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PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION TO TEMPORAL VARIATION IN CONIFER FOLIAGE BY A CATERPILLAR

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Allan L. Carroll
Allan L. Carroll
Affiliation:
Atlantic Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, PO Box 960, Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada A2H 653
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Abstract

Larvae of the hemlock looper, Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria (Guenée) (Lepidoptere: Geometridae), consume both new and old foliage within the crowns of their host, balsam fir, Abies balsamea (L.) Miller (Pinaceae), despite the poor nutritional quality generally ascribed to old tissues. Laboratory studies evaluated whether the consumption of old foliage by hemlock looper larvae could be an adaptation to the relative paucity of new versus old foliage, and to the limited temporal window during which young foliage remains high in nutritional quality. Access to new foliage was critical to hemlock looper survival; 55% of larvae fed an exclusive diet of new foliage survived, whereas only 5% and 0% of larvae fed exclusively 1-or 2-year-old foliage survived, respectively. Moreover, larvae reared on branches in synchrony with bud flush were more than twice as likely to survive than those whose emergence was delayed by 2 weeks. Despite the reliance by the hemlock looper upon new foliage for survival, larvae given access to both new and old foliage survived better and were heavier than those restricted to new foliage. By incorporating older foliage into their diet, the hemlock looper can circumvent the limited availability of new foliage, thereby gaining access to more abundant tissues.

Résumé

Les larves de l’arpenteuse de la pruche, Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria (Guenée) (Lepidoptera : Tortricidae), consomment le vieux et le nouveau feuillage dans la couronne de leur plante hôte, le sapin baumier, Abies balsamea (L.) Miller (Pinaceae), et ce en dépit de la pauvre qualité nutritionnelle généralement attribuée aux vieux tissus. On a vérifié en laboratoire si la consommation du vieux feuillage par les larves de l’arpenteuse de la pruche était une adaptation à la rareté relative du nouveau feuillage par rapport à l’ancien, et à la fenêtre temporelle étroite pendant laquelle le jeune feuillage conserve une valeur nutritive supérieure. La disponibilité de nouveau feuillage s’est avérée critique à la survie de l’arpenteuse de la pruche : 55% des larves se nourrissant exclusivement de nouveau feuillage ont survécu, alors que seulement 5% et 0% des larves nourries exclusivement sur du feuillage âgé de 1 et 2 ans ont survécu, respectivement. De plus, les larves dont l’élevage a été fait en synchronie avec le débourrement des bourgeons ont survécu à un taux deux fois plus élevé que des larves dont l’émergence avait été retardée de 2 semaines. En dépit de ce besoin de nouveau feuillage pour la survie de l’arpenteuse de la pruche, les individus ayant accès à la fois à du nouveau et à de l’ancien feuillage ont survécu encore mieux et étaient plus lourds que les individus contraints à ne consommer que du nouveau feuillage. En incorporant l’ancien feuillage à son régime alimentaire, l’arpenteuse de la pruche peut contourner la disponibilité restreinte du nouveau feuillage et ainsi avoir accès à une source plus abondante de tissus végétaux.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 131 , Issue 5 , October 1999 , pp. 659 - 669
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1999

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