Effects of Laboratory Rearing on Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)

摘要

The New Jersey Standard Strain (NJSS) accounts for about 90 percent of thelaboratory-reared gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), used for research and development in the United States. The history and performance of NJSS since its establishment in the laboratory in 1967 are reviewed and phenotypic changes in NJSS during and after 35 generations of domestication are defined. Variability in life history traits are compared with a near wild strain, and laboratory and field studies comparing behavior, susceptibility to microbials, and response to host-plant chemicals are reviewed. Phenotypic variability for most developmental traits have decreased in NJSS-FS reared by the USDA Forest Service. Generally, artificial selection, either intentional or as a result of rearing changes to increase production efficiency, has made NJSS-FS a faster developing, heavier, more fecund strain than wild strains.