A dosing technique and the effects of sub-lethal doses of Nosema fumiferanae (Microsporida) on its host the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana

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Abstract
Various dosages of the microsporidian parasite, Nosema fumiferanae were fed to 12-day-old larvae of Choristoneura fumiferana using a previously undescribed bioassay capsule. A spore dose of 3 × 104 resulted in 92% infection and a significant reduction in pupal weights, adult female longevity and a mean spore concentration of 1·5 × 107/living adult. Significant mortality (68%, combined larvae and pupae) did not occur until larvae ingested 3 × 107 spores; this dose produced a mean of 1·8 × 107 spores in dead larvae and 3·6 × 107 and 4·6 × 107 spores in dead male and female pupae respectively.