Oviposition and feeding preferences of the southern pine coneworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) for different host-plant materials and observations on monoterpenes as an oviposition stimulant.

Bioassays were conducted with first-stage larvae and newly emerged females of the southern pine coneworm,Dioryctria amatella (Hulst), to detect feeding and ovipositional preferences for different host-plant materials collected between April and August. Correlations between measures of insect preferences and estimates of wood parameters indicated that larvae preferred to feed on host-plant materials with high moisture contents, low wood densities, and low monoterpene contents. Female moths, however, did not necessarily select those plant materials preferred by larvae for feeding, but tended to oviposit more frequently on materials with high monoterpene contents. A synthetic mixture of monoterpenes similar in composition to those present in fusiform rust galls of slash pine (Pinus elliottii) Englem. var.elliottii) elicited mating and oviposition behavior.