The influence of food on developmental characteristics of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.)

The host species consumed by larval gypsy moths have significant influences on their development. Feeding on red maple, red oak, synthetic food, and a diet of both oak and maple results in differences in mean frass production, pupal weights, and development times. Larvae feeding on the preferred food type, oak, consumed more food and produced heavier pupae than those that fed on nonpreferred maple. Development in oak-fed female larvae is significantly faster than in maple-fed female larvae. A relatively consistent proportion of extra-instar larvae of both sexes were found regardless of the food they feed upon. The implications of food type on numerical change in gypsy moth populations is discussed.