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Overwintering survival of bagworms, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis (Lepidoptera: Psychidae): influence of temperature and egg cluster weight

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2013

Marc Rhainds*
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service - Atlantic Forestry Centre, PO Box 4000, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5P7 Canada
Jacques Régnière
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service - Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055 du P.E.P.S. Street, PO Box 10380, Quebec, Quebec, G1V 4C7 Canada
Heather J. Lynch
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology & Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States of America
William F. Fagan
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States of America
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected]).

Abstract

The present study relates the survival rate of bagworm eggs to extreme winter temperature and weight of egg clutches. The eggs were collected in the spring of 2009 at 104 locations in the mid-western United States of America across a latitudinal range from 36.5–41.5 °N. Egg survival after a 1-week incubation period was overdispersed, suggesting that survival of individual eggs within a clutch is highly correlated. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the survival of eggs, assessed after 1 or 12 weeks of incubation, significantly increases with the weight of egg clutches and increasing minimum winter temperature (expressed as the maximum temperature during the coldest day of winter). Lethal temperature for 50% of egg clusters was −14 °C for clusters weighing 0.1 g and −18.1 °C for 0.4 g clusters. The regression model developed here provides a tool to forecast the persistence of bagworm populations in recently colonised locations in Michigan, United States of America and southern Ontario, Canada.

Résumé

La présente étude relie le taux de survie des œufs de la chenille burcicole aux températures extrêmes et au poids des masses d’œufs. Les œufs ont été récoltés au printemps 2009 dans 104 localités du centre-ouest des États-Unis d'Amérique, le long d'un gradient latitudinal allant de 35.5–41.5 °N. La survie des œufs après une semaine d'incubation était sur-dispersée, ce qui suggère que la survie des œufs individuels au sein d'une même masse est fortement corrélée. L'analyse par régression logistique a révélé que la survie des oeufs, évaluée après 1 ou 12 semaines d'incubation, augmente significativement avec le poids de la masse d’œufs dans laquelle ils se trouvent, et avec la température maximum du jour le plus froid auquel ils ont été exposés pendant l'hiver. La température létale pour 50% des masses d’œufs est de −14 °C pour les masses pesant 0.1 g, alors qu'elle est de −18.1 °C pour les masses de 0.4 g. Le modèle de régression développé ici constitue un outil pour prédire la persistance des populations de chenille burcicole dans les endroits récemment colonisés du Michigan, États-Unis d'Amérique et du sud de l'Ontario, Canada.

Type
Behaviour & Ecology
Copyright
Copyright © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2013

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