MORTALITY OF LARVAE IN STOCKED COHORTS OF THE DOUGLAS-FIR TUSSOCK MOTH, ORGYIA PSEUDOTSUGATA (LEPIDOPTERA: LYMANTRIIDAE)
AbstractCohorts of instar I larvae of the Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata, were stocked on branches of white fir, Abies concolor. Branches were either exposed naturally over drop-trays or protected with cages of nylon netting. Only 8.7% of the larvae in exposed cohorts survived to pupate, compared with 68.0% survival in caged cohorts where dispersal and predation were prevented. Losses from the exposed cohorts were caused mostly by arthropod predation, disappearance, and non-replaced dispersal. Disappearance of early larvae was attributed primarily to predation by spiders and insects while disappearance of late larvae was suspected to be due mostly to bird predation. In an analysis of k-values, actual or suspected predation accounted for 47.2% and dispersal 40.5% of the total loss.