Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
9-13-2016
Department
Biological Sciences
Abstract
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis [L.] Carriére) in the United States is threatened by the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand). The native hemlock looper (Lambdina fiscellaria Guenée) also appears to have played a role in previous population declines of this conifer. Although these two insects co-occur in much of the adelgid’s invaded range, their interactions remain unstudied. We assessed looper performance and preference on both uninfested and adelgid-infested foliage from adelgid-susceptible hemlocks, as well as on uninfested foliage from an eastern hemlock that is naturally adelgid-resistant. Larvae reared on uninfested foliage from adelgid-susceptible hemlocks experienced 60% mortality within the first two weeks of the experiment, and pupated at a lower weight than larvae fed adelgid-infested foliage. Despite differences in foliage source, this first look and strong pattern suggests that the hemlock looper performs better (pupates earlier, weighs more) on adelgid-infested foliage. In addition, trends suggested that larvae reared on foliage from the adelgid-resistant tree survived better, pupated earlier, and weighed more than in the other treatments. Larvae preferred adelgid-resistant over adelgid-susceptible foliage. Our results suggest that looper perform slightly better on adelgid-infested foliage and that plant resistance to xylem-feeding adelgid may increase susceptibility to foliar-feeding looper larvae.
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Wilson, C.M.; Vendettuoli, J.F.; Orwig, D.A.; Preisser, E.L. Impact of an Invasive Insect and Plant Defense on a Native Forest Defoliator. Insects 2016, 7, 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects7030045
Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects7030045
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comment
Claire M. Wilsonand Justin F. Vendettuoliare graduate students at the University of Rhode Island.