Mortality of Cocoons of the Larch Sawfly, Pristiphora erichsonii (Htg.), in Relation to Distance from Small-Mammal Tunnels

Abstract

The relationship between the fate of cocoons of the larch sawfly, Pristiphora erichsonii (Htg.), and distance from small-mammal tunnels was studied during 1958 in the Whiteshell Forest Reserve of eastern Manitoba. The objects were to determine the distance that small mammals can detect cocoons and to observe possible effects of the interactions of small-mammal predation and other natural mortality factors of the insect. Additional analyses of the data provided information on the behaviour of the predators and the ecology of the prey insect.