Aspidytidae, or cliff water beetles, are a recently discovered family of Adephaga, which have an apparently disjunct distribution in China and South Africa. The larvae of Aspidytidae are described for the first time, based on material of Aspidytes niobe Ribera, Beutel, Balke & Vogler, 2002, collected together with adults in South Africa. External morphological features, including chaetotaxy, are reported for all three larval instars, and an assessment made of the polarity of larval characters of phylogenetic utility in Adephaga. Larvae of Aspidytidae possess a mixture of primitive and derived character states, and are unique within the Adephaga in retaining the egg-bursters to instar II, and having dorsally orientated spiracles on abdominal segment VIII in instars II and III. Larvae of Aspidytae have retained several character states which are plesiomorphic within the Dytiscoidea: e.g., the abdominal segment IX retained as a small remnant and the primary seta UR9 and the primary pores URd, URe, and URf are present on the urogomphus. A parsimony analysis based on 17 informative larval characteristics was conducted with the program PAUP*. The six most parsimonious trees confirm the Aspidytidae as a relatively basal lineage of the Dytiscoidea.

Two species of Discomyza Meigen occur in the New World, one, D. u-signata Cresson, naturally and the other, D. maculipennis (Wiedemann), apparently as an introduction. These species are revised and their malacophagous breeding habits are documented. The species treatments include the first detailed descriptions and illustrations of structures from the male terminalia, lectotype designations for Notiphila maculipennis Wiedemann and its New World synonym (D. balioptera Loew), as well as phylogenetic and biogeographic information, including maps. Although congeners, these two species are apparently not closely related, and their occurrence in the New World is independent of each other. D. maculipennis has a biogeographic connection with the Orient, and D. u-signata is linked with a group of Afrotropical species, D. eritrea Cresson specifically.

New proconiine leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae), associated with Chusquea bamboos and other tall grasses, are described from montane forests of Costa Rica: one species of Paraquichira n. gen. and two species of Quichira Young. The latter genus, previously known from only a male of the type species from western Panama, is redescribed with inclusion of female characters; a key to its species is provided. Oviposition into grass leaves was observed in captive females of P. costaricensis n. sp. and Q. tegminis Young. Females of both species powder their egg clusters with specialized brochosomes, stored in the form of spots on the female forewings. Unlike Quichira and several other Proconiini genera displaying this behavior, Paraquichira lacks the rakelike modification of the macrosetae on the female hind tibia. The shape of the female brochosomes, not previously used in cicadellid systematics, is included in the morphological descriptions. Also described are the immature stages of P. costaricensis n. sp. The younger instars seem to mimic jumping spiders, the similarity being enhanced by their unusual habit of holding the abdomen arched, which makes it seem shorter and more inflated in dorsal aspect. Affinities of the two genera are discussed based on their morphology and behavior.

Two new species of Myodocha, Myodocha parcicoma Cervantes and Myodocha unispinopilosa Cervantes, are described from Mexico and South America. A key to the 10 known species and new geographic records for the genus are provided. Species in this genus can be separated into two groups by the presence or absence of hairs on the neck region; other characters used to differentiate the species are length of rostrum, presence of tibial spines on forelegs in males; and shape and number of spines on forefemora of males and females. The last two characters (i.e., shape and number of spines on forefemora), although variable, show diverse patterns.

Experimental interspecific hybridization between the notorious, worldwide horticultural crop pests Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) and Liriomyza sativae Blanchard is reported. Premating reproductive isolation was easily disrupted under no-choice crossing conditions; hybrid flies were obtained only in one mating combination (female L. sativae × male L. trifolii). Crosses between them yielded only female progeny, which had some superficial characters identified as L. sativae, but the shape of the genitalia was similar to that of L. trifolii. All of the F1 hybrids were sterile and could not be backcrossed to either parental species. An electrophoretic analysis of internal transcribed spacer region sequences on ribosomal DNA genes and a nucleotide sequence analysis of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I DNA sequences confirmed that the progeny were not the result of parthenogenetic reproduction.

