The diapause biology of the European corn borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis (Ht~bn.), is described based on natural and controlled environment studies of feral and lab-reared ECB's in North Carolina (NC). The diapause response is described as a function of photophase (h of light/day) as well as a function of larval age (instar) at onset of diapause-inducing conditions. A critical photophase of 14.4 h and a critical mean larval instar of 3.3 is found in the lab studies and supported by three years of insectary studies. Seven years of black light trapping of ECB moths in Goldsboro, NC, revealed the likelihood of up to four moth flights/year.Information about the diapause biology of this insect is used to explain both the number of flights and the relative magnitude of the final moth flights. On average, the majority of ECB lineages pass through three generations/year with early maturing ECB's producing a significant and predictable fourth generation. The timing and magnitude of the fourth flight can be partly explained on the basis of the critical photophase and the timing and age structure of previous ECB generations. In most years, the fourth flight is smaller than the third due to the majority of the fourth generation's predisposition towards diapause. However, in at least one case (1977), the fourth flight was unusually large and could be predicted by slight temporal shifts in the previous three flights resulting in the majority of the fourth generation larvae averting diapause. The value of the ECB-diapause interaction as a model system for the explanation and prediction of dynamic phenological events is discussed.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

A total of 281 insects in four families of 2 orders: Diptera (Muscidae, Syrphidae, Calliphoridae) and Hymenoptera (Adidae), and 2 ixodids were collected from the mona monkey, Cercipithecus mona. The major species was the house fly, Musca domestica (72%). The entomofauna from the Giant cane Rat, Thyronomys swinderianus carcass, totalled 257 in 3 families of 2 orders: Diptera (Muscidae, Syrphidae) and Hymenoptera (Formicidae). The dominant species was M. domestica (76%). The highest insect population was 414, recorded from the carcass of the Forest Genet, Genetta poensis; it consisted of 5 families in 3 orders: Diptera (Muscidae, Bombyliidae, Syrphidae), Coleoptera (Cleridae) and Hemiptera (Reduviidae). The order Diptera was dominant on all carcasses and the most prominent dipteran M. domestica was collected continuously, while the appearance of the other species was sporadic. Complete decomposition period was shortest (11 days) in the Giant cane Rat and longest (44 days) in the forest genet; the period in the mona monkey was 14 days. Successional occurrence of these arthropods was not discernible. These results are compared to those from other studies.