Rising temperatures may increase fungal epizootics in northern populations of the invasive spongy moth in North America

Insect pest species are generally expected to become more destructive with climate change because of factors such as weakened host tree defenses during droughts, and increased voltinism under rising temperatures; however, responses will vary by species due to a variety of factors, including altered interactions with their natural enemies. Entomopathogens are a substantial source of mortality in insects, but the likelihood of epizootics can depend strongly on climatic conditions. Previous research indicates that rates of infection of the spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) by its host-specific fungal pathogen, Entomophaga maimaiga, increase with environmental moisture and decrease as temperatures rise. High temperatures may have direct and indirect (due to the associated drying) effects on the fungus, but the interactive effects between temperature and moisture level on larval infection are unclear. Here, we test the hypothesis that warmer, drier conditions will decrease rates of infection of..., , , # Data from: Rising temperatures may increase fungal epizootics in northern populations of the invasive spongy moth in North America

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.44j0zpcp4](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.44j0zpcp4)

This dataset contains the results of this experiment, reported in the related article. The final results are raw counts of the number of spongy moth larvae infected by the pathogen, *Entomophaga maimaiga*.

The general laboratory methods for obtaining these results are as follows:
Following each field trial (trials 2 and 3), we transferred the larvae to the lab and secured them individually in lidded 1 oz. plastic cups containing a 0.20 g piece of artificial wheat germ diet. We maintained larvae at 18–22 °C and monitored them for 10 days or until death, whichever occurred first. Larvae that died within the 10-day monitoring period were placed on 1.5% water agar plates and checked daily for 3 days for conidial production. Although conidia are often visible without magnific...