Vertebrate Predation on the Jack-Pine Budworm in Michigan12

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Abstract
As one phase of a population dynamics study of the jack-pine budworm, Choristoneura pinus Freeman, this investigation on vertebrate predation was earned out (1) to describe the vertebrate predators of the budworm and (2) to assess the importance of vertebrate predation in the insect’s population dynamics. Twenty-eight species of birds and 1 mammal were found to attack the budworm in Michigan. Birds were more important than mammals as budworm predators. The significance of bird predation in the budworm’s population dynamics appears to depend on the population level of the insect and the response of bird predators to gradients in budworm numbers.