. Can . Ent . 87 : 
22 *-2:.'7 . 
1~1I Dp e l. D. I!. 1058 . A Bri ef hi s turv of l he 
I; ,rch , <1\1 fly, Pristiphora e~ichsonii 
(llt g-.) in Proc. Entomol. Soc . Brit. 
Col. :15 : 32-3 5. 


Occurrence of Anoplonyx spp. in the larch forests of British Columbia and Yukon Territory

Hardy, George A.

24 PI:'/(' . I '~\ · I"'I'" .. ;':Ol. BJ: IT. ('''I.I ·.''!:!.I , V Ol. . ;' ~I (l!1 6 2). rh:,·. I. 196 2 
in improving r esistance to loss by 
gen tIe brushing has been noted. How-
ever , experimen ts on isola ted leaves 
in a wind tunnel (4) show that wind 
itse lf does not cause a pprecia ble loss 
of deposit . Bu t wind-induced rubbin g 
of leaf against leaf must cause con-
sidera bl e loss . The matter would bear 
d eta iled investigation pa r ticula rl y if 
a qu an titative method of m eas uring 
the a brasive fo r ces cou ld be devised. 
More effective substances th an Plyac, 
or a different rate or fo rmulatio n, 
could conceivably produce a greater 
effect on persistence. Some prelim-
ina r y experimen ts (4) suggest that 
certa in ac rylic polymers, at s uitable 
ra tes, h ave a n enormous inftuence on 
the a brasion resis tance of in secticide 
deposits bu t, also, that r esis tance to 
abrasion loss is no t necessaril y id en-
tical with r esis tance to r a in loss, 
Summary 
An analysis of the inter- leaf pat-
tern of Sevin deposi ted on cherry 
fo li age , by concentrate a ir - blast 
sprayer h as been made. Th ere were 
no differ ences in mean deposit up to 
a h eight of 14 fe et ; nor were there 
any differ ences assoc ia ted with leaves 
coll ec ted from differ ent quadrants of 
th e t rees. I nitia ll y, deposits were ap-
proximately 75 per cent high er on the 
lower s ides of th e leaves than on th e 
upper. Subsequen t erosion of the de-
posits was faster on th e upper s ur-
faces so that the dispa ri ty was em -
phasized with time. There was no 
rain durin g the experimen t; if th ere 
h ad been, there is evidence that this 
dispari ty would h ave been enh anced . 
The addi t ion of an amo unt of Plyac, 
equ a l in its content of ac tive ingredi-
en t to th at of th e Sevin, r esulted in 
initia l deposits a pproxima tely one-
th ird higher th a n in its a bsence. Th e 
rate of declin e of depOSits was a lso 
somewh at slower when Plyac was 
presen t. In the a bsence of rain , loss 
of deposit by leaf-to-le af abrasion is 
thought to be a n important factor in 
the disappearance of a pesticide from 
fo liage. 
References 
(1 ) Gene ral Chem ica l Div ision, All ied Chem ica l Co rporat ion . 1959. P lyac sp r eader · 
s ti cker. B ull. New York 6, N.Y. 
(2) Ma r sha ll , J as. 1958. Co ncen tra t c sp rayin g in dec iduous orcha rds . P u b!. 1020 . Ca n . 
Dep , Age, Otlawu. 
(3) lVli s k us, R, H . T . Gordon , a nd D . A . Geo rge , 1959 . Col orimetr ic d e term inatio n of 
l·naphthy l N·m eth ylca r bamate in agri cult ura l crops . J . Agr . Food Chem. 
7: 613-61 4. 
(4 ) Pielou , D. P ., a n d K. "V il li ams. l'n pub lis he d ohsc r va tions. . . 
(5) Pi e lou , D. P. , K. W illi a m s, an d F . r::. Br in ton. 1")62. DIf'crc nces In the de pOSiti on 
a nc! pe r s is tence o f r cst ic id c ,' on th e: upper a nd 10 \l'e r ~urfa(es of leaves. Nature, 
195: 256·2:17 . 
(6) \Nilli a m s, 1<' 1961. Notc on t.h e crTc'ct of rain, a nd spr inkl e r irri ga t ion, on th e per· 
s is tence of s pr ay res idu es of Guthion and Se vin on apple leaves. Canadian J, 
Plant Sci . 41: 449+5 1. 
(Rece i\'eci [(JI' p ' lblic,lt io n ). 
Pleroma obliquata Sm, dnd p , (;onserta Grt, from ova laid by obliquata 
(L,;pidopiera: Phalaen idae ) 
'I'll(' progeny of a ha t.ch of ova la id b~' P. 
obliquata in A pri l, 1960, cons isted not on ly 
or t he expec te d obliquata but a lso of 2 s peci· 
m e n '; o [ p , conserla in March 1961. 
Ma ny of i he PUP,lC rema ini ng lI'e r e a ll \'e, 
so t he.\-' \\'prp kept over in a fl '1\l'e r pot in a n 
open ' h ed. Durin g I\ la r ch a nd Ap ril , 1962, 
t hc r r e m e rge d 12 conserl'a an d 4 obI iquata , 
C lose cxa mi na tio n o t a seri es of t h ese two 
s p( 'c ies indicaL:s th a t conserta is a mel an ic 
form of obliquata , Onc or t \\·o indi viduals 
s howed a gradation betll'ce n th e tll·O. P , ob· 
liq ua ta is un iforml y g rcy wi th d ar k a. m . and 
p.m . li n es ; P , conserta has pr imari es o[ so lid 
b l<lc k exce pt f o r t he g r ey out e r m ar gin a n d 
a co n t ras ting ,,;, hi te costa l area on w hich an 
cx t e n s io n of th c otherwise concea led a .m . 
and p.m. lin es a rc pl a inl y ev id e nt. It m ay be 
th at il pro longcd p upa l pe riod results in a 
la rge r p ro porti on of conserta, 
'1'111' fo rego i ng su gges ts t hat conserta a nd 
o b liqu atil arc fo rm s 01 on e s pecies. Since 
conserta was d escr ibe d by Grote in 1881 a nd 
obliquata by Smith in 1891, obliquata is a 
form or conse rta . 
(;(''' 1'11'' . t . /I "I"/!!. 1't'f, /'illci,,1 J/IIS"/// ll 
( 1:1 "~. ). \ ' ;r-I 1)/';". i:.1 '. 


