FACTORS AFFECTING SPRUCE BUDWORM (CHORISTONEURA FUMIFERANA) (CLEM.) MATING AND MATING DISRUPTION WITH PHEROMONE IN THE LABORATORY

1986 ◽  
Vol 118 (8) ◽  
pp. 797-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.M. Ponder ◽  
L.R. Kipp ◽  
C. Bergh ◽  
G.C. Lonergan ◽  
W.D. Seabrook

AbstractFactors influencing spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) mating and mating suppression in an enclosed environment in the laboratory were investigated to develop a quantitative assay suited to statistical analysis. Mating in the absence of the two major components of spruce budworm sex pheromone (control) was not affected by changes in moth population density nor by increasing the experimental duration from 20 to 44 h. The proportions mated increased with an increase in the male:female ratio to 1.5:1 and when the experimental duration was prolonged to 68 h. Using a population density, sex ratio combination of 15:10 (male:female) the proportions of mated females decreased with increasing source concentrations of the two major spruce budworm sex pheromone components (95:5 E/Z-11–14-tetradecenal). This effect was diminished with increases in the population density and with extended test duration. Mating in the presence of pheromone remained lower than controls over all durations tested.

1987 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.J. Sanders ◽  
E.A. Meighen

AbstractFive formulations of the primary sex pheromone components of the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana [Clem.]) were evaluated as lures for monitoring spruce budworm populations: Biolures (Consep Membranes Inc.), Luretape plastic flakes (Hercon, Healthchem Corp.), polyethylene vials (International Pheromone Systems), hollow fibers (Albany International), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pellets. PVC pellets showed significant loss in attractiveness over the required 6-week period. Also, different batches of PVC pellets had very different rates of pheromone release and attraction; the oldest lures, stored for the longest period, were the most attractive. Luretape caught fewer moths than anticipated from the release-rate data and showed wide variation in catch among individual lures. Fibers were inconsistent. Biolures and polyethylene vials showed the lowest decline in attractiveness over time and the lowest variation in catch among individual lures, but their capture rates were higher than necessary.


1986 ◽  
Vol 118 (7) ◽  
pp. 611-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.J. Sanders

AbstractThe efficiency of two sticky-bottomed traps and seven high-capacity, nonsticky traps in catching male spruce budworm [Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)] moths was evaluated in a wind tunnel. The place where the male moths first contacted the trap, the length of time that passed until they entered the trap, and the number remaining in the trap after 5 min were recorded. The most efficient traps were the Pherocon 1 C, a sticky-bottomed trap, and the Multi-Pher and Uni-trap, both nonsticky traps with internal funnel-shaped baffles that prevent moths from escaping. As sticky traps become saturated at relatively low densities they are not suitable for monitoring wide changes in population density. The Multi-Pher and Uni-trap are therefore recommended for monitoring population changes of the spruce budworm, establishing thresholds for management action, and estimating population density.


1985 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Silk ◽  
L. P. S. Kuenen ◽  
G. C. Lonergan

Disruption of mating and of trap capture of spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), has been accomplished in recent years (reviewed in Silk and Kuenen 1984) by disseminating large quantities of the primary components (synthetic) of the female sex pheromone within a forest environment. These components (E)- and (2)-11-tetradecenal (E/Z11-14:Ald) (Sanders and Weatherston 1976) are emitted by virgin female budworm at a 95/5 E/Z ratio (Silk et al. 1980). Unsaturated aldehydes are expensive, tend to polymerize readily (Dunkelblum et al. 1984), and are susceptible to air oxidation and/or photodegradation in the field environment. Analogues, with increased stability and reduced cost, that duplicate the effects of these pheromone components would therefore be of practical value.


