The effects of supplementing a Fagus grandifolia diet with nitrogen and carbohydrates on the growth of Lymantria dispar.

Abstract

To determine what nutrients limit the growth of Lymantria dispar feeding on American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) leaves, we fed gypsy moth caterpillars one of four diet types--either an unsupplemented diet of F. grandifolia, a carboyhydrate-enhanced diet, a nitrogen-enhanced diet, or a diet supplemented with both nitrogen and carboyhdrate. We found that casein, a nitrogen source, caused a significant increase in the caterpillar's growth rate while dextrose, a carbohydrate, did not. Based on these results, we concluded that nitrogen content is a limiting factor in the growth rate of L. dispar on F. grandifolia.