Miller, Jeffrey C.; Hanson, Paul E. 1989. Laboratory feeding tests on the development of gypsy moth larvae with reference to plant taxa and allelochemicals. Station Bulletin 674. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University, Agricultural Experiment Station. 63 p.
The first through fifth instars of the gypsy moth were tested for development to adults on326 species of dicotyledonous plants in laboratory feeding trials. Among accepted plants,differences in suitability were documented by measuring female pupal weights. The majority ofaccepted plants belong to the subclasses Dilleniidae, Hamamelidae, and Rosidae. Species of oak,maple, alder, madrone, eucalyptus, poplar, and sumac were highly suitable. Plants belonging tothe Asteridae, Caryophyllidae, and Magnoliidae were mostly rejected.
Foliage type, new or old, and instar influenced host plant suitability. Larvae of variousinstars were able to pupate after feeding on foliage of 147 plant species. Of these, 1.01 wereaccepted by first instars. Larvae from the first through fifth instar failed to molt on foliage of151 species. Minor feeding occurred on 67 of these species. In general, larvae accepted newfoliage on evergreen species more readily than old foliage.
The results of these trials were combined with results from three previous studies to providedata on feeding responses of gypsy moth larvae on a total of 658 species, 286 genera, and 106families of dicots. Allelochemic compositions of these plants were tabulated from availableliterature and compared with acceptance or rejection by gypsy moth. Plants accepted by gypsymoth generally contain tannins, but lack alkaloids, iridoid monoterpenes, sesquiterpenoids,diterpenoids, and glucosinolates.