| Popis: |
Larvae of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis were collected from field corn and overwintered in the laboratory. Observations made on pupal weight, adult longevity, oviposition, fecundity, and fertility of normal corn borers were compared with similar observations on corn borers infected with Nosema pyrausta. Of 65 pupae with obvious deformities, 66% were infected with N. pyrausta. Of 537 moths, 53% of the females and 55% of the males were infected with N. pyrausta and levels of infection averaged 38.9 and 25.4 million spores/moth, respectively. Adult longevity, oviposition, fecundity and fertility were adversely affected by infection with N. pyrausta. Reproduction of infected moths was 39.3% lower than that of moths with no detectable infection, and heavily infected moths had 52.0% lower reproduction. |
