EFFECT OF SUBLETHAL INFECTION LEVELS OF NOSEMA SP. ON THE PHEROMONE-MEDIATED BEHAVIOR OF THE WESTERN SPRUCE BUDWORM, CHORISTONEURA OCCIDENTALIS FREEMAN (LEPIDOPTERA: TORTRICIDAE)
AbstractWestern spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman, adult males were observed in a wind tunnel for their response to synthetic sex pheromone and subsequently examined to determine their degree of infection with a microsporidian parasite, Nosema sp. A subsample of C. occidentalis was randomly selected and electroantennograms (EAG) of individual moths were measured for response to pheromone. The Nosema infection level ranged from 0 to 21.8 × 106 spores per milligram and was significantly negatively correlated with the proportion of males wing-fanning, taking off, and flying upwind to contact the pheromone source. The level of Nosema infection and the amplitude of the antennal response (EAG) to pheromone were not significantly related. These results suggest that Nosema affects the response of C. occidentalis males to pheromone in some way other than directly reducing the sensitivity of the antennae. We hypothesize that sublethal infections of Nosema sp. may reduce mating success of the western spruce budworm in field populations.