The life history and predation rate of Lemnia biplagiata (Swartz) fed on Aphis gossypii Glover was studied at 25°C in the laboratory. The raw data were analyzed based on the age-stage, two-sex life table to take the variable developmental rate among individuals and both sexes into consideration. The intrinsic rate of increase (r) is 0.1570 d⁻¹, the finite rate of increase (λ) is 1.170 d⁻¹, the net reproduction rate (R₀) is 291.1 offspring per individual, the mean generation time (T) is 36.2 d, and the gross reproduction rate (GRR) is 604.8 offspring. L. biplagiata consumed 430 ± 42 aphids (mean ± SD) during the larval stage. The mean consumption rate for an adult during the first 25 d (aged 14–38 d from birth) is 1,548 ± 118 aphids. The mean consumption for an older adult (aged 60–119 d from birth) is 1,319 ± 1,259 aphids. When the survival rate is taken into account, the net consumption rate is 3,022 aphids per individual during the total life span. The transformation rate from prey population to predator offspring is 10.4. The relationship among GRR, R₀, and the preadult survival rate (l_a) is proven as R₀ < l_a · GRR < GRR. However, when applying the female age-specific life table to a two-sex population, due to the difficulty in determining the preadult mortality of the females, the calculated age-specific survival rate and fecundity are possibly incorrect and consequently the relationship among GRR, R₀, and l_a also may be incorrect.

Laboratory bioassays were performed to determine if a mutualistic association exists between three species of fungi and the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari). The fungi Fusarium solani (Martius), Penicillium citrinum Thom and Candida fermentati (Saito) were evaluated on the reproduction and survivorship of H. hampei. The fungi were evaluated at three concentrations: 5 × 10²; 5 × 10⁴ and 5 × 10⁶ spores/ml using coffee berries and meridic diets as substrate. The fungi did not affect the normal development of the insect and did not increase mortality at any concentration evaluated. When H. hampei was reared in berries, no significant differences in the total progeny production were detected between treatments involving fungi and the control. When reared on meridic diets, there was no clear trend to suggest a beneficial effect of a given species of fungus on H. hampei; at 40 d postinoculation, the total progeny production of the insect was higher than the control with C. fermentati; at 60 d it was higher with F. solani, and at 80 d there were no differences between treatments involving fungi and the control. Our results indicate that there were no clear positive effects of any fungi on the coffee berry borer either in berries or diets. Therefore, we conclude that H. hampei is not allied with fungi in mutualist relationships as was previously believed.

Environmental conditions such as nutrient availability may modify the strength and nature of interactions between mutualists. We examined the extent to which variability in nitrogen modified the interaction between ants and larvae of Glaucopsyche lygdamus Doubleday. Whereas nitrogen addition had no effect on larval growth rates, the number of larvae, or the number of ants tending larvae 2 wk after the beginning of the experiment, by 4 wk nitrogen addition had increased tending rates from 2.5 to 4.1 ants per larva. Despite the effect of nitrogen on tending rates of larvae, there was no effect of nitrogen on host plant growth, herbivory, or seed production. Unlike a previous study of this population of butterflies on a different host plant species, there was no indication that larvae feeding on pods attracted larger ant guards. Thus, although the amount of nitrogen available to plants did have a detectable effect on the ant–lycaenid mutualism, there was no evidence that plant substrate played a strong role in mediating tending rates. Because our finding that nitrogen addition affected tending rates parallels findings for a very different ant–lycaenid system, we suggest that nitrogen availability to host plants may be of general importance to ant–lyceanid interactions.

Malacosoma americanum (F.) (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) was recently implicated in early fetal losses and late-term abortions of pregnant mares in the thoroughbred and saddlebred industry centered in central Kentucky. The direct role of the caterpillars in these losses prompted the need for a more thorough understanding of life history and age-specific biology, to develop more precise management strategies and reduce future losses. During 2003 and 2004, egg masses and tents were destructively and sequentially sampled, respectively, to observe development and mortality agents. Eggs were significantly impacted by parasitization. Larval development was linear, yet asynchronous, with individual tents containing up to four instars simultaneously. Predators were the major mortality factor impacting the first three instars; parasitoids and pathogens had the greatest impact on fourth, fifth, and sixth instars. These data demonstrate that the eastern tent caterpillar is impacted by a variety of biotic mortality agents throughout the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, and the potential impacts on natural enemies must be considered when designing any direct suppression strategies targeting populations.

