Foraging strategies of the forest tent caterpillar

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Host selection by Lepidoptera larvae has been extensively studied. Much of the research has inferred the chemoreception process (taste, olfaction) involved in insects detecting and recognizing their food source. Such studies on host selection, however, have mainly consisted of presenting insects with an assortment of discs made from different plant host material for a given time period and measuring the quantity of the disk consumed. These studies can provide information on taste preferences but capture only a fraction of the behavioral complexity of the feeding process. For instance, the procedure overlooks the behavior of the insect on a given leaf such that the insect may demonstrate constant consumption or exhibit sporadic feeding, or even eat the leaf in a determined pattern. Laboratory investigations of how insects behave on their host leaf could provide insights on the different behavioral strategies used by insects to complete their feeding stages. I propose to address specific questions on the feeding behavior of a forest Lepidoptera (Malacosoma disstria). The objectives are to test experimentally the feeding behavior of this forest insect on a diversity of its host plants at different phenological stages. In offering different phenogical stages of the leaves it will provide insight on how the chemistry of the leaves may interfere with the feeding pattern of this Lepidoptera. I propose to do this by filming the insects feeding on leaves of a number of selected host plants at different phenological stages. In video taping these insects it will permit to discriminate the feeding behavior of the insect that could demonstrate active feeding or resting during their meal, or even record the pattern of consumption on the leaf. This research will provide a basic understanding of how phonological changes in the host plant can lead to alterations of herbivore feeding behavior. This information will enhance our understanding of forest defoliators and could provide guidance to more environmentally sound management practices.