We analyzed the phylogenetic relationships between eight Aphidius Nees and six Lysaphidus Smith species on the basis of 12 morphological characters by parsimony analysis. The consensus tree does not support the generic status of Lysaphidus. Aphidius iranicus, sp. nov., associated with Titanosiphon bellicosum Nevsky on Artemisia absinthium L. from Iran, is described. The new parasitoid species is described and illustrated by line drawings, and its diagnostic characters are discussed. The taxonomic position of the subgenus Tremblayia Tizado and Núñez-Pérez is also considered. Tremblayia and Lysaphidus are newly classified as synonyms of Aphidius. The following new or revised combinations are proposed: Aphidius adelocarinus Smith, comb. rev., A. ramythirus Smith, comb. rev., A. rosaphidis Smith, comb. rev., A. viaticus (Sedlag), comb. nov., A. arvensis (Starý), comb. nov., and A. erysimi (Starý), comb. nov.

The bark weevil, Pissodes yunnanensis Langor and Zhang, is an important pest of young Yunnan pine, Pinus yunnanensis Franchet (Pinaceae), in southwestern China. Populations of the host and weevil are disjunct, especially in the northwestern part of the range in Yunnan province. To estimate maternal gene flow and examine the genetic structure of Pissodes yunnanensis, we sequenced an 840-bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene in 60 individuals from 7 populations in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. Percent divergence among populations ranged from 0.001% to 2.1%. Nested clade analysis of 21 haplo types showed evidence of genetic structuring that is inferred to be primarily due to allopatric fragmentation and a low level of gene flow. Analysis of molecular variance also showed significant genetic structuring and restricted gene flow among weevil populations, especially between northwestern and eastern regions of the range. Such genetic structuring may be important for pest management programs. Phylogenetic analyses comparing the same 761-bp sequence among P. yunnanensis, Pissodes punctatus Langor and Zhang from southwestern China, and five Nearctic species of Pissodes showed that (i) the two Chinese species were most closely related to each other, (ii) the four species in the P. strobi (Peck) species group formed a distinct clade, and (iii) these two clades were more similar to each other than to the Nearctic species P. affinis Randall.

The North American species of Acrolepiopsis are reviewed and include six described species: A. assectella (Zeller), A. californica Gaedike, A. heppneri Gaedike, A. incertella (Chambers), A. leucoscia (Meyrick), and A. reticulosa (Braun). Acrolepiopsis liliivora Gaedike is considered a junior synonym of A. californica (new synonymy). Acrolepiopsis assectella, commonly known as the leek moth, is a recently invasive alien species in North America and a pest of the plant genus Allium, including leek, onion, garlic, and related cultivated plants. A key to species based on adults is provided, diagnostic characters including male and female genitalia are illustrated, and geographical distribution, host plants, and larval feeding pattern and damage (where known) are given. Diagnostics and illustrations are presented also for A. sapporensis (Matsumura); known as the Asiatic onion leafminer, it is very similar to A. assectella and is an invasive alien species present in Hawaii, though not in North America. Adult diagnostic characters of the genus Acrolepiopsis, the family Acrolepiidae, and the superfamily Yponomeutoidea are also provided and illustrated. DNA barcoding data (short sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene) obtained for five of the six species revealed interspecific differences averaging 8.1%, whereas intraspecific variation was ≤ 0.16%, and provided unequivocal species separation matching morphology-based identifications.

The stem-boring weevil, Mecinus janthinus (Germar), is a promising, well established classical biological control agent for the exotic invasive weed Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica (L.) Mill.) (Scrophulariaceae). In this paper we present readily apparent rostral characters that can be used for sex differentiation of live stem-boring weevils at low magnification. These characters can be used by workers with little training to accurately sex weevils and can be used to rapidly determine sex ratios of field populations to improve timing of collection for redistribution.

The feeding habits of nymphs of Perla marginata (Panzer) and Dinocras cephalotes (Curtis) were investigated in the Rio Orbarina (northwestern Italy). These species are among the largest European carnivorous freshwater invertebrates and they play an important role in the trophic structure of small, fishless Apennine streams. We examined the gut contents of 60 P. marginata and 60 D. cephalotes nymphs to characterize the diets and evaluate possible feeding differences between the species. In both of these predaceous stoneflies, the diet included vegetable detritus, mainly in the smaller instars. Both species showed trophic preferences, since only a few taxa constituted most of the ingested prey items, independently of their availability in the substratum. Interestingly, there were no clear differences in prey selection between nymphs of the two species.

Degree-day phenology models for the yellowheaded spruce sawfly, Pikonema alaskensis (Rohwer), were developed from data sets collected in infested plantations of black spruce, Picea mariana (Mill.), and white spruce, P. glauca (Moench) Voss, in New Brunswick and Quebec, Canada, between 1995 and 1999. The models describe the relationships between degree-day accumulation (above −1 °C, from 1 April) and cumulative adult emergence, capture in pheromone traps, the dates of appearance of first adult, egg, and larva, and the relative frequency of successive larval stages. The models predict adult emergence with a precision of ±2 days and male catch in pheromone traps with a precision of ±1.6 days. The first adult, first egg, and first larva occurred after 527 ± 42, 660 ± 52, and 725 ± 18 degree-days above –1 °C, respectively, and the dates of these events are predicted within ±1.8 days. The dates of 50% occurrence of the successive instars are predicted within 4.5 days of observed dates, and the date of peak 2nd instar is predicted within ±3.6 days.

Seventy-seven species of weevils are newly reported in New Brunswick, increasing the known provincial fauna to 206 species. Trichapion nigrum (Herbst), Ceutorhynchus semirufus LeConte, and Listronotus laramiensis (Angell) are recorded for the first time in Canada. Three species, Bagous planatus LeConte, Plocamus hispidulus LeConte, and Dryocoetes granicollis (LeConte), are removed from the province's faunal list. Components of the fauna are discussed with a particular focus on the introduced species found in the province. Monitoring to detect changes of both native and introduced species is emphasized.

Seventy-nine species of weevils are newly reported in Nova Scotia and 66 species are newly reported on Prince Edward Island, increasing the known provincial weevil faunas to 244 and 92 species, respectively. Thirty-six species are recorded for the first time in the Maritime Provinces; of these, Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus (Marsham), Listronotus dietzi O'Brien, Corthylus columbianus Hopkins, and Orchidophilus aterrimus (Waterhouse) are recorded for the first time in Canada. Orchidophilus aterrimus has been collected only in exotic domesticated orchids and is not established in the wild. Fourteen species previously recorded on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, are reported from the provincial mainland. Four species — Curculio sulcatulus (Casey), Ceutorhynchus squamatus LeConte, Tachyerges niger (Horn), and Ips calligraphus (Germar) — are removed from the faunal list of Nova Scotia, and three species — Temnocerus cyanellus (LeConte), Curculio nasicus (Say), and Cryphalus ruficollis ruficollis Hopkins — are removed from the faunal list of Prince Edward Island. The combined known weevil fauna of the Maritime Provinces now totals 290 species. The adequacy of collection effort is discussed and in Nova Scotia, where collection effort has been greatest, distribution patterns of selected groups of species are examined. Island faunas are discussed with respect to those of Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton Island. Regional biogeographic patterns of species are also discussed, including possible disjunct populations in Nova Scotia and species that may not have crossed the isthmus of Chignecto to colonize Nova Scotia. Attention is drawn to the long history of introduced species in the region and to ongoing introductions through an examination of the earliest records for the 60 introduced species found in the region.