Abstract
Exploratory trails deposited on paper strips by the forest tent caterpillar (FTC),Malacosoma disstria Hubner, and the eastern tent caterpillar (ETC),M. americanum (Fabricius), as well as extracts of these trails, readily elicited interspecific trail-following behavior. In 2-choice tests involving simple Y mazes constructed from these paper strips, the caterpillars of both species preferred by approximately 3∶1 the trails of the FTC. Studies involving whole colonies of the ETC maintained under nearnatural conditions in the laboratory, however, indicated that the trails deposited by successful foragers of the ETC as they returned to their tent from feeding sites were more attractive than the exploratory trails of either the ETC or FTC. The pronounced interspecific response of these congeners to each other's trails suggests that they utilize either qualitatively similar or identical trail-marking chemicals. Both species preferred their own trails to those ofArchips cerasivoranus (Fitch) (Tortricidae), providing the first evidence that more distantly related lepidopterous larvae utilize distinct trails.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Fitzgerald, T.D. 1976. Trail marking by larvae of the eastern tent caterpillar.Science 194:961–63.
Fitzgerald, T.D., andGallagher, E.M. 1976. A chemical trail factor from the silk of the eastern tent caterpillarMalacosoma americanum (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae).J. Chem. Ecol. 2:187–193.
Stehr, F.W., andCook, E.F. 1968. A revision of the genusMalacosoma Hubner in North America (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae): Systematics, biology, immatures and parasites. Smithsonian Institution, U.S. National Museum Bulletin 276. Washington, D.C.
Wilson, E.O. 1971. The Insect Societies. Belknap, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 548 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fitzgerald, T.D., Edgerly, J.S. Specificity of trail markers of forest and eastern tent caterpillars. J Chem Ecol 5, 565–574 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987841
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987841