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THE PREDATION OF TENT CATERPILLARS, MALACOSOMA AMERICANA (LEPIDOPTERA: LASIOCAMPIDAE) BY ANTS (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

G. L. Ayre  and
D. E. Hitchon
G. L. Ayre
Affiliation:
Research Institute, Canada Department of Agriculture, Belleville, Ontario
D. E. Hitchon
Affiliation:
Research Institute, Canada Department of Agriculture, Belleville, Ontario
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Abstract

First- and second-instar tent caterpillar larvae are acceptable prey for many native species of ants. The amount of predation which occurs is normally related to ambient temperature. A warm period in early spring allows ants to forage actively and often leads to destruction of the caterpillar colonies whereas a cool spring curtails ant activity and allows the caterpillars to develop beyond the vulnerable period free from predation by ants. In latter instars the caterpillars are protected completely against ants by their dense setae.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 100 , Issue 8 , August 1968 , pp. 823 - 826
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1968

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References

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