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Observations on the feeding behaviour of late-instar larvae of Choristoneura fumiferana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2012

Kees van Frankenhuyzen  and
Sylvain Espinasse
Kees van Frankenhuyzen*
Affiliation:
Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, 1219 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada P6A 2E5
Sylvain Espinasse
Affiliation:
Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, 1219 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada P6A 2E5
*
1 Corresponding author (e-mail: Kees.vanFrankenhuyzen@NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca).
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Abstract

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Laboratory observations revealed that late-instar larvae of the eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) spend most of their time spinning, wandering, and resting; less than 10% is spent feeding. Larvae feed in a discontinuous pattern of short feeding bouts separated by much longer intervals of nonfeeding activity. Over a 2 h observation period, feeding bouts averaged 2.2 min and were separated by 17.4 min intervals for 4th-instar larvae as compared to 3.3 min bouts separated by 33.4 min intervals for 5th-instar larvae. The duration of a feeding bout was positively correlated with the duration of the subsequent interval, not with the duration of preceding intervals, suggesting that feeding-bout frequency is governed primarily by post-ingestion processes. It is postulated that short feeding bouts followed by long intervals limit the window for ingesting an efficacious dose of aerially applied insecticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis.

Résumé

Des observations en laboratoire révèlent que les larves des derniers stades de la tordeuse des bourgeons de l'épinette de l'est (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) (Lepidoptera : Tortricidae) passent la majorité de leur temps à tisser, errer et se reposer; moins de 10 % du temps est utilisé pour l'alimentation. Les larves se nourrissent en suivant un patron discontinu de courtes périodes d'alimentation séparées par des intervalles beaucoup plus longs sans activité alimentaire. Sur une période d'observation de 2 h, les périodes d'alimentation durent en moyenne 2,2 min et sont séparées par des intervalles de 17,4 min au 4e stade et durent 3,3 min avec des intervalles de 33,4 min au 5e stade. Il existe une corrélation entre la durée de la période d'alimentation et la durée de l'intervalle subséquent, mais non avec la durée de l'intervalle précédent; cela laisse croire que la fréquence des activités alimentaires est contrôlée principalement par les processus postérieurs à l'ingestion. Nous avançons l'hypothèse selon laquelle les courtes périodes d'alimentation suivies de longs intervalles peuvent restreindre la fenêtre d'ingestion d'une dose efficace des insecticides répandus par avion, tels que Bacillus thuringiensis.

[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 142 , Issue 4 , August 2010 , pp. 388 - 392
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2010

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