Abstract
In small-scale field and related laboratory experiments, I examined the immediate and delayed effects of nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) introduction and density on the performance of Malacosoma californicum pluviale. In a factorial experiment, larvae at high density showed increased feeding and development rates and decreased reproductive potential. The introduction of NPV significantly increased per capita mortality of the host, particularly at high density, and generally reduced host reproductive potential. Adults from this experiment were mated and their offspring reared in the laboratory. Pupal mass of female offspring was influenced by treatments in the parental generation, whereas egg viability, larval development time and mortality, and pupal mass of male offspring were not. M. c. pluviale introduced to host trees the year following the factorial experiment showed no effects of previous caterpillar density on mortality or reproductive potential, as would be predicted by host-plant induction theory. An interactive effect of previous virus introduction and density on mortality was observed due to the persistence of NPV in the environment. Results are discussed in light of population dynamics and observed changes in fecundity in tent caterpillar populations.
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