Eomerope macabeensis sp. nov. (Mecoptera: Eomeropidae) is described from the Early Eocene (Ypresian) McAbee locality in British Columbia, Canada. This is the first record of the family Eomeropidae in the Okanagan Highlands fossil deposits of British Columbia (Canada) and Washington state (United States). Previously known Cenozoic occurrences of the family include Eomerope tortriciformis Cockerell 1909 from the Eocene of Florissant, CO; Eomerope pacifica Ponomarenko & Rasnitsyn 1974 from the Paleocene Tadushi Formation., and Eomerope asiatica Ponomarenko & Rasnitsyn 1974 from the Eocene or Oligocene Amgu River of far-eastern Russia; and the extant Notiothauma reedi MacLachlan, 1877, from southern Chile. The new species seems to be closely related to E. asiatica. Where environmental parameters are known, these occurrences are mostly from highlands, with upper microthermal to mid-mesothermal climates and mild winters. N. reedi is phytophagous or saprophagous. Although Cenozoic Eomeropidae are associated with Fagus, Nothofagus, or Fagopsis-dominated forests in the Western Hemisphere, the Fagaceae and Nothofagaceae are minor elements or not known in the Russian localities. Intercontinental dispersal by either Gondwanan or Beringian routes is possible.

The biology of nymphs and adults of the Neotropical scentless bug Jadera choprai Göllner-Scheiding feeding on mature seeds of the balloon vine, Cardiospermum halicacabum (L.) (Sapindaceae), was studied in the laboratory. Most nymphs (>75%) successfully reached adulthood when feeding on this food. Nymphs reared individually had lower mortality (14.0%) and shorter developmental times (35.7 d) than did bugs reared in groups (23.3% and 39.9 d). All adult females oviposited when fed on seeds of balloon vine. Mean adult longevity was 86.0 d for males and 47.7 for females. Mean fecundity was ≈147 eggs per female, and ≈85% of the eggs hatched. Fresh body weight of females increased significantly during the first week of adult life; males, however, lost weight significantly during this period. Females lost weight during their second week posteclosion, but they regained the weight subsequently. However, males did not. Nymphs and adults (macropterous and brachypterous forms) of J. choprai are described and illustrated, as are their setal patterns.

Anthocoris antevolens White (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) is a widespread predatory bug in North America commonly associated with deciduous trees and shrubs. Unpublished observations showed that there is considerable geographic variation in male genitalia in this species and that the variation may lead to reproductive isolation among geographically separated populations. We show that male bugs from two sympatric populations in the Yakima Valley, Washington, one occurring on oak (Quercus garryana Douglas) and the other collected from willow (Salix sp.), differed in size and shape of the phallus and clasper. Mating trials showed that males from the oak source successfully inseminated females from the oak source in 75% of pairings; insemination success for males from the willow source paired with females from the willow source was somewhat lower at 62%. In nonlike crosses (oak × willow, willow × oak), males failed to inseminate the female in 100% of pairings, despite vigorous mating attempts by the males. Copulation duration was independent of population source. However, males from the willow source initiated copulation attempts significantly sooner in the assay than males from the oak source, irrespective of female source. We interrupted copulating pairs by freezing them with liquid nitrogen and showed that males in nonlike crosses generally had failed to fully inflate the phallus in the female. Results support statements made elsewhere that A. antevolens is actually composed of an unknown number of reproductively isolated cryptic species.

Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is a recently introduced non-native invasive species in the United States that has the potential to destroy several tree species in urban and forest habitats. The ability to rear A. glabripennis in quarantine is critical to rapid progress on techniques for the exclusion, detection, and eradication of this pest. Survival and development were compared for larvae from two populations (Chicago, IL, and Queens, NY) on six diets containing varying levels of Fe (69–237 mg/liter) and for three populations (Illinois and New York plus Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China) under four larval chill treatments (6, 9, 12, or 16 wk of development before chill). Larval survival and percentage pupation significantly decreased and developmental time slightly increased with increasing Fe levels in the diet. Larval survival and percentage of pupation were highest, adults weighed the most, and developmental time was shortest when larvae were reared on a pourable modification of the Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman) (ER) diet. Individuals from the China and Illinois populations were heavier than those from New York. On average, larvae from the Illinois population were ready to pupate sooner than those from New York or China. Some larvae that had not reached their critical weight for pupation before the chill period required a second chill period before initiating pupation. Overall survival increased as the developmental time period before chill increased. Further evaluation of the effects of temperature on development is needed to better understand the triggers for pupation and to predict the timing of various stages.

