Preliminary Study of European Pine Shoot Moth Parasitism in Lower Michigan

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Abstract
Observations were made in lower Michigan to determine which parasites were affecting egg, larval, and pupal stages of the European pine shoot moth, Rhyacionia buoliana (Schiff.). Parasitism of eggs, all apparently caused by Trichogramma minutum (Riley), averaged 4%. Parasitism of half-grown larvae amounted to an average of 6% of pine tips injured by the host, for which Hyssopus thymus (Girault) was responsible. The following spring parasitism of maturing larvae and pupae averaged 4%, the parasites being, in descending order of abundance, Hyssopus thymus, Itoplectis conquisitor (Say), Calliephialtes comstockii (Cresson), and Eurytoma pini Bugbee. All parasites found affecting this host are native species. The degree of parasitism and the parasite species found thus far in lower Michigan are similar to those reported for this host from other areas of the eastern United States and Canada. In Europe pine shoot moth populations tend to be lower and parasitism tends to be higher than in Michigan and other areas of North America. It is concluded that introduction of European parasites of the shoot moth into areas of North America where they do not already occur would be worth while.

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