Laboratory analysis of five host plant sources on life capacities of gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) and evaluation of the results in field conditions in Yasooj area of Iran
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Lymantria dispar L. (Lep: Lymantriidae) is one of the main pests of forest decorative trees in Eastern United States, some parts of Europe and Asia (Barbosa and Capinera, 1977; Tadic, 1981; Weseloh, 1985). This pest is one of the main leaf eaters of deciduous trees in the whole Northern hemisphere (Morris, 1959; Sharov et al., 1995). This insect is spread out in the mild climate regions of Northern Africa, Russia, Japanese Isles, from 20 to 57 degrees latitude from South East Asia to Norway (Campbell, 1976; Campbell and Torgersen, 1993; Smitley et al., 1995). Inadvertently, it has been brought to America from Europe in 1868 or 1869, and has been spread out to the South and West and quickly covered most forests in the Eastern part of America and Canada (Elkinton and Liebhold, 1990; Weseloh, 1994).