Pleroma obliquata Sm. and P. conserta Grt. from ova laid by obliquata (Lepidoptera: Phalaenidae)

Silver, G. T.

Collis, D. G.

Alexander, N. E.

Allen, S. J.

THE GREEN-STRIPED FOREST LOOPER ON VANCOUVER ISLAND' 
G. T. SILVER , D . G. COLLIS , N. E. ALEXANDER , AND S . J . ALLEN 2 
Introduction 
The green -striped forest looper. 
Melanolophia imitata Wlk. , was not 
regarded as a paten tially dangerous 
forest insect until it caused h eavy 
defoliation in 1960 on the west coast 
of Vancouver I sland . As this is the 
first record of M. imitata caus in g ser -
ious damage to fo r es ted regions in 
Bri tish Columbia the results a re 
worthy of a histor ical note. 
The moths of this looper emer ge in 
April or May, mate , and each femal e 
lays an a verage of 80 eggs. The sex 
ratio is approximately 1: 1. The larvae 
feed from Jun e to September. West-
ern hemlock, T suga heterophylla 
(Raf .) Sa r g., is the preferred host. 
Foliage of a ll ages is eaten but one-
year-old needles are preferred. When 
feeding is completed th e larvae drop 
to the ground and the insects over-
winter as pupae in the duff . 
Methods 
Data on annual population fluctu-
ations were obtained by analysing 
random 3-tree beating samples col-
lected on the west coast of Vancouver 
I sland. The extent and intensity of 
defoliation in 1960 was obtained by 
aerial s urveys. Plots and sampl e 
poin ts were established in localities 
selected to represent light, m edium, 
and heavy defoliation. and records 
were obtained on defoliation and tree 
mortality . 
The method adopted for pupa l 
counts, based on preliminary sampl-
ing to obtain data on the di stribution 
of pupae, was to take four one-foot-
square duff samples from beneath 
each tree . These were taken a lon g a 
straight line, two on the exposed sid e 
1 ContriiJuti on ' :0 . ~OOJ Forest Entom olo g," ('IIll! 
Palho J og~' B r a nc h . lJ epil r ll1le nl or Forest r ." . O l· 
l awa ~ C;lIl ada . 
2 Forest F:nloll1o \og)' a nd ]la th olng ,\ L aiJo r a tor." , 
\· ie-to ri a. D. C. 
of the tree and two on the sh a ded 
sid e. Sample positions were against 
th e base of the tree and midway be-
twee n the base of th e t ree a nd the 
periphery of the crown . Three trees 
were sampled at each a rea. The a ver-
age number of pupae in the 12 
sa mpl es was considered representa -
tive of the pupal population in eac h 
a rea. 
Results 
Extent and Intensity 
Survey record s show that in 1951 
larval populations of the gr een-
striped forest looper increased a long 
the west coast of Vancouver I sla nd. 
The build-up r eached its h eight in 
1952 on the south side of Barkley 
Sound , but defoliation did not exceed 
30 per cent and that only in one 
small a r ea. The population decreased 
in 1953 , an d remained at a low level 
until 1957. 
The population of the green-striped 
forest looper started to increase again 
in 1957 as shown by the occurrence of 
larvae in collections (Table 1) . Both 
occurrence and number of larvae 
increased in 1958, and by 1959 hi gh 
popula t ion s were present in the west 
coast drainages of Vancouver I sland , 
two of which are shown in Ta ble 1. 
The outbreak reach ed a peak in 1960 , 
particular ly in dra inages 005 ancl 023 . 
Smvey activ ities on the west coas t 
were seriously curtailed in 1960 du e 
to boat troubles, so no collections 
were mad e in the infes tation a rea 
during the larva l per iod . Heavy de -
foli a ti on was reported in early Sep-
tember , a nd aerial surveys la t er in 
September record ed defoliation r a n g-
ing from light to h eavy in 32 loca liti es 
extending from Herbert Inlet to 
Naspar t i Inlet. The total a rea of 
visibl e feeding was calc ulated at 
:30 
TABLE I.- Summary oj Green -strip ed Forest Loe per La rva, ) Found in Beating Samples 
From Drain age Divi ~ions 0 11 the "Vest Coast of Va ncouver Island . 
Year 
';; sa mpl es including 
larvae 
Av. no. larvae ' 
samp le containing larva e 
DD 005 ' DD 023 2 DD 005 DD 023 
1956 
1957 
1958 
1959 
1960 
1961 
o 0 
20 14 
47 82 
88 72 
85 0 
61 61 
, Alberni Inl et to Escalante Pt . 
2 
2 
45 
59 
58 
4. 
14 
31 
7 
2 Escalante P l. 1.0 sout h oJ Cape Ccoke on Brooks Peni nsu la. 
22 ,755 acres, of which 4,640 had sus-
ta ined heavy, 13 ,120 acres medium, 
and 4,995 acres light defoliation . The 
defolia tion limits established durin g 
the ae rial survey were 0-25, 25-50 , 
and over 50 per cent for light, med -
ium, and heavy, respectively. The 
infested areas ranged from 30 to 
6,340 acres. 
Visual estimates of defoliation on 
plot trees , and pupa l coun ts made in 
the same localities, a re shown in 
Table 2. The average number of 
pupae in areas of m edium and heavy 
defoliation was about the same. 
There was , however, no way of know-
in g wha t 2.0 pupae per squ a re foo t 
