Abstract
Effects of various single and two species diets on the performance of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar (L.)) were studied when this insect was reared from hatch to population on intact host trees in the field. The tree species used for this study were red oak (Quercus rubra L.), white oak (Q. alba L.), bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata Michaux), and trembling aspen (P. tremuloides Michaux). These are commonly available host trees in the Lake States region. The study spanned two years and was performed at two different field sites in central Michigan. Conclusions drawn from this study include: (1) Large differences in gypsy moth growth and survival can occur even among diet sequences composed of favorable host species. (2) Larvae that spent their first two weeks feeding on red oak performed better during this time period than larvae on all other host species in terms of mean weight, mean relative growth rate (RGR), and mean level of larval development, while larvae on a first host of bigtooth aspen were ranked lowest in terms of mean weight, RGR, and level of larval development. (3) Combination diets do not seem to be inherently better or worse than diets composed of only a single species; rather, insect performance was affected by the types of host species eaten and the time during larval development that these host species were consumed instead of whether larvae ate single species diets or mixed species diets. (4) In diets composed of two host species, measures of gypsy moth performance are affected to different extents in the latter part of the season by the two different hosts; larval weights and development rates show continued effects of the first host fed upon while RGRs, mortality, and pupal weights are affected strongly by the second host type eaten. (5) Of the diets investigated in this study, early feeding on red oak followed by later feeding on an aspen, particularly trembling aspen, is most beneficial to insects in terms of attaining high levels of performance throughout their lives.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Ahmad S (1983) Mixed-function oxidase activity in a generalist herbivore in relation to its biology, food plants, and feeding history. Ecology 64: 235–243
Ahmad S, Forgash AJ (1973) NADPH oxidation by microsomal preparations of gypsy moth larval tissues. Insect Biochem 3: 263–273
Ahmad S, Forgash AJ (1975) NADPH-cytochrome-c-reductase: changes in specific activity in gypsy moth larvae. J Insect Physiol 21: 85–88
Allen JC (1976) A modified sine wave method for calculating degree days. Environ Entomol 5: 388–396
Appel HM, Martin MM (1992) Significance of metabolic load in the evolution of host specificity of Manduca sexta. Ecology 73: 216–228
Barbosa P (1978a) Distribution of an endemic larval gypsy moth population among various tree species. Environ Entomol 7: 526–527
Barbosa P (1978b) Host plant exploitation by the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. Ent Exp Appl 24: 28–37
Barbosa P, Greenblatt J (1979) Suitability, digestibility and assimilation of various host plants of the gypsy moth Lymantria dispar L. Oecologia 43: 111–119
Barbosa P, Greenblatt J, Withers W, Cranshaw W, Harrington EA (1979) Host-plant preferences and their induction in larvae of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. Ent Exp Appl 26: 180–188
Barbosa P, Waldvogel M, Martinat P, Douglass LW (1983) Developmental and reproductive performance of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), on selected hosts common to mid-Atlantic and southern forests. Environ Entomol 12: 1858–1862
Barbosa P, Martinat P, Waldvogel M (1986) Development, fecundity and survival of the herbivore Lymantria dispar and the number of plant species in its diet. Ecol Ent 11: 1–6
Barnes BV (1969) Natural variation and delineation of clones of Populus tremuloides and P. grandidentata in northern lower Michigan. Silvae Genet 18: 130–142
Beach RM, Todd JW (1988) Foliage consumption and developmental parameters of the soybean looper and the velvetbean caterpillar (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) reared on susceptible and resistant soybean genotypes. J Econ Entomol 81: 310–316
