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SEASONAL DAMAGE BY INSECTS AND SQUIRRELS TO FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE STRUCTURES OF BLACK SPRUCE, PICEA MARIANA (MILL.) B.S.P.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Y.H. Prévost ,
J.E. Laing  and
V.F. Haavisto
Y.H. Prévost
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
J.E. Laing
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
V.F. Haavisto
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
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Abstract

The seasonal damage to female reproductive structures (buds, flowers, and cones) of black spruce, Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P., was assessed during 1983 and 1984. Nineteen insects (five Orders) and the red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Erxleben), were found feeding on these reproductive structures. Collectively, these organisms damaged 88.9 and 53.5% of the cones in 1983 and 1984, respectively. In the 2 years, Lepidoptera damaged 61.8% of the cones in 1983 and 44.4% of the cones in 1984. The spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), and the spruce coneworm, Dioryctria reniculelloides Mut. and Mun., were the most important pests. Cones damaged by Lepidoptera could be classed into three categories: (a) severe, yielding no seeds; (b) moderate, yielding 22.3 seeds per cone; and (c) light, yielding 37.5 seeds per cone. Undamaged cones yielded on average 39.9 seeds per cone. Red squirrels removed 18.8% of the cones in 1983 and none in 1984. The spruce cone axis midge, Dasineura rachiphaga Tripp, and the spruce cone maggot, Lasiomma anthracinum (Czerny), caused minor damage in both years. Feeding by spruce cone axis midge did not reduce cone growth significantly or the number of viable seeds per cone, but feeding by the spruce cone maggot did. During both years new damage by insects to the female reproductive structures of the experimental trees was not observed after mid-July. In 1983 damage by red squirrels occurred from early to late September. In 1984 damage to cones on trees treated with dimethoate was 15.6% compared with 53.5% for untreated trees, without an increase in the number of aborted cones.

Résumé

Les dommages saisonniers des structures réproductives femelles (bourgeons, fleurs, et cônes) de l’épinette noire, Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P., ont été évalués en 1983 et 1984. Dix-neuf insectes (cinq ordres) et l’écureuil roux, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Erxleben), se sont nourri de ces structures réproductives. Ces herbivores ont endommagé 88,9 et 53,5% des cônes en 1983 et 1984 respectivement, les lépidoptères ont endommagé 61,8 et 44,4%. La tordeuse des bourgeons de l’épinette, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), et la pyrale du cône de l’épinette, Dioryctria reniculelloides Mut. and Mun., étaient les plus importants. Les cônes endommagés par les lépidoptères ont été classés dans trois catégories : (a) sévère, ne produisant aucune graine; (b) modéré, contenant en moyenne 22,3 graines par cône; et (c) léger, contenant 37,5 graines par cône. Les écureuils roux ont endommagé 18,8% des cônes en 1983 et n’ont causé aucun dégât en 1984. La cécidomyie du cône de l’épinette, Dasineura rachiphaga Tripp, et la mouche du cône de l’épinette, Lasiomma anthracinum (Czerny), ont causé peu de dommage pendant les deux années. Le dommage par la cécidomyie du cône n’a eu aucun effet sur la croissance du cône ni’sur le nombre de graines viables par cône, tandis que le dommage par la mouche du cône les a diminué significativement. En 1983 et 1984 aucun nouveau dégât par les insectes aux structures reproductive femelles des arbres expérimentaux on a été observé après la mi-juillet. En 1983 les dégâts par les écureuils ont eu lieu pendant septembre. En 1984, les ravages aux cônes provenant d’arbres traités avec du diméthoate one été limités à 15,6, comparé à 53,5% pour les arbres non-traités, sans augmenté le nombre de cônes avortés.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 120 , Issue 12 , December 1988 , pp. 1113 - 1121
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1988

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