SURVIVAL AND DEVELOPMENT OF LYMANTRIA-MATHURA (LEPIDOPTERA, LYMANTRIIDAE) ON NORTH-AMERICAN, ASIAN, AND EUROPEAN TREE SPECIES

The moth Lymantria mathura Moore is a polyphagous defoliator of forest and fruit trees in the Russian Far East, Japan, India, and China, and it would cause serious economic consequences if established in North America. To project the host range of this insect if accidentally intr oduced into North America, we examined survival and development of Ist inst;us of L. mathura on 21 broadleafed and conifer tree species from North America, Europe, and Asia. L. mathura performed well on hosts i n the family Fagaceae regardless of the species origin. Survival and r ate of development on European Leech, Fagus grandifolia Ehrh., and Ame rican Leech, Fagus sylvatica L., was equivalent to survival on orienta l oak, Quercus variabilis Blume. Performance of larvae was also high o n white oak, Quercus alba L., and chestnut oak, Quercus prinus L. Suit ability of other oaks, such as red oak, Quercus rubra L., black oak, Q uercus velutina Lamarck, and pin oak, Quo ars palustris Muenchh., was intermediate and equivalent to suitability of species from the familie s Juglandaceae, Betulaceae, and Oleaceae. Survival was poor on hosts f rom Aceraceae and Pinaceae. Comparison of host preferences and larval survival of L.,mathura and of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, (L.), indicates differences between these species when tested on the same or congeneric host plants.