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A dosing technique and the effects of sub-lethal doses of Nosema fumiferanae (Microsporida) on its host the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

G. G. Wilson
Affiliation:
Forest Pest Management Institute, Canadian Forestry Service, Environment Canada, P.O. Box 490, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, CanadaP6A 5M7

Summary

Various dosages of the microsporidian parasite, Nosema fumiferanae were fed to 12-day-old larvae of Choristoneura fumiferana using a previously undescribed bioassay capsule. A spore dose of 3 × 104 resulted in 92% infection and a significant reduction in pupal weights, adult female longevity and a mean spore concentration of 1·5 × 107/living adult. Significant mortality (68%, combined larvae and pupae) did not occur until larvae ingested 3 × 107 spores; this dose produced a mean of 1·8 × 107 spores in dead larvae and 3·6 × 107 and 4·6 × 107 spores in dead male and female pupae respectively.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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References

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