meant in terms of expected la rval 
population or defoliation . Although 
ch emical control wa s no t r ecom-
m ended , the need for such action was 
considered a possibility in 1961. 
Efforts were mad e in th e spring of 
1961 to a ppraise the anticipated out-
break . Of 75 pupae coll ec t ed and 
caged for adult emergence, only four 
produced moths, twenty were para-
sitized , and the remainder died of 
other causes. The moth fiight at the 
end of May was very light, and only 
a small number of eggs was found in 
limited sampling'. At this point it was 
believed that the 1961 population 
would be too sma ll to cause appre-
ciable defoliation. The predicted drop 
in larval numbers was confirmed by 
the reduced numbers obtained in 
beating samples (Table 1), and by the 
relative number of la rvae per sample 
collected from the same points in 
1960 and 1961. Some of these were 
(1961 in bracke ts ) : White Pine Cove. 
444 (11) ; Herbert Inlet, 262 (4) ; 
Beddingfi eld Bay, 460 (40); Millar 
Channel, 486 (120) ; a nd Tofino Inlet, 
215 (28). 
Natural Control 
Parasites - The effect of parasites 
on th e large population of 1960 is not 
fu ll y known as no samples were 
TABLE 2.- Defolialion and Numbers of Gree n-striped Forest Looper Pupae at Sample 
Plot s. Septem be l' , 1960. 
Locaiity 
Ououk!ll sh Inl et 
Port Eliza 
Milb' Cha nn el 
Beddingfield Bay 
E c ls tolV Passage 
Vill a verde Is . 
Bligh I". 
I Defoliat ion limits de te rm in 2il 
Degree of 
defoliati on 
reprcsen ted ' 
light 
medium 
" 
heavy 
" 
by aeri a l s urvey. 
P ercentage 
defoliation 
(western 
hemlock ) 
21 
54 
32 
40 
50 
91 
81 
Av. no . 
pupae 
per sq. ft. 
of dull 
0.44 
0.46 
202 
l.92 
1.46 
2.06 
0.50 
obtained from most of th e more 
hea vily infes ted a r eas. Of 563 la rvae 
collected up to early September and 
reared , only 28 or fiv e per cent died of 
parasites. Of 133 larvae collected after 
mid-September, 70 per cent died of 
parasites, and of a total of 317 pupae 
collected , 104 or 32.8 per cent were 
paras i tized . 
The figure of 70 per cent la rval 
parasitism may be unreliable. As these 
collections were made late in the sea-
son , many healthy larvae might have 
a lready dropped to the duff and 
pupated, leaving the retarded para-
sitized larvae on the trees. The figure 
of 32.8 per cent pupal parasitism 
appears to be more reasonable, and 
is supported by collections made in 
the spring in which 26.7 per cent of 
the pupae died of parasites. 
Seven hymenopterous parasites 
were reared from the 1960 collections . 
Dusona pilosa (Walley) and Asti-
phromma strenuum Holmberg were 
the ma jor larval parasites and were 
recovered only from larvae. Other 
species reared from la rvae were 
Euceros thoracicus Cresson , M eteorus 
sp. , and Zele sp . Aoplus cestus (Cres-
son) was the most numerous pupa l 
parasite , followed by Gravenhorstia. 
alaskensis Ashmead. Three E. thor-
a.cicus Cresson were also reared from 
pupae. It is not certain if the numbers 
of parasites recovered from rearin gs 
are related to their importance as 
con trol factors in the field popula tion . 
Disease- On May 5. 1960. while 
searching for pupae, small orange 
fru itin g bodies about % inch long 
were observed protruding from the 
duff. I n every case these grew out 
from a Melanolophia pupa . The 
fructifications were identified as the 
perfect state of Cordyceps militaris 
(Fr .) Link . The fruiting bodies were 
plentiful in early May but appeared 
only in shaded locations at the end of 
the month . Sampling was not inten-
sive enough to determine the control 
exerted, but it is believed that C. 
militaris caused considera ble pupal 
mortality, and was probably one of 
the factors involved in the population 
decrease in 1961. 
Defoliation and Tree Mortality 
Defoliation estimates, made by 
crown levels and crown classes, show 
tha t feeding was, without exception , 
h eaviest in the upper crown levels of 
all classes of trees. Trees of all crown 
classes from suppressed to dominant 
were fed upon , but defoliation was 
heavies t in the intermediate trees. 
Mortality, in the plots analysed , was 
restricted to trees which were 90 per 
cent or more defoliated. Most of the 
remaining trees in this defoliation 
class were top-killed; in some in-
stances the upper 2 3 of the crown 
was dead in 1961. Although no mor-
tality occurred among' trees with less 
than 90 per cent total defOliation , 
top-kill occurred among those which 
were less than 50 per cent d efoliated . 
Aerial and ground surveys indic-
ated that mortality occurred only in 
the stands which had been heavily 
defoliated in 1960. The heaviest dam-
age occurred on Villaverde Island 
where loss was calculated at 7,300 cu . 
ft. per acre for the 260 acres. Average 
tree mortality for the remaind er of 
