Sr. Leather et al., ARE DIFFERENCES IN LIFE-HISTORY PARAMETERS OF THE PINE BEAUTY MOTH PANOLIS-FLAMMEA MODIFIED BY HOST-PLANT QUALITY OR GENDER, Entomologia experimentalis et applicata, 87(3), 1998, pp. 237-243
Pine beauty moth (Panolis flammea D&S, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were re
ared individually from egg hatch to pupation on one of three host plan
ts, Pinus sylvestris (native host plant), Pinus contorta (Central Inte
rior seed origin - good quality introduced host) and P. contorta (Alas
kan seed origin - poor quality introduced host). After emerging from t
he pupae the adult moths were confined to a Skeena River seed origin o
f P. contorta. Female pupal weight and adult life span were significan
tly higher on P. sylvestris than on the two lodgepole pine seed origin
s. Development time was, however, not significantly different between
treatments, but larval mean relative growth rate was found to be negat
ively correlated with birth weight and positively correlated with pupa
l weight. The time to emerge from the pupa was also not significantly
different between treatments. However, there were marked differences b
etween the genders. Male moths lost a significantly greater proportion
of their weight over the pupal stage but lived significantly longer a
s adults than the females. Female moths emerged from the pupal stage s
ignificantly sooner than male moths. There was no apparent advantage o
f lai-ge birth size when looked at in terms of subsequent performance.
These results are discussed in light of current life history theory.