Environmental Entomology (1997) 26, 1361-1363

Mikhail V. Kozlov and Anrey V. Selikhovkin (1997)
No effects of sulphur dioxide on larval performance of Epirrita autumnata (Lepidoptera: Geometridae)
Environmental Entomology 26 (6), 1361-1363
Abstract: Naturally growing ramets of mountain birch, Betula pubescens subsp. tortuosa, enclosed in plastic chambers and fumigated with either ambient air or 1 of 4 SO₂ concentrations (90, 210, 502, 810 µg/ m³) for 7 d were infested by last instars of Epirrita autumnata (Borkhausen) and fumigated for another 7 d. No larval mortality was observed during the experiment. In chambers treated by SO₂, larvae consumed less biomass but converted it more efficiently than in chambers filled with ambient air. None of treatments deviated from control in either larval relative growth rate or pupal weight. However, pupae from chambers with 90 µg/m³ of SO₂ gained ~5% of weight compared with chambers with 810 µg/m³ of SO₂, indicating that zero net effect of higher SO₂ concentrations may appear because of the compensation of negative direct effects (toxicity) by positive indirect effects (improved quality of fumigated plants).
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Mikhail V. Kozlov

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Epirrita autumnata	Birch (Betula)