the area was calculated at 116 cu . ft 
per acre. Total mortality, up to the 
fall of 1961 , was estimated at 2,400 ,-
000 cu . ft. of western hemlock . Thi s 
figure could be conservative as some 
trees which were heavily defoliated 
may die in the next one or two years . 
Discussion 
The rapidity with which the green-
striped forest looper population in-
creased to tree-killing proportions 
and then collapsed, allowed little time 
to obtain specific data on sampling 
techniques. With the exception of 
the occurrence and average number 
of larvae per collection no data were 
obtained to show correlation between 
population levels and defoli a tion . Al-
though pupal counts were made in 
the fall of 1960, there was no way of 
determinin g if the numbers found 
represented a potentia lly da n gerous 
population. Because of the r educed 
population in the s pring of 1961 it 
was not feasible to develop a m ethod 
for sampling eggs. 
A n umber of n a tura l control fact-
ors contributed to the decrease of the 
population . Larva l pa rasites, although 
no t numerou s enough to exert a ny 
grea t degree of control , were present 
in a pprecia ble numbers. Pupa l pa ra-
sitism accounted fo r a bou t 30 per cent 
morta lity in the overwintering' popu-
lation , but does not acco un t for th e 
hea vy pupa l mortali ty a nd the r esul t-
in g low moth emergence. COl'dyceps 
is an unknown factor. but could h ave 
played a s ignificant role in the col-
lapse of the ou tbreak. 
One of the aspects in the outbreak 
which is difficult at this time to 
explain is the severe tree mortality on 
Villa verd e Island. Aerial surveys, 
supported by ground observations, 
indicate that tree mortality was r ela-
tive ly light on Bligh I sla nd, a lthough 
it is near Villaverde Island and also 
received h eavy defoliation. 
The nature of the recent infesta-
tion pOints out one of th e great 
difficulties in dealing with looper out-
breaks. The population started to 
increase throughout most of Vancou-
ver Isla nd (in fac t throughout most 
r egions of the Va ncouver Forest Dis-
trict) in 1958, and reached a level in 
1959 whi'ch must now be r egarded a s 
da ngerously high . Populations r e-
ma ined high or increased in 1960 only 
in isol a ted loca lities a long the west 
coast of Vancouver Island ; elsewhere 
the number of larvae dropped . 
Defoliation h eavy enough to be ob-
served from the a ir occurred in 32 
loca lities, tota llin g less than 23 ,000 
acres, sca ttered a long 80 lineal miles 
of inaccessibl e coast line. Of this a rea 
on ly 4,640 ac res were h eavily defoli-
ated , and over three -quarters of the 
total tr ee morta lity of 2,400,000 cu. ft. 
occurred on a few s mall isla nds of 
only 260 ac res. It' fu ture outbreaks 
fo llow a simila r pattern very compre-
h ensive a nd d eta iled surveys would 
be required to detect a nd ta ke action 
to prevent such heavy morta lity from 
occurring again on other sma ll islands 
or inlets a lon g the coast. 
Summary 
The green-striped for es t looper 
which sta rted to increase in 1957 
r eached severe outbreak proportions 
in 1960 in a large number of small 
separate loca lities a long the west 
coast of Vancouver I sla nd. The popu-
lation decreased to a low level in 
1961. Tree morta lity, up to the fall of 
1961, was estimated a t 2,400 ,000 cu, ft. 
of western hemlock . 
This species must be added to the 
growing lis t of defoliators capable of 
causing damage to forests in British 
Columbia. 
Note on the reference collection of inflated larvae at the 
Forest Entomology Laboratory, Vernon, B.C. 
Over th f' pas t few yea r s th e refe r e nce col-
lec ti on of infl a ted la rvae of lep id optero us 
and h ~' menoplerous t r ce defo liato rs haS 
bee n ex pand ed gff~a tl y . The coll ection is 
chi e fl y used as a refere nce a id in id e ntify in g 
la r Vae' take n in Survey co ll ectio ns or sub· 
mitted by persons in fo rest in d us try a nd 
r f' la ted fi e ld s . 
Hep rese nted in th e co ll ec tion (I r e: 
Fami li es 
Gener a 
Spec ies 
Lepidoptera 
34 
209 
350 
Hymenoptera 
6 
20 
23 
The co llection co ntain s most co mm on a nd 
many uncomm on defoli ators found in the 
for ests of inte ri o r Briti sh Columbi a . The 
le pidopterous fa mili es a r e r eprese nt ed by a 
I'a ri ed num bel' of species; for exa mple , th e 
co ll ectiun contains 130 species of Geometri-
dae , 75 sp('cies of Noctuid ae and 15 species 
of Notodontid ae. The tota l number of in-
na~ed iarvae is about 1.530. 
Thi s note is publi shed to make local ento-
mol ogists [l\Var e of the ex iste nc e of th e co l-
lec tion a nd to invite th em to usc it. 
.t. fl' . // ff/'/")/ ff/lfl iJ . . -1. 1,' ()88 . /-' I)n'sl /':/llu-
II / ollJ.'I .1J L rtlif)ru/fJ/'./f. \ ' e j '/flJlI . N.f' , 