We compared volumetric and linear measurements as predictors for biomass in Scarabaeidae. Linear measurements were performed with calipers. Volumetric measurements were performed on a battery-powered top-loading balance, by using Archimedes’ Principle. Of four different linear variables, the most accurate predictor of biomass was the log transformation of elytra pronotum length, which explained 93% of the variation in biomass. The log-transformed beetle volume achieved nearly the same degree of accuracy, explaining 91% of beetle biomass. Because beetle volume has several additional advantages, such as ease of measurement and potential longevity of measurement on older specimens, we propose that volumetric measurements may provide accurate estimates of biomass, where the linear relationship of volume and biomass has been determined, as is the case with fresh specimens.

The two key objectives of the recovery plan for the Federally threatened tiger beetle Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis Say are to protect populations within the Chesapeake Bay and to establish by reintroductions new populations in the U.S. northeast (New Jersey to Massachusetts). This article reports on the development and implementation of translocation work to establish a population of C. d. dorsalis at Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook, NJ, by using larvae from Chesapeake Bay populations. Previous experimental translocation trials in Virginia by using adults were unsuccessful because the adults dispersed from the translocation sites within 1–2 wk. Experimental translocations were conducted to test methods with larvae from several Virginia sites to Sandy Hook in September 1994 and 1995. The translocated larvae readily dug burrows, many survived the winter, and some emerged as adults the following summer. Additional translocations of >475 larvae each year were conducted in early May 1997, 1999, and 2000. Peak numbers of emerging adults counted each year in July increased from 178 in 1997 to 749 in 2001. Adults exhibited normal behaviors in the field (foraging, thermoregulation, and mating) and recruited larvae each year. A population seemed to be successfully established, but adult numbers declined sharply after the 2001 peak to 142 in 2002, 43 in 2003, and six in 2004. We have little evidence for the cause of this sharp decline in adult numbers, but it may have resulted from predation by gulls, dispersal triggered by the high gull densities where beetles occurred, or perhaps from coastal storm impacts causing a progressive decline in survival and recruitment of the beetle population. The initial success of this translocation suggests that efforts using these methods should be continued, but closer monitoring at the translocation site is needed to determine the fate of the population. These methods also may be applicable to the recovery of other threatened or endangered tiger beetles.

The heterogeneity of the regional leaf beetle fauna from Galicia in northwestern Spain is analyzed to determine the influence of Eurosiberian-Mediterranean boundary on Chrysomelidae assemblages. We compared eight local faunas from both sides of the phytogeographic boundary between Eurosiberian and Mediterranean regions, taking into account the species richness and completeness of each inventory, its composition of zoogeographic chorotypes, and beta diversity between areas. The selected areas were coastal dunes and associated marshes, agricultural landscape near Santiago de Compostela, Atlantic mixed forest of low altitude in Fragas del Eume Natural Park, medium-altitude mountain ranges of Dorsal Gallega and Larouco, the temperate valley of the Sil River and high mountain ranges of Ancares and Eixo-Segundera. Simpson’s index (β_sim) was selected as beta diversity measure, to avoid the effect of richness gradients and thus minimize the bias produced by the uneven sampling effort. A nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) based on β_sim was performed to ordinate the local faunas, and a cluster analysis using the dimensions values for each inventory was used to recover the major faunistic groups. The Sil Valley is strongly discriminated from all other inventories by the NMDS and the cluster analysis and presents a ratio between Mediterranean and Eurosiberian elements markedly higher than the remaining areas. Among the latter, two other groups are recovered: the southern and eastern mountain ranges located near both sides of Eurosiberian-Mediterranean phytogeographic boundary, and the low- and medium-altitude areas closer to the Atlantic coast. Therefore, zoogeographic distributions of leaf beetle faunas in northwestern Spain do not fit exactly the standard phytogeographic zonation, because only the Sil Valley is found to have a distinct Mediterranean-type fauna, whereas Galician mountain ranges included in the phytogeographic Mediterranean region are clustered with Eurosiberian inventories.

