The influence of behavioral differences among tent-caterpillar larvae on predation by a pentatomid bug

Abstract

Active larvae of the western tent caterpillar, Malacosoma californicum pluviale (Dyar), were stalked more consistently by the predator, Podisus maculiventris Say, than their sluggish counterparts. In the fourth instar, the active individuals were too small to defend themselves, so they were eaten more frequently than sluggish larvae. In the fifth instar, active larvae defended themselves more successfully, whereas sluggish larvae did not. Among these older larvae, therefore, fewer active and more sluggish individuals were successfully attacked.