HOST FOLIAGE IN THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF FOREST SITES IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA TO OUTBREAKS OF THE DOUGLAS-FIR TUSSOCK MOTH, ORGYIA PSEUDOTSUGATA (LEPIDOPTERA: LYMANTRIIDAE)

1981 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. Mason

AbstractHost foliage was evaluated for nonpreference and antibiosis by field rearing Douglas-fir tussock moth larvae, Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDunnough), (instars 2–6) at typical outbreak and non-outbreak forest sites in central California. Nonpreference was evaluated by comparing frass production and antibiosis by comparing survival, pupation, and fecundity on the different sites. Typical outbreak sites had a lower site index and higher plant moisture stress than typical non-outbreak sites. Production of frass for all crown levels collectively was not significantly different between sites, although more frass was produced in the tops of trees on outbreak sites. Survival and pupation were also not significantly different between sites, but egg production was 28% higher on outbreak sites than non-outbreak sites. If differences in foliage quality did exist between sites, they did not affect the tussock moth enough to explain observed differences in population numbers.

1980 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Luck ◽  
Donald L. Dahlsten

AbstractThe distribution of Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata (McD.), cocoons was studied within and between the crowns of white fir, Abies concolor ((Gord. and Glend.) Lindl.), at six locations in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. The within tree, between tree, and between plot distribution of cocoons in the crown, categorized by sex, mortality (including parasitization), and stage (larva or pupa) were analyzed. Only cocoons containing female pupae varied in their distribution within the tree and they were concentrated in the bottom third of the live crown but their densities at any one level bore little relation to those in the other levels within the crown. Cocoon density varied significantly between plots and between trees within plots. Total parasitism did not vary significantly between plots. The variable within tree distribution of cocoons containing female pupae and their increased percentage parasitism relative to those containing male pupae, suggested that the live crown should be stratified. A sample unit consisting of two branches selected from the midpoint of each of the three crown levels (total: 6 branches) sampled approximately 5% of the live crown of white fir. The relation between the number of sample trees and mean cocoon density at three levels of precision is provided.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1065
Author(s):  
Stacey Rice-Marshall ◽  
Stephen P. Cook ◽  
John Randall

The use of biochar as a soil amendment in forest ecosystems can be beneficial in the restoration of degraded soils. Forest insects such as the Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDonnough) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), may be exposed to biochar when the material is applied. Two experiments were conducted using biochar either (1) applied to the surface of the diet at three rates (0, 5, and 10 mg) or (2) incorporated into synthetic diet at four rates (0, 10, 20, and 40% volume/volume). The objective of both experiments was to determine if biochar on the surface or incorporated into a synthetic diet affected development and survival of O. pseudotsugata larvae. In both experiments, there was a significant decrease in estimated time to larval mortality in all biochar treatments compared to untreated controls. In the surface-applied biochar experiment, there was a significant difference in larval weight gain at day 12 between the control and 10 mg biochar treatments. In the experiment with biochar incorporated into the diet, mean larval weight at day 12 was highest in the low (10%) biochar treatment compared to all other treatments, although weight gain was only significantly different between the low- and high-concentration (40%) biochar treatments. Our results suggest that larvae, feeding on a low amount of biochar in the synthetic diet, may respond by engaging in compensatory feeding behavior. Fewer surviving larvae in the biochar treatment groups may contribute to the lack of significance found in the comparison of weight gain at day 24 in each experiment.


1984 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 1041-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Shepherd ◽  
I. S. Otvos ◽  
R. J. Chorney

AbstractA sequential egg-mass sample system for Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata McDunnough (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), was designed, based on visual scanning of the lower branches of Douglas-fir trees, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco. A branch was removed from each quadrant from the upper, middle and lower crown level, and from the lowest whorl of a total of 59 non-defoliated trees in 10 areas. No consistent trend in egg-mass density per branch could be found between crown levels and no level proved superior as a representative of the tree. Therefore, the lower whorl of branches was selected for survey purposes because of sampling efficiency. Sample stop lines were determined from egg-mass density and variability data collected on 55 sites and subsequent defoliation estimates were related to these densities. The system is designed as an early detection tool to be used only in non-defoliated stands at the incipient stage of an impending outbreak.


1979 ◽  
Vol 111 (10) ◽  
pp. 1145-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline L. Robertson ◽  
Lucille M. Boelter

AbstractThe toxicities of 14 insecticides to selected larval stages of the Douglas-fir tussock moth were determined with a laboratory spray chamber. The toxicities of 10 were also determined in feeding bioassays. Younger instars were, in general, more susceptible to the toxicants. Significant differences in population response from 1973 to 1977 precluded a rigid interpretation of relative toxicity values in relation to the standard for comparison, DDT. Spray volume, formulation, and the presence of rhodamine B dye significantly affected toxicities of two of the materials, carbaryl and trichlorfon. The degree of exposure of larvae to bioethanomethrin and carbaryl significantly affected mortality.


1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (12) ◽  
pp. 1632-1640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Fogel ◽  
Kermit Cromack Jr.

Linear regression models were developed for Douglas fir needle, female cone, branch, and bark decomposition in seven stands representing four mature vegetation types in western Oregon. Rate constants (k) for annual weight loss of needles ranged from 0.22 to 0.31 year−1, from 0.047 to 0.083 year−1 for cones, from 0.059 to 0.089 year−1 for branches, and from 0.005 to 0.040 year−1 for bark. The decomposition constant (k) of needles had a negative linear correlation (P < 0.01) with maximum plant moisture stress and temperature growth index of the seven stands. In comparing substrate quality of needle and woody litter components, k was more closely correlated with lignin content than with C:N ratio.


1983 ◽  
Vol 115 (6) ◽  
pp. 663-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy C. Beckwith

AbstractMortality of neonatal Douglas-fir tussock moth larvae varied from 0% to 100% depending on the rearing temperature and duration of food deprivation. Lower temperatures apparently favor larval survival under starvation conditions. For each period of food deprivation, mortality occurs earlier as the temperature increases; this shift to earlier mortality was significant at P <.01. Some implications are discussed.


1974 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 1171-1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard R. Mason

AbstractChanges in population density were evaluated over an outbreak cycle of the Douglas-fir tussock moth. Growth rate of populations was independent of larval density in the first year, but thereafter became a reciprocal function of density, terminated by complete population collapse at the end of the third year. Through correlation analyses, it was found that density of small larvae accounted for a large proportion of the change in population density between years. This suggests that the local infestations developed largely from resident populations of at least 2 years and not from spread of early instar larvae during the outbreak.


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