The green-striped forest looper on Vancouver Island

Gregson, J. D.

50 PROC. E NTOMOJ.. Soc. BRIT. COLU MRIA, Vor .. 60 (1963), DEC. I, 1963 
THE DECLINE OF THE PACIFIC TICK (Ixotles pocilicus Cooley and Kohls) 
AT WEST VANCOUVER 
J. D. GREGSON' 
The Pacific tick, Ixodes pacificus 
Cooley and Kohls, is one of three ticks 
familiar to man in British Columbia 
(1). The adults are relatively small; 
the female is about one-eighth of an 
inch long, with black legs and head 
and a reddish-brown body. The male, 
which is usually found with the fe-
male, is about half as long and is 
entirely black. Both sexes "quest" 
on low vegetation along woodland 
paths and at rocky exposures along 
the coast of southern British Colum-
bia (2). They are present throughout 
the year but are most numerous dur-
ing the wet winter months and reach 
a peak of activity during warm spring 
days. 
Man and domestic animals are fre-
quently hosts for the adults. The 
males, which do not become distend-
ed, feed repeatedly for short periods 
only and leave multiple bites. The 
females remain attached ,at one site 
I Entomology Laboratory, Research Branch, 
Canada Department of Agriculture, Kamloops, 
British Columbia. 
1. Are ticks a nuisance to you? 
for a week or more, engorging 
slowly and turning dull blue-grey. 
During this period the fiesh of the 
host may swell around the tick's 
mouthparts, giving rise to the fallacy 
that the tiek burrows in. Because of 
its relatively long, barbed hypostome 
this tick is very difficult to remove 
and if it cannot be induced to release 
by irritating it with such fiuids as 
kerosene, gasOline, or iodine, it usually 
has to 'be cut out. The bites may pro-
duce sudden and extensive swelling 
and cause ulcers that persist for many 
months (3). 
Where the habitat of 1. pacificus 
was close to urban areas, such as 
along the north shore of Burrard 
Inlet and English Bay, it was con-
sidered a pest of man and his pets 
for many years so that in 1940 this 
laboratory considered ,it advisable to 
conduct a survey. Retu.rn - stamped 
questionnaires were mailed in March 
to 210 persons residing at or between 
the communities of West Bay and 
Horseshoe Bay, their addresses hav-
1940 1950 1960 
Yes .... ____ .. ____ __ __ . ________________ ._________ 63 31 8 
No _ ... ____ ____ _____ ._______ . _____ .____ . ______ ._. 37 
2. Are ticks, in your opinion, becoming 
more numerous? 
Yes __ __ _____ .. ____ . ____ . ___ _______ .__ __ ______ __ __ 65 
No _______ ... .. ________ _ .__ __ .... _______ ___ . __ ._... 8 
3. Have you or your family had ticks 
attach to you? 
1-6 times? ____ ._. _____ __ ___ . ____ .. ___ ____ __ . 43 
Often ____ ._ .. _____________ ._ .. ______ .. __ .__ ____ 28 
Never __ .. _. _______ . ___ . ___ ._. ___ .___ . _____ .__ .. 28 
4. Do you possess dogs or cats? 
Yes _____________ ___ __ .. __ . _______ _______ . _______ . 84 
5. Percentage of pets examined for ticks: 
Daily ____ __ . ____ ._. _____ .. _._ ... _. ___ ... ___ __ .. 60 
Occasionally or weekly_ ... ________ 20 
Never _____ . ___________ . __________ __ __________ .. 1 
69 90 
10 4 
48 79 
30 30 
3 1 
37+ 37+ 
67 57 
36 10 
38 25 
23 40+ 
PRO(;. E NTOMOr •. Soc. BRIT. COLU MRIA, VOL. 60 (1963), DEC. I , 1963 51 
ing been chosen randomly from a 
telephone directory. This survey was 
repeated in 1950 and 1960, with 700 
and 260 questionnaires sent respec-
tively. Many of the addresses in the 
last year were deliberately chosen 
from the earlier lists so that the in-
formation gained might be more 
relative. The returns were 38, 34, and 
50 per cent of the mailings. The 
answers are given as percentages of 
the respective totals. 
Of the residents replying in 1940, 
44 per cent had lived at their address 
for more than ten years and were 
thus in a position to compare the 
relative abundance of ticks over the 
years. The comparable figures for 
1950 'and 1960 were 33 and 69 per cent. 
Eighteen 4-23 year residents replying 
in 1950 stated that the ticks had de-
clined during the last 2-10 years. The 
same opinion was echoed in the 1960 
returns, although by this time the 
pest had so declined that remarks on 
its absence were rather casual. 
The period of tick activity was 
generally stated as being in the spring 
and to a lesser extent in the autumn. 
Some activity was noted during the 
summer but not during mid-winter. 
Descriptions of the effects from 
the tick bites included: acute swell-
ing of the arm; slow healing and 
painful festering sores with fever; 
large or hard and painful lumps; 
severe local inflammation; soreness 
for six months; fever; slight rash and 
headache. 
Many ticks were removed with the 
aid of kerosene, iodine, turpentine, 
alcohol, hot needles, fire, and forceps . 
A surprising number were "unscre,w-
ed." One facetious resident removed 
his with a pick and shovel and an-
other added that "a friend of ours 
had heard about the plague of ticks 
in West Vancouver, so she examined 
her dog and was horrified to find 
several ticks embedded in the ani-
mal's belly. She did not think it very 
odd that these lumps were arranged 
in two regular columns; it was only 
after she had inflicted considerable 
suffering on the dog that she ceased 
from trying to pry its nipples off!" 
It would appear that the Pacific 
tick at West Vancouver reached a 
peak of activity about 1940 and sub-
sequently declined to its present sta-
tus as a pest of only minor concern. 
The reason for its decline is not 
known, but is probably related to the 
development of the district from 
brushland to a well maintained resi-
dential area. 
During the last survey question-
naires were also sent to key person-
nel in other areas in the province 
suspected of harbouring I . pacificus . 
Returns have suggested its presence 
at Ganges, Nanaimo, Coquit lam, 
Agassiz, Wilson Creek, Sechelt, Pen-
der Harbour, and Squamish, but not 
at Prince Rupert or Terrace. The 
most northerly record is from Ocean 
Falls (4) . 
References 
1. Gregson, J . D. Ticks of Medical Importance in British Columbia. British Columbia 
Med. Jour. 2: 1-4. 1960. 
2. Gregson, J . D. The Coast tick (Ixodes californiclIs Banks) problem in British Colum-
bia. Canad. Ent. 74: 3-5. 1942. 
3. Gregson, J . D. Host poisoning by Ixodes californicus Banks Proc. Entomol. Soc. Brit. 
Columbia 38: 5-6. 1942. 
4. Gregson, J. D. The Ixodoidea of Canada. Can. Dept. of Agric. Pub. 930, 92pp. 1955. 


