Publication Details

Year Published

1988

Publication

Oecologia. Vol. 77. no. 1. (1988).:p.44-50.

Abstract

Female eastern spurce budworm larvae, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), inoculated with a medium lethal spore dosage of the microsporidium. Nosema fumiferanae (Thomson) exhibited significant reductions in a consumptive index (CI), nitrogen consumptive index (NCI), relative growth rate (RGR), and gross(ECI) and net(ECD) production efficiencies when compared to microsporidian-free larvae. Diseased larvae also exhibited significant increases in approximate digestibility (AD), N utilization efficiency (NUE), and larval moisture content. Both healthy and diseased insects were reared on 2.5% N and 4.5% N diets. Those on the 2.5% N diet showed significant increases in CI, although NCI was still lower than NCI measured for larvae reared on 4.5% N. NUE was also higher on the 2.5% N diet. Diseased cohorts reared on 2.5% N diets had significantly greater mortality than those reared on 4.5% N diet. Pupal weight and development time of infected individuals did not respond to dietary N concentration. However, healthy insects achieved greater pupal weight in a shorter time on the 4.5% N diet than those on the 2.5% N diet. Mortality of healthy insects was unaffected by dietary N.

Keywords

Citation

Bauer, Leah S.; Nordin, G.L. 1988. Nutritional pyhsiology of the eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana, infected with Nosema fumiferanae, and interactions with dietary nitrogen. Oecologia. Vol. 77. no. 1. (1988).:p.44-50.