Nutritional physiology of the eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana, infected with Nosema fumiferanae, and interactions with dietary nitrogen

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Abstract
Female eastern spruce budworm larvae, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), inoculated with a medium lethal spore dosage of the microsporidium Nosema fumiferanae (Thomson) exhibited significant reductions in consumptive index (CI), nitrogen consumptive index (NCI), relative growth rate (RGR), and gross (ECI) and net (ECD) production effeciencies when compared to microsporidian-free larvae. Diseased larvae also exhibited significant increases in approximate digestibility (AD), N utilization efficiency (NUE), and larval moisture content. Both healthy and diseased insects were reared on 2.5% N and 4.5% N diets. Those on the 2.5% N diet showed significant increases in CI, although NCI was still lower than NCI measured for larvae reared on 4.5% N. NUE was also higher on the 2.5% N diet. Diseased cohorts reared on 2.5% N diet had significantly greater mortality than those reared on 4.5% N diet. Pupal weight and development time of infected individuals did not respond to dietary N concentration. However, healthy insects achieved greater pupal weights in a shorter time on the 4.5% N diet than those on the 2.5% N diet. Mortality of healthy insects was unaffected by dietary N.

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