The decline of the Pacific tick (Ixodes pacificus Cooley and Kohls) at West Vancouver

Spencer, G. J.

52 PROf). ENTOMOL Soc. BRIT. COLUMRI A, VOL. 60 (1963 ), DF.c . 1, 1963 
OBITUARY 
F. C. WHITEHOUSE 
Francis Cecil Whitehouse was born 
in Leamington Spa , \Varwick, Eng-
land, in 1879, was educated locally 
and left school at 16 to enter a bank. 
In 1905 he came to Canada and 
continued in banking un til h e retired. 
in 1934 after 26 years as a branch 
manager in each of the western 
provinces. Always an ardent fisher -
man, he fished widely in the A'tJant·ic 
and Pacific oceans. It was on his 
many fishing trips across Canada 
tha t he became interested in dragcll-
f. .i es, first in Alberta and "then in 
Brit ish Columbia. His studies led to 
two publications "British Columbia 
Dragonflies (Odon3lta)", University 
Press, Notre Dame, Indian a , 1941, and 
"Catalogue of the Odonata of Canada, 
Newfoundland and Alaska", RO:-lal 
Canadian Institute, 1948, the la ~t,er 
a very valuable comprehensive c .m -
pilation from all publicatic)) .s or!. ,1. 
Order. On a trip to JalHai..:a, : .. : 
collec'ted extensively and pn..d.. eel 
"A Guide to the Study of r:." :M;OU ': .. es 
of Jamaica" which was publish ed by 
the Institute of Jamaica in 1 9q~: ; his 
specimens on this trip were ~d e'-' tified 
by Professor E . M . Walker of the 
University of Toronto, the Canadian 
authority on Dragonflies with whom 
Whitehouse worked in close asso-
ciation. Wall{er n amed Sornatochlora 
whit ehousei after h 'm. 
When he ceased active field work, 
Whitehouse divided his Odonata 
collections between the Provincial 
Museum, Victoria, the City Museum 
in Vancouver and. the University 
whose share consisted of two care-
fully spread and labelled specimens 
of each sex of 61 species of dragon-
flie.';; and 18 specias of da mselflies, 
maldng 79 out of a total of 89 species 
recorded so far for the province. 
Most species of damselflies have 6 
specimens each. 
Whitehouse was a versa tile author, 
for besides his publications on the 
Odonata, he wrote a novel, a book 
of poems, many essa~s on a diversity 
of subjects and two books on Sport 
Tishing iu Canada. He was a sports-
man to the end, being stricken in 
his 80th year while readyin g for a 
game of golf in Phoenix, Arizona, 
where he latterly spent the winters 
and where his f~meral was held on 
December 5, 1959. 
- G . J . SPENCER 
The eversible g iimd:. :If ?A?!L iO A~Ul T!CAUDATUS Kby. 
Most lepidopterists are famili'ar with the 
eversible gl'ands on the prothorax (}f larvae 
of the 'genus Papilio. When extended, these 
enhance the grotesque appearance of the 
larvae, and emit ·anodour . The following 
dbservaHon, made 'on Sep'tembec- 3, 196! , 
indicates that tlhese glands m2'/ hav~ a 
more practical value thaI: j f' ,:,ym 'l1 ~'1: y 
attributed to them. A larva 0,; m .; i(,pcauti"( U5 
K'by. wa's observed resting on a silken h am-
mock spun over the leaf of " ;1Op t ree, 
Pte iea trifoli.1ta L. , at the Fores,t Entomol-
f.l'gy Laboratory, Vernon. A Ibr' conid 'W;l$!) 
2.5 mm. in length was perching on t,he 
larva's dorsum. Attempting to see if ":he 
wasp was ovipositing, I carcld ly spr ;:) ::td 
t!he f (,~iage apart ,but the movement Illroused 
both insects. The wasp fi·ew l'bOut iitree 
inches to a nearby leaf and the larva re·a , ed 
up and extruded its tJho;:ac,ic g~ands . ft..; tel' 
<.i f~w moments the wasp flitted back eto 
t'f·.e arva and lit on the tip ·of one of 1Ihe 
glands, where it was instantly enveloped in 
3 ('lear, viscid il ll iu. 'Several minutes later 
'WhGD the larva r etracted its glands, the 
dean V."-, sp slid down the larva's s~de and 
,.lUtu t he; leaf in a 'globule {if fluid. 
~ llb~ ' :!{uently, larvae of r. ; Hicaudatus, 
ttl'itaied by application 'or !i' e ants held 
in forc:ep~, 1 ashed backward , alternately 
brushl:g each side of vhe 'body longitudin-
~lly with the extruded ·gl ands. Contact with 
the !>1icky secretion quickly immobilized 
small ants. It seems probable that parasites 
: .. ot ~uffici ently Hght cd: step would suffer 
the same fate. 
~/. Gr unt , ]<'o1'c81 En tomo logy TJ (1 /;()Ta t or!J . 
V e1·':on. B .O. 


F.C. Whitehouse

Zuk, Peter

Drake, Robert J.

