Abstract

The feeding behavior of 3rd instar gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L. [Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae]) was examined on foliage from black cherry (Prunus seratina L.) and yellow-poplar (Liriadendran tulipifera L.) seedlings exposed to 71 ± 31, 212 ± 37, and 337 ± 31 μg m⁻³ ozone (O₃) for 70 hours to gauge the effect of O₃ stress on host acceptability. Normally, black cherry is a suboptimal food source and yellow-poplar is unacceptable. With feeding preference assays conducted in the laboratory using feeding arenas, the leaf area consumption of black cherry control foliage (exposed to ambient air containing 71 μg m⁻³ O₃) by starved larvae was approximately twice that of yellow-poplar control foliage during the first 4 hours. By 8 hours, the leaf area consumed was the same for both species. O₃-treated leaves of both species were preferred by the larvae relative to leaves exposed to ambient concentrations. The effect was pronounced for yellow-poplar, where consumption of ozonated foliage was more than twice that of the control, and its acceptability was enhanced to a level approximating that of black cherry.