The wine-making region of southern Quebec in Canada experiences growing conditions that are unique in northeastern North America. After an outbreak of insect pests in 1996, a study of insect groups that may include potential pests or beneficial species was initiated. This article reports on the weevil diversity and abundance during three consecutive years of sampling (1997–1999) in two vineyards. All weevils were collected using pitfall and flight intercept traps. In total, 3,176 specimens were collected, representing 73 species in three families of Curculionoidea. The family Curculionidae was the most species rich, especially the subfamilies Ceutorhynchinae, Curculioninae, and Entiminae. Four of the species recorded are known to feed on the genus Vitis (Vitaceae) in North America: Madarellus undulatus (Say), Barypeithes pellucidus (Boheman), Otiorhynchus ovatus (L.), and Otiorhynchus sulcatus (F.). Of these, O. sulcatus is thought to represent the greatest potential threat based on adult abundance at one of the sites and the negative impact of this species in other wine-making regions in North America. Four species [Ceutorhynchus oregonensis Dietz, Pelenomus waltoni (Boheman), Rhinoncus perpendicularis (Reiche), and Sphenophorus minimus Hart] are recorded in Quebec for the first time. A significant number of weevils collected during this study are adventive species associated with agroecosystems of northeastern North America.

Although new generation (prediapausing) adults of Dolycoris baccarum (L.) and Piezodorus lituratus (F.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) spend the summer in fields, diapausing individuals spend the winter in overwintering localities under stones and plants. The phospholipid and triacylglycerol fatty acid composition of whole insects from prediapausing and diapausing adults was analyzed to determine changes in fatty acid unsaturation during diapause. The most abundant fatty acids from both fractions were palmitic (16:0), oleic (18:1), linoleic (18:2n-6), palmitoleic (16:1n-7), stearic (18:0), and linolenic (18:3n-3) acids. This represents a typical complement of heteropteran fatty acids. However, palmitoleic acid (16:1n-7) levels were higher in the triacylglycerol fraction in diapausing adults of P. lituratus (13.6%) than those reported from other heteropterans (1–3%) (Thompson 1973). The unsaturation/saturation ratio was significantly increased in triacylglycerol and phospholipid, apparently because of increases in major monounsaturated 18:1 at the expense of major saturated 16:0 during diapause. These changes were probably a response to low environmental temperatures.

Electroantennograms (EAGs) of Cydia pomonella (L.), Pandemis pyrusana Kearfott, and Grapholita molesta (Busck) documented the presence and duration of long-lasting peripheral adaptation after pheromone preexposure. Moths of each species were preexposed for 1 h to varying dosages (100 ng–100 mg) of the major components of their respective pheromone blends in 1-liter Teflon containers with constant throughput of air. EAGs were performed on all insects 1 min after preexposure and at several subsequent intervals up to 120 min after exposure. Long-lasting peripheral adaptation was recorded by EAG after pheromone preexposure over a range of pheromone dosages in both C. pomonella (100 μg–10 mg) and P. pyrusana (100 ng–100 mg). This reduction in EAG responsiveness lasted ≈60 and 10 min, respectively, for these two species. For G. molesta, a reduction in EAG responsiveness occurred only after 1 h of exposure to the highest dosage of pheromone tested (100 mg). Recovery from adaptation was also rapid in this species: EAGs were significantly reduced to all applied stimulus dosages only at 1-min postexposure. There was substantial variation in the prevalence and duration of decreased EAG responsiveness across the species investigated. However, where long-lasting adaptation was described, the phenomenon lasted ≤60 min. In addition, long-lasting adaptation was induced after prolonged exposures at estimated airborne concentrations of pheromone in the range of nanograms per milliliter, which are much higher than the pheromone concentrations in field plots treated with synthetic pheromone dispensers. Long-lasting peripheral adaptation after pheromone preexposure does not seem to be an important contributor to mating disruption.

There is growing debate about the role DNA methods can play in species identification and whether DNA-based methods can become the predominant means to describe species. DNA methods already have the potential to assist in traditional taxonomy and form the basis of routine species identification once species boundaries are clear. We show how DNA methods helped in separating three “species” of the midge, Cladopelma Kieffer. The “species” were initially identified in surveys from Melbourne, Australia, by using cytochrome oxidase I (COI) polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment-length polymorphism markers. The DNA markers and further sequence analysis of COI assisted in identifying unique morphological characters for the “new” species, and provided a way of linking different life stages. DNA tools should be used to routinely to assign species groups such as the Chironomidae, where in some genera there are morphological ambiguities and where life cycle stages cannot be easily connected.

