Effects of Elevated Co 2 , Soil Nutrient Levels, and Foliage Age on the Performance of Two Generations of Neodiprion lecontei (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) Feeding on Loblolly Pine

Abstract

We investigated how changes in loblolly pine needle phytochemistry caused by elevated CO{sub 2}, leaf age, and soil nutrient levels affected the performance of 2 individual generations of the multivoltine folivorous insect pest Neodiprion lecontei. In 2 feeding trials, mature needles produced in the previous (spring) and current (fall) year from seedlings grown in open-topped chambers under 4 CO{sub 2} and 2 soil nutrient levels were fed to 2 separate generations of red beaded pine sawfly larvae. Strong seasonal differences (i.e., spring versus fall) in leaf nutritional and defensive constituents resulted in significant between-generation differences in the growth, consumption, and growth efficiency of sawfly larvae. Enriched CO{sub 2}-grown needles bad higher levels of starch and starch/nitrogen ratios in older, overwintering spring needles, which were lower in leaf nitrogen and monoterpenes than younger, current year needles (fall). Overall, larval growth was higher and consumption lower on the fall needles, presumably because of higher levels of leaf nitrogen compared with the spring needles. The plant CO{sub 2} concentration significantly contributed to the larval consumption responses between seasons (significant CO{sub 2} X season interaction), demonstrating that the 2 sawfly generations were affected differently by CO{sub 2}-induced phytochemical alterations in spring versus fall needles.more » The data presented here suggests that when investigating multivoltine folivorous insect responses to elevated CO{sub 2}-grown tree seedlings in which multiple leaf flushes within a growing season expose insects to an array of leaf phytochemical changes, >1 insect generation should be investigated. 54 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.« less