Bumble bees (Bombus Latr.) are primarily a cold temperate group, but a few species live in the hot, moist conditions of tropical rainforest. We describe the external and internal characteristics of a Bombus pullatus Franklin nest from the tropical lowlands of Costa Rica. The nest was a large, conical mound constructed of cut vegetation on the forest floor, similar to nests of the Amazonian bumble bee, B. transversalis (Olivier). Maintenance of the vegetative canopy involved moving cut materials with the mandibles and a backward-directed sweeping of the legs, behaviors reported in some species of Fervidobombus and Thoracobombus and in the sister species to B. pullatus, B. transversalis and B. atratus Franklin. We recorded foraging activity, task specificity, and internal parasites of bees at the nest. Foragers were polylectic and peak foraging rates, particularly for pollen, were during the morning. The nest had five active entrances, and foragers tended to have a unidirectional flow through these entrances. The colony, with 414 adult workers and both worker and reproductive brood, was larger than most temperate colonies and comparable in size to nests of other tropical bumble bee species. A few workers were parasitized by the conopid fly, Physocephala sp.

To quantify mortality of Galerucella calmariensis L. preimaginal life stages in wetlands, which influences levels of biological control of purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria L., we sampled G. calmariensis for 19 wk during 2004 in two Iowa wetlands. At each site, we randomly collected 15 to 19 L. salicaria stems that were either surrounded by water or not surrounded by water for a total of 30 stems per site on each sample date. At each site, partial life tables were constructed for egg, first instar, and second–third instars. Stem location (surrounded by water and not surrounded by water) did not affect mortality from egg to second–third instar, thus data were pooled to create a partial life table for each site. At Site 1, insect predators (Coccinellidae) were present on 16% of the sampled dates and at Site 2 insect predators (Coccinellidae and Chrysopidae) were present on 11% of the sampled dates. Mortality from egg to second–third instar was over 99% at both sites.

Using the same L. salicaria stems collected for the partial life table, we longitudinally sliced the L. salicaria stems, to determine the pupation site of G. calmariensis within L. salicaria stems surrounded by water. Eighty-six pupae were collected within stems of L. salicaria plants surrounded by water from Site 1. No pupae were found within stems of L. salicaria in dry areas or from Site 2. This is the first report of G. calmariensis pupating within L. salicaria stems. In a laboratory study, three soil moisture treatments (0, 30, and 60% soil moisture) were used to determine soil moisture effects on G. calmariensis eclosion. No eclosion was observed from the 60% treatment. Eighty-four percent of adults eclosed from the 30% soil moisture treatment compared to 56% in the 0% treatment. The number of days (4) to eclosion was similar in the 0 and 30% soil moisture treatments. Abiotic and biotic factors affect G. calmariensis mortality and levels of biological control may vary relative to these factors.

A taxonomic study of the genus Leiodes Latreille in Korea is presented. Six species are recognized, five of which are described as new species (Leiodes cooteri new species, type locality – Mt. Odaesan, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon Prov., Korea; L. indigesta new species, type locality – Mt. Odaesan, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon Prov., Korea; L. koreana new species, type locality – Mt. Gaeryongsan, Gongju, Chungnam Prov., Korea; L. odaesanensis new species, type locality – Mt. Odaesan, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon Prov., Korea; L. subfracta new species, type locality – Mt. Seoraksan, Sokcho, Gangwon Prov., Korea). Types and paratypes of the new species are designated. A key and illustration of the habitus and line drawings of diagnostic characters are presented.

A new species, Collyria catoptron, is described from Gansu Province, China. It is an egg-larval koinobiont parasitoid reared from Cephus fumipennis, a grass-mining sawfly that attacks wheat. Collyria catoptron is currently being evaluated as a possible biological control agent for Cephus cinctus in North America.

The prairie mole cricket (Gryllotalpa major Saussure) is a native of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem of the south central United States. Its populations have dwindled with the reduced availability of suitable grassland habitat. Populations are known to occupy relict prairie sites in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri. The Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in north central Oklahoma is the largest continuous tract of tallgrass prairie remaining (about 16,100 ha). The long-term management plan for this property includes the utilization of prescribed burns, bison grazing, cattle grazing and limited mowing to restore a functional tallgrass prairie landscape. Prairie mole cricket populations were surveyed at the site during the years 1993, 1994, 1998, and by our research team in 2005, using the male cricket's acoustic call as a discrete presence indicator. Records from these surveys were integrated with prescribed burn maps to identify spatial distribution patterns of the calling aggregations at the preserve. These data were then analyzed to determine the randomness of spatial distributions with regard to pasture burn regimes. Results revealed a non-random distribution of prairie mole cricket calling sites, with advertising males found in higher numbers on sites that had been more recently burned. Analysis of soil temperature data taken from both burned and unburned prairie patches at White Oak Prairie in Oklahoma revealed no difference between the two treatments. The results of this study indicate that prairie mole cricket lek sites are somewhat transient within a broader prairie mosaic in which fire is a regular disturbance factor and tend to emerge on more recently burned patches. This information is being utilized in constructing habitat models and resource management plans for this preserve as well as other sites harboring Gryllotalpa major populations.

The genus Celypha Hübner, [1825] is known to be represented in Turkey by five species, namely, C. flavipalpana (Herrich-Schaeffer, [1851]), C. cespitana (Hübner, [1817]), C. striana ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775), C. rurestrana (Duponchel, 1843), C. anatoliana (Caradja, 1916). Celypha anatoliana was observed in Konya in 1916 and is recorded for the second time in this study. Its similarities and differences with C. capreolana (Herrich-Schaeffer, [1851]) are discussed with the use of adult and male genital photographs. Celypha woodiana (Barrett, 1882) is a new record for Turkey. With this study, the number of species of this genus in Turkey is raised to six.