The fire-adapted flatbug Aradus laeviusculus Reuter (Heteroptera, Aradidae) rediscovered in Finland (North Karelia, Koli National Park)

We report the finding of the flatbug Aradus laeviusculus Reuter, 1875 in the Koli National Park (North Karelia, Finland). One mature female was caught by using a window trap during the period 22.VII.-24.VIII.1996 in a slash-and burning plot that had been burned earlier in summer 1996. A. laeviusculus has been listed as extinct in Finland, the last previous record being from the year 1949 (Lammi, South Finland).

A new species of Ptinella Motschulsky from Fennoscandia (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae)

Ptinella johnsoni sp.n.. collected with car net and window trap in S. Finland and C.Sweden, is described, with illustrations of foreparts and spermatheca. A conclusion regarding the biology of the new species is drawn.

Preliminary louvre-trap hut studies on the egress of Anopheles gambiae Giles, Mansonia uniformis (Theo.) and Culex pipiens fatigans Wied. from untreated huts

The louvre-trap hut was designed to be cheaper and simpler to use than the verandah-trap hut. The eaves are closed, and mosquitoes enter by way of a row of five louvre frames and leave by a window fitted with a window trap. In three trials at Magugu, Tanzania, window traps fitted over one or all louvre frames showed that the efficiency of the louvres in preventing egress was 66–79% for Anopheles gambiae Giles, 51–73% for Mansonia uniformis (Theo.) and 74–78% for Culex pipiens fatigans Wied. Egress through the louvres of A. gambiae is only slightly more, and of M. uniformis much less, than through the eaves of a verandah-trap hut.

A verandah-trap hut for studying the house-frequenting habits of mosquitos and for assessing insecticides. I.—A description of the verandah-trap hut and of studies on the egress of Anopheles gambiae Giles and Mansonia uniformis (Theo.) from an untreated Hut

A description is given of a verandah-trap hut designed to assess the egress and survival of mosquitos escaping through the eaves of the type of window-trap hut used in insecticide testing in East Africa.Fifty-one per cent. of females of Anopheles gambiae Giles in all gonotrophic stages and 19 per cent. of those recently fed left the hut each night, with 15 and 30 per cent., respectively, of the egress occurring through the eaves.Ninety per cent of females of Mansonia uniformis (Theo.) in all gonotrophic stages and 91 per cent. of those recently fed left the hut each night, with 69 and 66 per cent., respectively, of the egress occurring through the eaves.It was concluded that, owing to the high proportion of individuals of M. uniformis that leaves by the eaves, the verandah-trap hut was of a more suitable design for studying the house-frequenting habits of this species, and of other species with similar habits, than the simple window-trap hut.