Chemical signals used by parasitoids to find hosts often originate from the host, its habitat, or both, providing critical cues for locating hosts that are often cryptic or highly dispersed. Melittobia Westwood are gregarious ectoparasitoids, which primarily attack Trypoxylon politum Say prepupae. How Melittobia locates its host is unknown, but it may involve host-related chemical signals. Therefore, this study focused on whether host location by Melittobia digitata Dahms is mediated by olfactory stimuli. In a small arena, which contained a choice of potential hosts [T. politum prepupa, Megachile rotundata (F.) prepupa, or Sarcophaga bullata (Parker) puparium], empty host pupal cases, or nest mud—all of which were visually and physically isolated from the parasitoid—Mel. digitata successfully located host patches and spent significantly more time on those than on control (blank and dummy) patches. Results suggest that Mel. digitata females may be arrested by host-related chemicals.

In a wild-type strain of Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, the antijuvenoid precocene I reduced primary sexual receptivity in a dose-dependent manner; exposure to 0.80 μmol halved mating by virgin females in a 1-h test. Precocene-treated females rejected courting males for longer times than control females, but the rates of rejection signaling per unit time were unaffected. Precocene I slowed ovarian growth and markedly reduced oviposition; exposure to 0.14 μmol of precocene decreased oviposition by about half. Protein deprivation severely reduced ovarian volume and lowered primary receptivity in 3-d-old flies. Protein-starved females decamped from courting males more than yeast-fed females did at all the ages tested, whereas both age and diet affected the rates of stereotyped rejection signals. Precocene II did not affect sexual receptivity, whereas exposure to 70–140 μmol of ethoxyprecocene reduced sexual receptivity significantly.

Mating behavior was compared among three populations of Anthocoris antevolens White (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae). Two of the three populations are sympatric in the Yakima Valley, Washington, and are known to differ in length of the setae on the hemelytra and in characteristics of the male’s genitalia. The third population occurred 120 km west of the Yakima populations. All possible inter- and intrapopulation crosses were studied. Males attempted to mate females in all crosses and were as rapid in initiating mating attempts in interpopulation crosses as in intrapopulation crosses. Mating success, defined to be insemination of the female, varied between 64 and 92% in intrapopulation crosses, but only between 0 and 21% in interpopulation crosses. The crosses between the two sympatric populations never resulted in insemination. Females in all crosses resisted mating attempts by males. Resistance behavior included hunching of the abdomen to prevent insertion of the clasper by the male, use of a hind leg to block male attempts to insert the clasper, and attempts to dislodge the male. For two of the populations, female resistance increased when paired with a male from a different population than when paired with a male from her population; females from the third population showed similar levels of resistance in interpopulation and intrapopulation crosses. Our results support the idea that A. antevolens is actually composed of an unknown number of reproductively isolated cryptic species.

The coccinellid-specific parasitic fungus Hesperomyces virescens Thaxter was found on the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), in fall and winter in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Research objectives were 1) to determine the density of H. virescens on field-collected H. axyridis adults held in the laboratory, and 2) to determine H. virescens presence, density, and distribution on H. axyridis adults in the field. In the laboratory, male and female H. axyridis adults hosted >150 H. virescens mature thalli (i.e., fruiting bodies); distributed primarily on the elytra and abdomen. At the overwintering site, H. virescens density per host was often <20 mature thalli, which were distributed primarily on the elytra of both sexes. On average, 52.5 and 57.4% of H. axyridis males and females, respectively, hosted H. virescens mature thalli in late winter (5 March 2003); <14% of either sex hosted mature thalli the following fall (15, 22, and 28 October and 10 November 2003) at the same site. This study suggests that H. virescens is an established parasite of H. axyridis in Pennsylvania but that field estimates of infection may vary considerably between dates that adult beetles arrive and depart from overwintering sites. Preponderance of fungal thalli on the dorsum rather than the ventrum of H. axyridis males suggests that mating behavior is not solely responsible for transmission of H. virescens from infected to noninfected adults.

To clarify whether adult male spider mite Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida can recognize the mating status of conspecific females, male preference for virgin and mated females was tested under dual choice conditions. Thirty of 36 males approached virgin females first, indicating that males can perceive female mating status. Males preferred trails made by virgin females to those made by mated females (the ratio was 19:2). Moreover, males also probably used odors to discriminate the mating status of females. These abilities of males may play an important role in gaining access to virgin females. Alternatively, behavior of adult females varied with their mating status. Virgin females were more gregarious and remained on infested kidney bean leaves for a longer time than mated females. This behavior is likely to increase the mating opportunities of virgin T. kanzawai females.