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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 May 2012
In an attempt to control the larch casebearer, Coleophora laricella (Hübner), in western North America with biological agents, insect parasites from Europe and Japan were introduced (Denton 1972, 1979; Ryan et al. 1987). The braconid Agathis pumila (Ratz.) has become widely established and apparently has been responsible for markedly reduced casebearer densities (Ryan 1983, 1986; Ryan et al. 1987). Parasitization by it in many research plots reached 80-95% (unpublished data), then declined following reductions in the casebearer populations in a typically delayed density-dependent manner. I present here a partial explanation for why casebearer densities declined so drastically, to levels even lower than could perhaps be explained by parasitization at such high levels.