Beckwith RC (1976) Influence of host foliage on the Douglas-fir tussock moth. Environ Entomol 5: 73–77
Benke GM, Wilkinson CF (1971) In vitro microsomal epoxidase activity and susceptibility to carbaryl and carbaryl-piperonyl butoxide combinations in house crickets of different age and sex. J Econ Entomol 64: 1032–1034
Brattsten LB (1979) Ecological significance of mixed-function oxidations. Drug Metabol Rev 10: 35–58
Campbell RW (1961) Population dynamics of the gypsy moth. PhD dissertation. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 172 p
Capinera JL, Barbosa P (1976) Dispersal of first-instar gypsy moth larvae in relation to population quality. Oecologia 26: 53–64
Chilcote CA (1990) The effects of host phenology and site interactions on the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. PhD dissertation. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 167 p
Chilcote CA, Witter JA, Montgomery ME, Stoyenoff JL (1992) Intra- and interclonal variation in gypsy moth larval performance on bigtooth and trembling aspen. Can J For Res 22: 1676–1683
Crawley MJ, Akhteruzzaman (1988) Individual variation in the phenology of oak trees and its consequences for herbivorous insects. Functional Ecol 2: 409–415
Doane CC, Leonard DE (1975) Orientation and dispersal of late-stage larvae of Porthetria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae). Can Entomol 107: 1333–1338
Drooz AT (1965) Some relationships between host, egg potential and pupal weight of the elm spanworm, Ennomos subsignarius (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Ann Entomol Soc Amer 58: 243–245
Drooz AT (1970) The elm spanworm (Lepidoptera: Geometridae): how several natural diets affect its biology. Ann Entomol Soc Amer 63: 391–397
Feeny P (1970) Seasonal changes in oak leaf tannins and nutrients as a cause of spring feeding by winter moth caterpillars. Ecology 51: 565–581
Feeny P (1976) Plant apparency and chemical defense. In: Wallace JW, Mansell RL (eds) Recent advances in phytochemistry 10. Plenum Press, New York, pp 1–40
Feeny P, Blau WS, Kareiva PM (1985) Larval growth and survivorship of the black swallowtail butterfly in central New York. Ecol Monogr 55: 167–187
Forgash AJ, Ahmad S (1974) Demethylation and hydroxylation by gut-microsomes of gypsy moth larvae. Int J Biochem 5: 11–15
Garcia EF (1988) Spring and summer hosts for Pieris rapae in southern Spain with special attention to Capparis spinosa. Ent Exp Appl 48: 173–178
Grabstein EM, Scriber JM (1982) Host-plant utilization by Hyalophora cecropia as affected by prior feeding experience. Ent Exp Appl 32: 262–268
Greenblatt JA, Calvert WH, Barbosa P (1978) Larval feeding preferences and inducibility in the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea. Ann Entomol Soc Am 71: 605–606
Hajek AE (1989) Effects of transferring gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, larvae between artificial diet and Quercus rubra foliage. Ent Exp Appl 51: 141–148
Hanson FE (1976) Comparative studies on induction of food choice preferences in lepidopterous larvae. In: Jermy T (ed) The host-plant in relation to insect behavior and reproduction. Symp Biol Hung 16: 71–77
Hanson FE (1983) The behavioral and neurophysiological basis of food plant selection by lepidopterous larvae. In: Ahmad S (ed) Herbivorous insects: host-seeking behavior and mechanisms. Academic Press, New York, pp 3–23
Holliday NJ (1977) Population ecology of winter moth (Operophtera brumata) on apple in relation to larval dispersal and time of budburst. J Appl Ecol 14: 803–813
Hough JA, Pimentel D (1978) Influences of host foliage on development, survival, and fecundity of the gypsy moth. Environ Entomol 7: 97–102
Ishaaya I, Swirski E (1976) Trehalase, invertase and amylase activities in the black scale, Saissetia oleae and their relation to host adaptability. J Insect Physiol 22: 1025–1029
Jermy T, Hanson FE, Dethier VG (1968) Induction of specific food preference in lepidopterous larvae. Ent Exp Appl 11: 211–230
