Larval diet prior to and following virus ingestion influences the efficacy of two nucleopolyhedroviruses in whitemarked tussock moth (Orgyia leucostigma) caterpillars

Food quality can influence the performance of immature insects and their interactions with pathogens, such as viruses. In manipulative field studies, virus-free caterpillars of the whitemarked tussock moth (WMTM) (Orgyia leucostigma (Smith)) had higher survival, more female-biased sex ratios, and were larger when feeding on white birch (Betula papyrifera Marshall) versus balsam fir (Abies balsamea (Linnaeus) Miller) or red spruce (Picea rubens Sargent). Subsequent laboratory studies with two nucleopolyhedroviruses, derived from WMTMs and Douglas-fir tussock moths, indicated that caterpillars fed high quality food (i.e., artificial diet) prior to infection had less mortality associated with virus infection than those feeding on lower quality foliage (i.e., birch). In field studies, caterpillars fed birch following infection had significantly lower mortality than those feeding on relatively lower quality foliage (i.e., balsam fir). We postulate that higher nutritional quality in artificial diet relative to birch (previrus-ingestion nutrition) and in birch relative to balsam fir foliage (postvirus-ingestion nutrition) has a positive effect on the ability of tussock moth caterpillars to resist or recover from viral infections, although the specific mechanisms responsible for observed resistance remain unclear.

Body size - realized fecundity relationship of whitemarked tussock moth

Insect body size and fecundity are frequently reported to be correlated (e.g., Miller 1957; Dempster 1971; Beckwith 1976; Hough and Pimental 1978; Gilbert 1984; Carroll and Quiring 1993; Honek 1993; Spurgeon et al. 1995; Tammaru et al. 1996, 2002; Nylin and Gotthard 1998). The main body of evidence for this relationship stems from laboratory experiments where potential fecundity (or total egg production) is most often measured (Tammaru et al. 1996); very little evidence is available from field studies (Sopow and Quiring 1998). Realized fecundity (or total eggs laid) is affected by many extrinsic factors (e.g., Leather 1988; Carroll and Quiring 1993; Tammaru et al. 1996), suggesting that fecundity measures derived from laboratory experimentation may not be useful in nature where abiotic conditions may be highly variable (Carroll and Quiring 1993; Nylin and Gotthard 1998; Sopow and Quiring 1998).

Incidence and impact of Entomophaga aulicae (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales) and a nucleopolyhedrovirus in an outbreak of the whitemarked tussock moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)

In Nova Scotia, the whitemarked tussock moth, Orgyia leucostigma Fitch, periodically erupts in outbreaks that typically last 3–5 years. Population changes during a recent outbreak were monitored by means of aerial defoliation surveys and fall egg-mass surveys that were conducted between 1997 and 2001. Severe defoliation was first recorded on approximately 250 ha in 1996. The defoliated area increased rapidly to hundreds of thousands hectares in 1998, after which it sharply declined to about 4700 ha in 2000 and 0 ha in 2001. The total infested area [>0.01 egg masses per three branches of Abies balsamea L. (Pinaceae)] decreased from about 1.4 million ha in 1997 to about 13 500 ha in 2001. Between 1996 and 2001, the infestation involved a cumulative total of 2.4 million ha, covering most of the province. The collapse of larval populations during 1998 was associated with widespread prevalence of a singly embedded nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) and Entomophaga aulicae (Reichardt in Bail) Humber (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales). Sampling of larval populations in late July and August 1998 revealed a widespread and virtually sympatric occurrence of those pathogens in areas that were under defoliation pressure, with infection levels by each pathogen exceeding 75% in many sample sites. Pathogen impacts on larval survival were studied in 1999 in a persisting pocket of severe infestation in Hants County. Larvae were collected every 3 d from balsam fir branch samples between 17 June and 21 July and reared to determine cause of death. The two pathogens together accounted for at least 50% of cohort mortality, calculated as marginal mortality rates according to Royama (2001). Although cohort mortality due to disease on balsam fir was significantly correlated with between-generation reduction in mean egg-mass density, overall pathogen-induced mortality was not high enough to drive the populations into an endemic state, and a moderate infestation persisted into 2000.