A high level (37 – 98%) of secondary transmission of a nuclear polyhedrosis virus from primary infected larvae (PIL) of the loblolly pine sawfly, Neodiprion taedae linearis Ross (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae), to other members of the same colony occurred on loblolly pine, Pine taeda L., in Arkansas. Intra-colony transmission was significantly (P < 0.05) related to PIL density (No. of PIL/colony) but not to PIL instar at death. Inter-colony secondary transmission from PIL-infected colonies was lower (2 – 50%) than intra-colony transmission. Inter-colony transmission was greater when the PIL colony was placed in the lower canopy than in the upper canopy. Regardless of placement of the PIL colony (upper or lower canopy), mortality in other non-PIL colonies, was highest in the upper canopy. Migration of infected larvae is discussed relative to these findings.
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1Published with the approval of the Director, Arkansas Agriculture Experiment Station.
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