Karowe DN (1989) Facultative monophagy as a consequence of prior feeding experience: behavioral and physiological specialization in Colias philodice larvae. Oecologia 78: 106–111
Keating ST, Yendol WG (1987) Influence of selected host plants on gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) larval mortality caused by a baculovirus. Environ Entomol 16: 459–462
Keating ST, Yendol WG, Schultz JC (1988) Relationship between susceptibility of gypsy moth larvae (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) to a baculovirus and host plant foliage constituents. Environ Entomol 17: 952–958
Keating ST, Hunter MD, Schultz JC (1990) Leaf phenolic inhibition of gypsy moth nuclear polyhedrosis virus: role of polyhedral inclusion body aggregation. J Chem Ecol 16: 1445–1457
Kogan M, Cope D (1974) Feeding and nutrition of insects associated with soybeans. 3. Food intake, utilization, and growth in the soybean looper, Pseudoplusia includens. Ann Entomol Soc Amer 67: 66–72
Koller CN, Leonard DE (1981) Comparison of energy budgets for spruce budworm Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) on balsam fir and white spruce. Oecologia 49: 14–20
Lance DL, Barbosa P (1979) Dispersal of larval Lepidoptera with special reference to forest defoliators. Biologist 61: 90–110
Lance D, Barbosa P (1981) Host tree influences on the dispersal of first instar gypsy moths, Lymantria dispar (L.). Ecol Ent 6: 411–416
Lance D, Barbosa P (1982) Host tree influences on the dispersal of late instar gypsy moths, Lymantria dispar. Oikos 38: 1–7
Larsson S, Ohmart CP (1988) Leaf age and larval performance of the leaf beetle, Paropsis atomaria. Ecol Entomol 13: 19–24
Leonard DE (1967) Silking behavior of the gypsy moth, Porthetria dispar. Can Entomol 99: 1145–1149
Leonard DE (1970) Feeding rhythm in larvae of the gypsy moth. J Econ Entomol 63: 1454–1457
Leonard DE (1981) Bioecology of the gypsy moth. In: Doane CC, McManus MM (eds) The gypsy moth: research toward integrated pest management. Forest Service Tech Bull 1584, USDA, Washington, D.C., pp 8–29
Liebhold AM, Elkinton JS, Wallner WE (1986) Effect of burlap bands on between-tree movement of late-instar gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae). Environ Entomol 15: 373–379
Lindroth RL, Hemming JC (1990) Responses of the gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) to tremulacin, an aspen phenolic glycoside. Environ Entomol 19: 842–847
Lindroth RL, Weisbrod AV (1991) Genetic variation in response of the gypsy moth to aspen phenolic glycosides. Biochem System Ecol 19: 97–103
Lindroth RL, Hsia MTS, Scriber JM (1987) Seasonal patterns in the phytochemistry of three Populus species. Biochem System Ecol 15: 681–686
Mauffette Y, Lechowicz MJ (1984) Differences in the utilization of tree species as larval hosts and pupation sites by the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae). Can Entomol 116: 685–690
Meyer GA, Montgomery ME (1987) Relationships between leaf age and the food quality of cottonwood foliage for the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. Oecologia 72: 527–532
Miller JC, Hanson PE (1989) Laboratory studies on development of gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), larvae on foliage of gymnosperms. Can Entomol 121: 425–429
Miller JC, Hanson PE, Kimberling DN (1991) Development of the gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) on Garry oak and red alder in western North America. Environ Entomol 20: 1097–1101
Mitter C, Futuyma DJ, Schneider JC, Hare JD (1979) Genetic variation and host plant relations in a parthenogenetic moth. Evol 33: 777–790
Neter J, Wasserman W, Kutner MH (1990) Applied linear statistical models. Irvin, Homewood, IL
ODell TM, Butt CA, Bridgeforth AW (1985) Lymantria dispar. In: Singh P, Moore RF (eds) Handbook of insect rearing, vol II. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 355–367
Rafes PM, Gninenko YI (1973) The survival of leaf eating caterpillars (Lepidoptera) as related to their behavior. Entomol Rev 52: 204–211
Raupp MJ, Denno RF (1983) Leaf age as a predictor of herbivore abundance. In: Denno RF, McClure MS (eds) Variable plants and herbivores in natural and managed systems. Academic Press, New York, pp 91–124
