An agar diet study using western spruce budworm populations from Idaho and New Mexico was carried out to determine the effects of varying concentrations of nitrogen, beta-pinene, and bornyl acetate on larval growth and survival. Increased availability of nitrogen resulted in increased larval growth rate and survival to the adult stage. Larval growth rates from the Idaho population were higher on the high-nitrogen diet than were growth rates from the New Mexico population. The high level of beta-pinene improved larval growth at the high-nitrogen concentration. Bornyl acetate significantly reduced larval growth at both the low and high levels of nitrogen although the effect was greatest with the high-nitrogen diet. High bornyl acetate concentrations also significantly reduced survival to the adult stage. At high-nitrogen levels, a high concentration of bornyl acetate reduced larval growth rates and adult survival to a level similar to that occurring at the low nitrogen and low bornyl acetate concentrations.
Keywords: Beta-pinene; Bornyl acetate; Choristoneura occidentalis; Nitrogen; Pseudotsuga menziesii herbivore defense.