The effects of ozone-exposed sugar maple seedlings on the biological performance and the feeding preference of the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria Hbn.)

1997 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Fortin ◽  
Yves Mauffette ◽  
Paul J. Albert
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
Forest Tent Caterpillar ◽  
Biological Performance ◽  
Tent Caterpillar

The suitability of leaves from different canopy layers for a generalist herbivore (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) foraging on sugar maple

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Fortin ◽  
Yves Mauffette
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Vertical Stratification ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Tree Crown ◽  
Forest Canopies ◽  
Generalist Herbivore ◽  
Biological Performance

Variations of leaf suitability within forest canopies may have important consequences for the biology of phytophagous insects. In this study we examined over 4 consecutive years (1994–1997), the influence of vertical stratification of leaves within a sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) stand on biological performance and feeding preference of Malacosoma disstria Hbn. Each year, 10 healthy sugar maple trees and about 15 understory sugar maple seedlings were selected. Leaves were collected from the lower (3–6 m above ground) and the upper crown (20–25 m above ground) sections of the trees and from seedlings. Sampled leaves were set in Petri dishes for insect rearings in controlled environment. The performance of the insect, especially pupal masses and the number of eggs of adult females, was higher when larvae were fed with leaves from the upper crown section of trees. Results for the feeding preference tests showed that larvae of fourth instars consumed more surface area from leaves collected in the upper crown section of the trees. More total nitrogen found in leaves from the upper tree crown could explain the higher performance of this insect. Our results confirm the importance of the heterogeneity in leaf suitability along a vertical stratification in forests by its influence on biological performance and feeding preference of M. disstria.

Temperature and food quality effects on growth, consumption and post-ingestive utilization ef.ciencies of the forest tent caterpillar Malacosoma disstria (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

2002 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.R. Levesque ◽  
M. Fortin ◽  
Y. Mauffette
Keyword(s):  
Food Quality ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
Forest Tent Caterpillar ◽  
Lower Growth ◽  
Leaf Quality ◽  
Consumption Rates ◽  
Tent Caterpillar

AbstractTemperature and food quality can both influence growth rates, consumption rates, utilization efficiencies and developmental time of herbivorous insects. Gravimetric analyses were conducted during two consecutive years to assess the effects of temperature and food quality on fourth instar larvae of the forest tent caterpillar Malacosoma disstria Hübner. Larvae were reared in the laboratory at three different temperatures (18, 24 and 30°C) and on two types of diet; leaves of sugar maple trees Acer saccharum Marsh. located at the forest edge (sun-exposed leaves) or within the forest interior (shade-exposed leaves). In general, larvae reared at 18°C had lower growth rates and lower consumption rates than larvae reared at the warmer temperatures (24 and 30°C). Moreover, the duration of the instar decreased significantly with increasing temperatures. Type of diet also affected the growth rates and amount of food ingested by larvae but did not affect the duration of the instar. Larvae fed sun-exposed leaves consumed more food and gained higher biomasses. Values of approximate digestibility and efficiency of conversion of ingested food were also higher when larvae were fed sun-exposed leaves. Higher growth rates with increasing temperatures were primarily the result of the shorter stadium duration. The higher growth rates of larvae fed sun-exposed leaves were possibly the result of stimulatory feeding and consequently greater food intake and also a more efficient use of food ingested. This study suggests that the performance of M. disstria caterpillars could be enhanced by warmer temperatures and higher leaf quality.

scholarly journals Growth of Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) after Ice Storm Damage and Forest Tent Caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria Hubner) Defoliation

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 620
Author(s):  
Eddie Bevilacqua ◽  
Ralph D. Nyland ◽  
Tori Smith Namestnik ◽  
Douglas C. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Radial Growth ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
Forest Tent Caterpillar ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Storm Damage ◽  
Growth Reduction ◽  
One Year ◽  
Ice Storm Damage ◽  
Tent Caterpillar

The January 1998 ice storm broke off tree crowns across a wide geographic area in northeastern North America, and forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria Hubner) defoliated some of the same stands in 2004–2007. We assessed the post-event growth responses of upper canopy sugar maples (Acersaccharum Marsh.) in previously thinned and recently rehabilitated even-aged northern hardwood stands in New York State, USA. Cores from ice-storm-damaged trees showed an initial radial growth reduction, a recovery after one year, and an increase to or above pre-storm levels after three years. A later forest tent caterpillar defoliation in the same stand caused a second reduction of growth, and another recovery after one year. We observed greater post-storm radial growth on trees released by a post-ice storm rehabilitation treatment than in the untreated control, with growth exceeding pre-storm rates. Cores from another site thinned 38 years earlier and impacted only by the forest tent caterpillar showed a more moderate growth reduction, and a prompt but smaller post-defoliation growth response than among trees affected by both the ice storm and defoliation. Findings reflect the potential for growth of upper canopy sugar maple trees to recover after a single or two closely occurring crown disturbances, and provide guidance to managers who must decide about removing or continuing to manage stands after similar kinds of ice storm damage or defoliation.

