The pupal development of Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) was studied at various combinations of thermo-hygrometric soil conditions (temperatures of 16, 18, and 20 degrees C and soil water content levels of 0.37, 0.56, and 0.73 m3 water per cubic meter of dry soil) representative of southeastern Canada. Survivorship and development duration of A. tumida pupae, as well as sex ratio and life span of emerging adults, were assessed. Assays were conducted in growth chambers on an average of 50 third-instar larvae per thermo-hygrometric combination. Results show that survivorship of pupae decreased with lower temperature and higher soil water content. Pupal development time shortened as temperature increased (69-78 d at 16 degrees C, 47-54 d at 18 degrees C, and 36-39 d at 20 degrees C), but was longer in dryer soil. Optimal soil water content for pupal development was 0.56 m3 water per cubic meter of soil. We estimated that the minimum development temperature for pupae is between 10.2 and 13.2 degrees C, depending on soil water content. The sex ratio of emerging adults was influenced by soil water content. We measured one female to one male for dry and intermediately wet soils and three females to one male for wet soils. Higher soil water content reduced the life span of emerging adults by half. This study contributes to a better understanding of A. tumida population dynamics in eastern Canada.

The small hive beetle (SHB), Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is a non-native pest of honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae)) newly introduced to Canada. The effectiveness of three in-hive traps was tested in springtime in West-Montérégie (southern Québec, Canada) and in late summer in Essex County (southern Ontario, Canada): AJ’s Beetle Eater™ (AJ’s Beetle Eater), Beetle Barn™ (Rossmann Apiaries), and Hood™ trap (Brushy Mountain Bee Farm). Traps were placed in the brood chamber of 12 colonies in West-Montérégie, and in 48 colonies in the top honey super in Essex County. In-hive traps were effective in reducing SHB populations without compromising the bee population or colony weight gain. In West-Montérégie, the Beetle Barn™ was the most effective trap during the first week, when SHB populations were high. It was less effective when honey bees sealed trap openings with propolis. In Essex County, the AJ’s Beetle Eater™ was the most effective throughout the trial. There was no difference in efficacy between the various solutions used in the Hood™ trap (mineral oil versus mineral oil and apple cider vinegar).

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide the geologist with a powerful tool, when used in concert with statistical and geostatistical analysis, for archiving, manipulating, analysing and visualizing geochemical data. This paper uses geochemical (Zn, Cu) data obtained from various media (rock, lake sediments, till, soil and humus) over the Swayze greenstone belt in northern Ontario, to explore methods for analysing and visualizing geochemical data with a focus to mineral exploration applications.The behaviour of Zn and Cu in both bedrock and the surficial environment is studied using statistical and geostatistical techniques. Interpretation and uses of traditional statistics and dot plots are contrasted with interpolated geochemical maps as well as red-green-blue (RGB) ternary maps. Techniques for multimedia comparison and geochemical anomaly detection and screening are presented. The processing methods presented in this paper can be utilized and adapted by other geologists for exploring their own geochemical data. Many of the algorithms presented here are available within standard GIS software packages, or can be written easily using a GIS macro language. Base metals, Ag, As, Co Ba, Mo, V, Mn Majors, base metals, Cr, Li, Ba, Co, Nb, Mo, V Hg % calcite, % dolomite, % total carbonate Gold grains; kimberlite indicator minerals; total ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic heavy mineral abundance * INAA, Instrumental neutron activation analysis; ICP-ES, Inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry; AR, aqua regia; HF, Hydrofluoric acid; CV-AAS, Cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry.Fig. 3. Location of lake sediment samples.

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Possible sources of various elements and minerals, including gold and: garnet, :found in anomalous concentrations in stream sediments within the Matapedia River drainage basin in south west Gaspesie were investigated in a study of the geomorphology and compositional nature or the upland overburden in an area or about 2400 km2. Investigations on the, geomorphology of the area show that Pleistocene events have had little influence in shaping the observed topography and drainage patterns. The project area is a dissected plateau with summit altitudes from 1300 to 1500 feet (396 to 457 m) above sea level, and floors or the major valleys 'from 150 to 750 feet (46 to 229 m) above sea level. Upland overburden is thin and commonly not thicker than the soil profile. It varies from a diamict with a large proportion of the underlying bedrock and a lesser component or far-travelled material, to a rubble composed almost entirely of weathered underlying bedrock. Major element analyses of the -60 mesh (<250 um) fraction of overburden and trace element analyses of heavy mineral concentrates show changin compositions across the area in approximate correspondence with changes in underlying rock types. The abundance of heavy minerals in overburden is related to the concentration of Shield-derived minerals within the heavy mineral 'fraction. The distribution of heavy mineral abundances in turn rerlects the distribution of bedrock lithologies and suggests that lithological differences may have affected the pattern ofdeposition and erosion of the Laurentide ice sheet as it flowed across the area. Gold analyses within the -60 mesh (<250 um) fraction of overburden show that gold is in very low concentrations. However, gold analyses within heavy mineral concentrates extracted from overburden provide a better estimate of gold variation across the area and outline a number of anomalous zones. High abundances of gold in heavy mineral concentrates from overburden samples collected north of the mouth of the Assemetquagan River and east of the Matapeda River (within a 36 km2 area) support the hypothesis of a local source to the north-northwest for the alluvial gold at the mouth of the Assemetquagan River.