Possible Mechanism for Synergism between Bacillus thuringiensis and the Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Parasitoid, Apanteles melanoscelus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

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Abstract
Gypsy moth larvae, Lymantria dispar L., were fed various doses of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner and parasitized by Apanteles melanoscelus (Ratzeburg) before or after infection. The pathogen did not directly influence, nor was it influenced by, the parasitoid. Development of those host larvae which survived doses of B. thuringiensis was delayed compared to that of uninfected larvae. Hosts treated in the 2nd instar and held 10 days were attacked to a greater extent than similarly held, nontreated hosts of the same age, probably because more of the former had not yet molted to the 4th instar. The pathogen-induced developmental lag may explain the relatively high amount of parasitism by A. melanoscelus in B. thuringiensis field plots.