Description:
Aerial application of mexacarbate and Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner
was tested against pine butterfly, Neophasia menapia (F. and F.). These
were applied to 40-acre plots on the Bitterroot National Forest and
adjacent State and private lands during June 1973. Two concentrations of
each material were tested; these were 0.15 and 0.30 pound per acre of
mexacarbate, and 0.5 and 1.0 pound of B. thuringiensis per acre. Both concentrations
of mexacarbate caused pine butterfly population reductions of
near 97 percent and B. thuringiensis provided 73 percent reduction at the
• 0.5 pound rate and 92 percent at the 1.0 pound rate. Natural decline of
late instar larval population precluded an evaluation of differences in
degree of defoliation between treated and untreated areas.