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Ecological applications of pheromone trapping of Malacosoma disstria and Choristoneura conflictana
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- Author(s) / Creator(s)
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Abstract: The forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria Hubner (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), and large aspen tortrix, Choristoneura conflictana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), are important pests of trembling aspen, Populus tremuloides Michx. (Salicaceae), in western Canada. Populations of both species can be monitored with sex pheromone-baited traps as part of an integrated pest management program. Moths captured in pheromone traps can also be used for ecological Studies. Captured males of each species were examined to test the effect of population density, geographic region, and collection date oil moth quality. Moth quality was assessed on the basis of wing area and level of infection with microsporidian parasites. The level of microsporidian infection of M. disstria was strongly dependent on geographic region but not on population density. Male M. disstria from high-density populations had smaller wings than males from endemic populations. Wing area of male All. disstria decreased throughout the flight period. Neither collection date nor microsporidian infection level affected wing area of male C. conflictana. Collection date also did not affect the level of microsporidian infection of C. conflictana. These data Support pheromone trapping as a tool to detect microsporidian infections and examine their temporal and density-dependent effects on wing size in M. disstria and C. conflictana Populations.
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- Date created
- 2008
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- Type of Item
- Article (Published)
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- License
- © 2008 Cambridge University Press. This version of this article is open access and can be downloaded and shared. The original author(s) and source must be cited.