The effect of previous defoliation of pole-stage lodgepole pine on plant chemistry,and on the growth and survival of pine beauty moth (Panolis flammea) larvae

Summary A study of the effects of defoliation by insects on the chemistry of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), and on the performance of Panolis flammea (Lepidoptera; Noctuidae) larvae, was carried out in a forest in northwest Scotland I year after a severe outbreak of P. flammea had caused extensive defoliation. Larval weight and survival were not significantly different on trees that had experienced different levels of defoliation in 1986. The nitrogen and tannin content of current and previous years' pine needles was not significantly affected by defoliation (although both were slightly greater in the foliage of defoliated trees). Phosphorus content of young pine foliage was lower (but not significantly lower except on one occasion) on heavily defoliated trees. On all sampling occasions, however, the nitrogen: phosphorus ratio was significantly higher on heavily defoliated trees. There were large differences in monoterpene composition of the previous year's shoots associated with defoliation intensity, but these differences had largely disappeared in the new growth. The results are discussed in relation to other studies on the effects of insect damage on plant chemistry and insect performance and in relation to the abundance of P. flammea in Scotland.