Two thrips species were identified from cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) cultivations in Sri Lanka. They are the cardamom leaf thrips, Panchaetothrips indicus Bagnall (1912) and the cardamom thrips, Sciothrips cardamomi (Ramakrishna, 1935). Sciothrips cardamomi collected from Nuwara Eliya district is emerging as a devastating pest of cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) in the district. Both adults and larvae damage panicles, flowers and capsules of cardamom. Injury to panicles leads to stunted growth, and damaged flowers fall prematurely. Affected tender capsules show scabby growth on the surface as they mature and hence have no market value. To manage this problem and as an immediate control measure, damage causing thrips were identified, damage estimated and seven new generation insecticides were screened at Kabragala Estate in Elamulla, Nuwara Eliya.The estimated direct pod damage was 91.7 ± 3.2%. Severely damaged pods showed significantly lower pod weight than undamaged pods. No significant difference in the pod weight was observed between undamaged pods and pods with less than 2/3 of scabby area. The insecticides Actara (thiamethoxam), Match (lufenuron), Regent (fipronil) and Calypso (thiacloprid) successfully reduced the pod damage while Matric (chromafenozide), Mimic (tebufenozide) and Mospilan (acetamiprid) did not reduce the damage percentage. But higher yields of 335.54 and 304.98 g/bush/harvest were obtained from the plots treated with Actara or Match respectively, in comparison to all other treatments. Therefore, either Actara or Match could be recommended for the management of S. cardamomi in cardamom plantations.

In Manitoba, Canada, commercial soybeans and two types of field beans, navy and pinto, were sampled for plant bugs. At the centre and margins of 36 fields, sweep net and tap tray samples were taken weekly. In all three crops, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Hemiptera: Miridae) comprised > 78% and Adelphocoris lineolatus (Goeze) (Hemiptera: Miridae) < 10% of adult mirids. Species composition varied among years but not among crops. For Lygus Hahn, nymphs were 46% of the catch in trays and 23% in sweeps, but total Lygus catch in trays was > 2% of that in sweeps. Catch/ sample effort was similar at field centres and margins for both Lygus adults and nymphs. Lygus lineolaris reproduced and developed in all three crops. In field beans, Lygus adults were first collected in late vegetative and early pod set stages and late instar nymphs and adults were present from pod elongation until maturityresults consistent with immigration of first summer generation reproductive adults and development of the second generation in the crops. There was evidence of late season immigration of Lygus into all crops. There was no loss of seed quantity attributable to mirids in any of the crops; in field beans there was no evidence that mirids reduced seed quality.

The striped flea beetle, Phyllotreta striolata (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is a major pest of canola (Brassica Linnaeus, Brassicaceae) on the Canadian prairies. The previously published methods to rear striped flea beetles under laboratory conditions are not sufficient to maintain laboratory colonies over a sustained period of time. Here, we describe two methods to rear striped flea beetles in the laboratory. The first method produces both immature stages and adult flea beetles using Napa cabbage (Brassica napa subsp. pekinensis (Loureiro) Hanelt) and canola as food sources. Beetles reared using this method produced an average of 9.7 ± 4.5 eggs, had a juvenile development period of between 26 and 33 days, and had an adult longevity between 17 and 55 days. Between 62% and 90% of the colony-reared eggs resulted in the successful development to an adult beetle. The second method uses canola as the only host, and facilitates easy access to high quantities of adult beetles. This method resulted in a six-fold to nine-fold increase in adult numbers per generation. Developmental time from adult to adult ranged from 25 to 30 days. Our two methods facilitated rearing striped flea beetles for several generations in the laboratory with or without hibernation.

Due to its restricted occurrence and existing threats, Carmine Shiner (Notropis percobromus) has been listed as threatened under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. Little is known about Carmine Shiner biology, and understanding its diet composition will help inform future conservation actions. Consequently, the aim of this study was to analyze the diet of Carmine Shiner. Fish were caught throughout the open water season using beach seines, and stomach contents were analyzed. Carmine Shiner feed on a variety of terrestrial and aquatic insects. Diets did not differ substantially between year classes, and we observed no clear temporal trends in diet composition.