21 
TABLE 4- Avel'age Numbers of the European Rt'tl [,lit e and McD<lniel Spider Mite per 
Leaf After S praying Appl e Trees by Lo\\,- Volume Spraye r 011 Jul y 26, 1962. 
Miticide 
Eu rope an Red Mite 
Binapacryl l (50 ',; II.p .l 
Binap ;{c: r~' l l (50';~ w.p .l 
Check - no tre<ltment 
McDaniel Spider Mite 
Binapacr yl l (50% lV .p. ) 
Binapacryl l (50 ';1, w.p .) 
Check -- no trea tm e n t 
I A s Morocid e 
2 Res prayed Au g . 13 
Summary 
Binapacryl is the generic name for 
the miticid e that h as been previously 
known by the trade designation s: 
Acricid , Niagara 9044 , and Morocide . 
During 1961 it gave excellent control 
of the McDaniel s pider mite at a dos-
age of 2 pounds of active ingredient 
per a:cre in low-vol um e sprayin g a nd 
at 0.75 pound of active ingredient 
per 100 gallons in high volume spray-
in g. Binapa cryl was in effective 
agains t the European red mite in 2 
--,--
Amount Beron~ D<lYs after spr<ly in g 
I)(,r <lcre ~praying 8 14 23 34 
-to lb . G6 31 302 5 6 
6 lb. 13 2 22 0 0 
2 9 14 25 21 
4 lb . 1 0 02 0 0 
(j lb . 1 0 02 0 0 
2 JO 16 20 62 
of the 3 orchards in which it was 
a ppli ed . In the third orchard the 
European red mitr. was not numerous 
in 1961 ; but in 1962 a s urprisingly 
heavy European red mite infestation 
occurred in trees that had been 
sprayed with binapacryl the prev ious 
year. This infestation was not a de-
quately controll ed by 2 success ive 
applications of binapacryl at 2 pounds 
of active in gr ed ient per acre. Two 
applications a t 3 pounds per acr e did , 
however , prove eff ective. 
References 
I. Downin g, R. S. 196 1. E:xperiment s in Briiish Columbia I\' ith Acricid , a nell' dinitro 
miticid e. Pruc. E ntumuJ. Soc. [kit . Culumhia :iH: 22,25. 
2. Henderson, C. F , a nd H. Y. iVlcBurnie . 1943. Samp lin g technique fur determining 
populations of ciLru, red mit e a nn it s pn'd a tol's. U.S. Dep A gr. e ire . 671. 
3. !\1organ, C. V. G .. D. A . Chant , N. H. A nderson , and G. L. A~Te. 1955. Met huds for 
estimatin g orc hard mit e popul a ti o ns , e~ re('i"ll y II'ith th e mite brus hing m ac hin e. 
Can. Entomolog is t 87: 189-200. 
A Live Giant Atrican Snail Intercepted in Vancouver, 1963 
On Janll ar,l ' 16, 1963, o ne uf us CR.,J.D. ) 
I\'a s telephoned by a housewife in Nur th 
Vancoul 'e r abu ut a largr: snail shell fr om 
Ha ll·a i i. r pickeel up th e li ve snail a nd 
reco gnized it as th e g iant Afri ca n sn ai l, 
Achat ina f ul ica BO\l'ciich. Th e hou sell' ifl' 
lI'as ple:.J sed to be rid of it. 
Thc s hell lias co ll ected near a beach at 
Honolulu hv the man and hi s \I'ire lI 'hil e 
th ev ,-\,cre ~n ,1 Chris tmas vacation, Thel' 
I\'anteel the large attract ive s hell as ~l 
so uve nir. The man put it in hi s puck e t an d 
it \\' as carried thus in a ll innocence when 
tl1l' ~' c lea red throug h customs at Vancoul·e r . 
At home th e s hell was placed on th e m o is t 
soi l of a large potted p la nt. Prese ntly the 
fam il y r ea li zed t he s he ll II'as occupi ed 
s inc e th e snail began to ex tend and bury 
it s('\l. They t hen ca ll ed the Uni ve r s il,I·. 
The snail W~IS kill e d a nd deposit ed in th e 
Zoolu g ica l Museum uf the Unive rsity o[ 
Briti,h Colu mbi a, (U. B. C.I.M 10743 ). The 
dim en s ion s in cm , wc re a s fullow s : leng th , 
7 .5: I\'idt h , 4.0; aperture , 3 .5x2.0: we ight , 
43.4 ~m. ; II 'ith about '7 w hurl s . 
Thi s is t he second interceptiun of the 
g i.ant A lriean snail at Va ncuuver (Zuk, P. 
Pr{Jc Entomol. Sue . Brit. Columbia 46 : 32, 
1950) 
- I' . /1'1: . /,· ' ·St' I' ,...· " .'':'' "t i rUI . 
1;';1;11 Y. \\ ' , ,!! /"' ''II ' } )I" ; o ' . l ' ffll f 'U }! '-"", n.('. 
I : ,} ,'" ,' f .t . J)o: I; / . / 1" /Jfu' l lf lf-' 1I1 1) 1 7./)(j/ I Ii/ I/. 
, ' "il/ f· 'ill .11 I , ; / ; .( ' . . \ 1f1l/ ' f) I ' !" ' r .'. 1:.( ' .. 


A live giant African snail intercepted in Vancouver, 1963

MacCarthy, H. R.