Raupp MJ, Warren JH, Sadof CS (1988) Effects of short term phenological changes in leaf suitability on the survivorship, growth, and development of the gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) larvae. Environ Entomol 17: 316–319
Rausher MD (1983) Ecology of host-selection behavior in phytophagous insects. In: Denno RF, McClure MS (eds) Variable plants and herbivores in natural and managed systems. Academic Press, New York, pp 223–257
Redfearn A, Pimm SL (1988) Population variability and polyphagy in herbivorous insect communities. Ecol Monogr 58: 39–55
Roden DB, Surgeoner GA (1991) Survival, development time, and pupal weights of larvae of gypsy moth reared on foliage of common trees of the upper Great Lakes region. North J Appl For 8: 126–128
Rossiter MC (1981) Factors contributing to host range extension in the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. PhD dissertation. State Univ of New York, Stony Brook
Rossiter MC, Schultz JC, Baldwin IT (1988) Relationships among defoliation, red oak phenolics, and gypsy moth growth and reproduction. Ecology 69: 267–277
SAS (1985) SAS user's guide: statistics. SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina
Schoonhoven LM, Meerman J (1978) Metabolic cost of changes in diet and neutralization of allelochemics. Ent Exp Appl 24: 689–693
Schultz JC, Lechowicz MJ (1986) Hostplant, larval age, and feeding behavior influence midgut pH in the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar). Oecologia 71: 133–137
Schweitzer DF (1979) Effects of foliage age on body weight and survival of larvae of the tríbe Lithophanini (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Oikos 32: 403–408
Scriber JM (1979) The effects of sequentially switching foodplants upon biomass and nitrogen utilization by polyphagous and stenophagous Papilio larvae. Ent Exp Appl 25: 203–215
Scriber JM (1981) Sequential diets, metabolic costs, and growth of Spodoptera eridania (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) feeding upon dill, lima bean, and cabbage. Oecologia 51: 175–180
Scriber JM (1982) The behavior and nutritional physiology of southern armyworm larvae as a function of plant species consumed in earlier instars. Ent Exp Appl 31: 359–369
Scriber JM, Feeny P (1979) Growth of herbivorous caterpillars in relation to feeding specialization and to the growth form of their host plants. Ecology 60: 829–850
Sheehan KA (1992) User's guide for GMPHEN: gypsy moth phenology model. USDA-USFS, NEFES, Tech Rept NE-158
Sheppard CA, Friedman S (1990) Influence of host plant, foliar phenology and larval dietary history on Lymantria dispar larval nutritional indices. Ent Exp Appl 55: 247–255
Soo Hoo CF, Fraenkel G (1966) The consumption, digestion, and utilization of food plants by a polyphagous insect, Prodenia eridania (Cramer). J Insect Physiol 12: 711–730
Ticehurst M, Yendol W (1989) Distribution and abundance of early instar gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) in forests during day and night. Environ Entomol 18: 459–464
Waldbauer GP (1964) The consumption, digestion, and utilization of Solanaceous and non-Solanaceous plants by larvae of the tobacco hornworm, Protoparce sexta (Johan.) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Ent Exp Appl 7: 253–269
Wilkinson CF, Brattsten LB (1972) Microsomal drug metabolizing enzymes in insects. Drug Metab Rev 1: 153–228
Yamamoto RT (1974) Induction of hostplant specificity in the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta. J Insect Physiol 20: 641–650
Yu SJ (1982) Induction of microsomal oxidases by host-plants in the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith). Pesticide Biochem Physiol 17: 59–67
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stoyenoff, J.L., Witter, J.A., Montgomery, M.E. et al. Effects of host switching on gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar (L.)) under field conditions. Oecologia 97, 143–157 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00323144
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00323144