Prevalence and biology of Furia gastropachae (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales) in populations of forest tent caterpillar (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

2003 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie J. Filotas ◽  
Ann E. Hajek ◽  
Richard A. Humber
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Pieris Rapae ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Danaus Plexippus ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
Forest Tent Caterpillar ◽  
Resting Spore ◽  
Tent Caterpillar ◽  
Marked Tendency

AbstractFuria gastropachaecomb. nov. (= Furia crustosa MacLeod et Tyrrell) has long been associated with declines in populations of the forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria Hübner; however, its prevalence and impact on host populations have never been documented. We clarify the nomenclature for this species, which has previously been called F. crustosa, and describe the morphology of F. gastropachae isolates from Maryland and New York. Epizootics of F. gastropachae were studied in M. disstria populations in New York and Maryland, United States of America. Prevalence (mean ± SE) of F. gastropachae in late fifth instar larvae in New York was 25.6 ± 7.8% compared with 22.2 ± 11.3% infection by virus and 23.3 ± 8.4% parasitism. In Maryland, F. gastropachae was not found in early instars and its incidence in fourth and fifth instars was 14.5 ± 7.3 and 21.6 ± 17.6%, respectively. Dipteran parasitoids were also important natural enemies with 38.3 ± 3.0 and 17.9 ± 1.4% parasitism in fourth and fifth instars, respectively. Virus was found in fewer than 5% of larvae collected. Furia gastropachae showed a marked tendency toward resting spore production in infected larvae, with 100% of larvae collected in New York and >80% of larvae collected in Maryland producing resting spores, either alone or in combination with conidia. The appearance of cadavers of larvae dying from fungal and viral infections was similar. Of 13 species of Lepidoptera exposed to F. gastropachae conidia in host-range bioassays, only 3.3% of Danaus plexippus (L.) (Lepidoptera: Danaidae), 5.6% of Pieris rapae (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), and 3.7% of Manduca sexta (L.) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) were successfully infected by this fungus.

The Light Reactions of Larvae of the Tent Caterpillars, Malacosoma disstria Hbn., M. americanum (Fab.), and M. pluviale (Dyar). (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

1953 ◽  
Vol 85 (8) ◽  
pp. 297-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Sullivan ◽  
W. G. Wellington
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Deciduous Trees ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Forest Tent Caterpillar ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Larval Behaviour ◽  
Tent Caterpillars ◽  
Tent Caterpillar

The forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria Hbn., and the eastern and western tent caterpillars, M. americanum (Fab.) and M. pluviale (Dyar), are common pests of several species of deciduous trees in Canada. All are colonial during the larval stage, but M. disstria differs from the others in one respect: it does not construct a communal tent. This difference in habit merits special consideration in any comparative study of larval behaviour, particularly in one concerned with the effects of physical factors upon the insects, since a tent modifies the effects of the physical environment considerably. Recently, a series of such studies was carried out, and one part of the work consisted of laboratory and field observations on the light reactions of larvae. The results obtained have raised a number of new questions which unfortunately cannot be answered now, hecause two of the species have been difficult to obtain in quantity since 1950. Nevertheless, the findings are presented here without additional delay, since they are of general interest, and other workers may wish to use them.

Identification and behavioral assays of the trail pheromone of the forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria Hübner (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1511-1515 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Fitzgerald ◽  
F. X. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Trail Pheromone ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
Forest Tent Caterpillar ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Malacosoma Americanum ◽  
Eastern Tent Caterpillar ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
True Threshold ◽  
Behavioral Assays ◽  
Tent Caterpillar

Behavioral assays show that the steroid 5β-cholestan-3-one, isolated from the abdomen of the larva of the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria), constitutes the chemical basis of trail following in this insect. Caterpillars follow artificial trails prepared from solvent dilutions of the compound at rates as low as 10−11 g∙mm−11 of trail, though the true threshold sensitivity is likely to be one or two orders of magnitude lower than this. Fourth-instar caterpillars store an average of 58 ng of the pheromone. Field and laboratory studies indicate that the compound is fully competitive with their authentic trails. The caterpillars are highly sensitive to differences in the concentration of the pheromone, preferring stronger trails to weaker trails. The caterpillars also respond to 5β-cholestane-3,24-dione, a chemical not found in M. disstria but known to be a component of the trail pheromone of the eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum.

CO2 and O3 effects on host plant preferences of the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria)

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 588-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jep Agrell ◽  
Brian Kopper ◽  
Evan P. McDonald ◽  
Richard L. Lindroth
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
Forest Tent Caterpillar ◽  
Tent Caterpillar

INFECTION AND MORTALITY OF SPRUCE BUDWORM, CHORISTONEURA FUMIFERANA, AND FOREST TENT CATERPILLAR, MALACOSOMA DISSTRIA, CAUSED BY NUCLEAR AND CYTOPLASMIC POLYHEDROSIS VIRUSES

1969 ◽  
Vol 101 (12) ◽  
pp. 1269-1285 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. T. Bird
Keyword(s):  
Larval Development ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
Forest Tent Caterpillar ◽  
Cytoplasmic Polyhedrosis Virus ◽  
Polyhedrosis Virus ◽  
Nuclear Polyhedrosis ◽  
Tent Caterpillar

AbstractCytoplasmic polyhedrosis viruses are, in general, more infectious to spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), and forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria (Hübner), than the nuclear polyhedrosis viruses which affect these insects. The cytoplasmic polyhedrosis viruses interfere with and retard development of the nuclear polyhedrosis viruses.Larvae of both insects, as they grow older, develop resistance to both viruses. Resistance develops more rapidly and to a greater degree against the nuclear polyhedrosis than against the cytoplasmic polyhedrosis viruses.The nuclear polyhedrosis viruses are more lethal than the cytoplasmic polyhedrosis viruses, and all larvae infected with the nuclear polyhedrosis viruses die except those infected so late in larval development that they are able to pupate. Most young larvae infected with the cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus die or are seriously affected, but infection has progressively less effect as the larvae mature.

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