PROC. ENTOMOI.. Soc. BRIT. COL U MBIA . VOL. 61 (1964), DEC. I, 1964 .9 
BOOK REVIEW 
Insects in Colour, edited by N. D. 
Riley. Blandford Press Ltd., London. 
1963. Pp. 116. 10c. 6d or $2.25. 
In reviewing this undeniably at-
tractive little hard-backed book, 
comparison is inevitable with the 
paper-backed 'Insects' in the Golden 
Nature Guide series. In my view 
'Insects' comes out best on the bases 
of background, coverage, organiza-
tion and presentation of the subject, 
size and detail of the illustrations, 
format, and price. 
'Insects in Colour' strikes me as an 
attempt to cash in on a book already 
produced for one smallish market by 
altering it for another. The results 
are probably better in other books of 
the same series, covering larger 
organisms such as: fungi, flowers, 
shrubs and trees, economic plants, 
indoor plants, dogs, roses, and wild 
animals. Here and there the book 
reveals its international origin. It 
was first published in Sweden, then 
in Denmark, then in England and 
printed in Holland . Although not 
unidiomatic the writing suffers 
from inconsistencies and neglect of 
critical proof reading. There is men-
tion of Ternites and Sconeflies and 
errors such as accept for except, 
secret for secrete, and figurus for 
figures . In descriptions most of the 
jnsects are named normally, as 
aphid, fly, wasp or moth, but some-
times capitals creep in to give Click-
beetle and Soldier-beetle, Caddis Fly, 
Water Boatman, Aphid or even Aphis 
used not in the generic sense. In 
host plants stinging nettles appear 
with and without capitals on the 
same page. There is hop, currant, 
willow; but Tussock Grass, Sorrel, 
Potato, Cabbage, and Giant Water 
Dock. 
The scales of measurement are 
hybrid. Length, or 'length from head 
to tail' is in mm except for Lepidop-
tera, Diptera and some Hymenoptera, 
in which the expanse, or sometimes 
'wingspread' or even 'wing spread' 
is in inches. Even the type face is 
sometimes non-uniform; The Cloud-
ed Border Brindle has an expanse 
of lY2 - 1 9/ 10 inches (sic) which is 
untidy and no clearer than 38-50 
mm. It is necessary to turn from the 
picture to the description each time 
to find the size of an insect. 
There are 64 full pages in color 
and these are very fine, covering 
260 species. The printing is adequate 
and the quality of the colors par-
ticularly gOOd. But up to 11 species 
are on a single page which means 
that the reduction is so great that 
detail is lost from wings, tarsi and 
antennae. 
The English names of Lepidop-
tera are intriguing, perhaps because 
of the lack of uniformity. The article 
is placed before some names but not 
others, and the term moth or butter-
fly is often misSing. Thus names such 
as Broom Moth, Winter Moth, or 
Codling Moth hardly rate a second 
look, but The Dunbar, The Feath-
ered GothiC, The Shark, and The 
Claddagh certainly do. Then there 
is something called a Great Brocade 
(expanse 2 Y2 inches), a Heart and 
Dart, and best of all, a Setaceous 
Hebrew Character. 
A good deal of information is 
packed into the short and somewhat 
telegraphic descriptions of each 
species. Surprisingly, control~ are 
given for two or three pest species 
but not for major ones. 
The representation is good, even 
though large forms are emphasized, 
and includes: 84 Lepidoptera, 81 
Coleoptera (13 longicorns), 31 Hy-
menoptera, 26 Diptera, 12 Hemiptera-
Homoptera, 6 Orthoptera, and one 
or two each of 10 other Orders. This 
is said to be about 1.3% of the 20,-
000 known species in the U.K. Pro-
tective resemblance and mimicry are 
illustrated with five examples, and 
migrants and casual visitors with 
six. No less than 202 of the species 
were named by Linnaeus. A quarter 
50 PROC. ENTO~IOL. Soc. BRIT. COLUMBIA. VOL. 61 (1964), DEC. I, 1964 
of them are found only in southern 
England or are listed as rare in 
northern England and Scotland, 
which must limit the usefulness of 
the book as a reference. 
The introduction, on p. 69, consists 
of four full pages of close and for-
biddingly unbroken print, since the 
paragraphs are not indented . There 
is an index and a bibliography of 16 
good English titles. It is hard to 
know for whom the book is intend-
ed, however. The dust jacket says 
it is a handy reference and a useful 
introduction, but it strikes me as too 
elementary for a reference and too 
pedantic for an introduction. 
-H. R. MacCwrthy 
BOOK REVIEW 
The Skippers of the Genus Hes-
peria in Western North America, 
With Special Reference to California 
(Lepidoptera : Hesperiidae) by C. Don 
MacNeill . University of California 
Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 
1964. Pp. 221. $5 .00 . 
This work, Volume 35 of the Uni-
versity of California publications in 
Entomology, presents a meticulous 
taxonomic treatment of the western 
members of North American Hes-
peria besides lucid discussions on 
some phases of their biology based 
on "-- intimate observation for a 
limited time upon a limited portion 
of the fauna. " Although the book is 
chiefly of interest to certain special-
ists in taxonomy, ecologists and 
others concerned with biogeographic 
distribution (11 pp.) and behaviour 
of adult insects (18 pp.) will find 
good meat within the section on 
Biology. 
The taxonomy is based on exam-
ination of more than 500 ova and 
200 larvae and pupae of nine west-
ern and two eastern species. Over 
7,500 adult specimens were studied 
representing all known North Ameri-
can species. Details and data on 
specimens, techniques and methods 
are fully documented. There are 9 
range maps; 28 pages of good dia-
gramatic drawings of larval setal 
patterns, pupae, antennae, and 
genitalia; a coloured frontispiece of 
adults of one species and three sub-
speCies not previously illustrated; 
and 8 plates of photographs. All 
these are satisfactory but some of 
the black and white photographs do 
not measure up to the general high 
standard of the book. The writing 
is polished; the single error noted is 
that insidious old acquaintance 'data 
was' used once. 
Proof reading was excellent al-
though there are minor errors in the 
spellin g of a couple of British Co-
lumbia place names . Faulty labels 
and failure to consult a gazetteer 
are sand traps for uncounted tax-
onomists. 
At the end of the book are 258 
references by 170 authors dating 
from 1793 to 1962. Greatly increas-
ing the value of this list is a brief 
summary of each reference. 
The only major disappOintment is 
that there is no indication that 
material was submitted to a cyto-
geneticist for examination; apart 
from this single omission, the book 
is a model for emulation. 
-D. A. R088 


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