Canadian Forest Service Publications
Relationship between tree age and abundance of the spruce bud moth, Zeiraphera canadensis. 1995. Quiring, D.T.; Ostaff, D.P. Pages 433-440 in F.P. Hain, S.M. Salom, F.W. Ravlin, T.L. Payne, and K.F. Raffa, editors. Behavior, population dynamics and control of forest pests, Proceedings: IUFRO Joint Conference. February 6-11, 1994, Maui, Hawaii, USA. Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio, USA, USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Radnor, PA, USA.
Year: 1995
Issued by: Atlantic Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 21434
Language: English
Availability: Not available through the CFS (click for more information).
Abstract
This paper discusses field studies carried out to determine the influence of the age of young white spruce trees on levels of herbivory by, and abundance of, the spruce bud moth, Zeiraphera canadensis. More than half of the variation in levels of herbivory, which is directly related to bud moth abundance, was attributable to tree age. Defoliation by bud moth was usually not observed until trees were 4-6 years old and declined to extremely low levels when trees were 12-14 years old. Small trees 3-4 years of age were not subjected to herbivory due to the combined effects of oviposition preference and lower suitability for juvenile development. Females did not oviposit on small trees and juvenile survival when developing in sleeve cages was approximately half that observed on larger trees. Egg densities and juvenile survival were similar for open-grown trees 6-8 years old and trees > 20 years old, indicating that the decline in population when plantation are 12-14 years of age is associated with changes in stand characteristics rather than tree age.