| Summary: | This paper presents the results of the laboratory study of gypsy moth development on Q. cerris and Q. robur foliage in controlled and uncontrolled environmental conditions. The survival is higher in controlled conditions than in uncontrolled conditions. In uncontrolled conditions, sex ratio is higher in individuals fed on pedunculate oak foliage (0.55) compared to those fed on Turkey oak foliage (0.39), while in the controlled conditions the situation is the opposite. The increase of in star number is greater in pedunculate oak than in Turkey oak. There is a statistically significant difference between the means of all the study characters (length of development of the first and the second instars, length of premarital development, number of instars and fecundity) in uncontrolled and controlled environmental conditions. Also, there is a statistically significant difference between the means of all the study characters on different oak species, except in fecundity. There is an interaction between environmental conditions and host plant species in the length of development of the first and the second instars, as well as in the number of instars during the development. The study results show that Turkey oak is more favorable for the gypsy moth development than pedunculate oak.
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