2012 ◽  
Vol 144 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Rhainds ◽  
Edward G. Kettela ◽  
Peter J. Silk

AbstractThe Canadian registration in 2007 of Disrupt SBW Micro-Flakes®, a pheromone-based product for control of spruce budworm,Choristoneura fumiferana(Clemens), paved the way for large-scale trials to test the practicality of mating disruption as a commercial pest management strategy. We review results from field and laboratory experiments on pheromone-based mating disruption of spruce budworm conducted from 1974 to 2008. Application of pheromone from the ground or the air consistently reduced the orientation of males toward pheromone sources. Mating disruption also reduced the mating success of caged or tethered females in 15 of 16 field studies where this parameter was recorded, but had only a limited effect on the mating success of feral females. No consistent difference in the density of egg masses in control and treated plots was observed, which has often been attributed to immigration of gravid females into pheromone-treated plots. Laboratory studies suggest that false-trail following is the predominant mechanism underlying mating disruption in spruce budworm. The enhanced mating success of females with increasing population density suggests that mating disruption should target low-density emergent populations during the initial phase of an outbreak. Constraints that may limit the potential of mating disruption as a management tool include (1) difficulties associated with obtaining accurate sampling estimates at low population density to forecast the onset of outbreaks, (2) potential behavioral adaptations by which females enhance their mating success when the atmosphere is treated with pheromone, and (3) long-range dispersal of females by flight.


1988 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.J. Sanders

AbstractAnnual catches of male spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana [Clem.]) in sex pheromone traps over a 21-year period in northwestern Ontario were well correlated with larval population densities in each subsequent year (r2 = 81%). On the basis of the criterion of 3 successive years of increasing catches or a threshold of 50 moths per trap, warning of extensive defoliation could have been given 6 years in advance. In 18 plots in northwestern Ontario and 35 plots distributed throughout the province, coefficients of determination (r2) between catch and population density in the same generation ranged from 40 to 74% in 1982 and 1983, but fell below 23% in 1984 when population densities in many plots were high. Coefficients of determination between catch and population densities in the following generation (eggs or larvae) ranged from 41 to 62%. On the basis of several years of cooperative research, sex pheromone traps are now in operational use in eastern North America for monitoring spruce budworm populations.


1975 ◽  
Vol 107 (9) ◽  
pp. 967-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Sanders

AbstractLaboratory and field experiments indicate that the female spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) pupal stadium requires approximately 122C degree-days above a threshold of 7.2 °C (45°F), the male 124. Emergence time on any given day depends on temperature but is independent of photoperiod. Under field conditions male and female budworm mate only once per 24-h period. In the laboratory under continuous illumination females mate repeatedly and males readily mate a second time within a few hours, but the duration of the second copulation is abnormally long. The probability of multiple matings under field conditions is reduced by the restricted period of sexual activity coupled with the duration of copulation and the lower competitiveness of mated insects. Antennae are essential to the male for successful copulation.


1992 ◽  
Vol 124 (6) ◽  
pp. 1101-1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Fleming ◽  
Kees van Frankenhuyzen

AbstractSingle aerial applications of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) to control infestations of the eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens) have had varied operational success. Double applications are too expensive for general use, but might prove useful if directed to areas where the initial application was unsuccessful. This requires forecasts of the efficacy of the initial application in operational spray blocks within 4–5 days.Data were collected in 30 spray blocks in 1989 in a feasibility study to determine if such forecasts of spray efficacy could be made from the prespray budworm population density, N0, and from the proportion of the population that had ingested a lethal dose Bt within 2 days of application, M. A mathematical model forecasting the postspray budworm population density, NF, was derived from population-dynamic considerations and fitted (r2 = 0.48, p < 0.0001):The proportion of current foliage defoliated, D, depended (r = 0.81) on N0 and on whether the block was sprayed (I = 0) or not (I = 1):Only one measure of defoliation involved M in any statistically significant way. The predicted (from values of N0) proportion of defoliation prevented by Bt application, dD, was weakly (r2 = 0.25, p = 0.002) related to M:The large proportion of the variation in efficacy that remains unexplained by the models involving M limits the operational utility of this approach as it now stands for specific sites. The potential for further development of these models as decision support tools for fairly large spray blocks is discussed in terms of improving the sampling plan and including additional predictor variables.Methods are also presented that reduce bias in calculations of population reduction (Abbott 1925) and foliage protection when data are available from few control and many treatment blocks.


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