Evaluation of polyphagous level in gypsy moth larvae from three continents
Young instar larvae of Siberian population of gypsy moth Lymantria dispar asiatica Vnuk. were reared in the laboratory on the wide range of suitable and unpreferable food plants. They demonstrated lower mortality and significantly higher relative growth rate than larvae of European and North American populations belonging to nominative subspecies. Results clearly support earlier hypothesis on the preset initial polyphagy in Asian forms of the gypsy moth.