CAUSES AND ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF EGG RETENTION IN THE GYPSY MOTH, LYMANTRIA DISPAR (L.) (LEPIDOPTERA: LYMANTRIIDAE).

1987 ◽  
Vol 119 (9) ◽  
pp. 765-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Barbosa ◽  
Peter Martinat

AbstractThe role of starvation, the occurrence of mating, and delays and the onset of mating on the retention of eggs by the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), were evaluated. The mating status of female gypsy moths did influence egg retention.Mating delays did not affect egg retention. Differences in the number of females retaining some eggs were found among females whose larvae had been reared on different host plants. The amount of food consumed had a significant effect on egg retention. Partial starvation had an impact on egg retention and on larval and pupal development, pupal size, and total egg production. The greater the starvation the greater the egg retention. The ecological implications of these results are discussed.

2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick C. Tobin ◽  
Christelle Robinet ◽  
Derek M. Johnson ◽  
Stefanie L. Whitmire ◽  
Ottar N. Bjørnstad ◽  
...  

1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin W. Thorpe ◽  
Ralph E. Webb ◽  
Jeffrey R. Aldrich ◽  
Kathy M. Tatman

The effects of sticky barrier bands, augmentative releases of the spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris (Say), and the deployment of P. maculiventris pheromone on gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), larval density in the canopy of oak trees were tested. Sticky barrier bands used alone reduced larval gypsy moth density by ≈35%. The release of 5,810 P. maculiventris nymphs per tree or the deployment of P. maculiventris pheromone to trees on which sticky barrier bands had been applied had no additional effect on gypsy moth larval density. None of the treatments affected the number of gypsy moth egg masses produced. Significantly more P. maculiventris adults were observed on trees with the pheromone, but higher numbers of nymphs were not subsequently observed on these trees. Counts of gypsy moths beneath burlap bands prior to gypsy moth pupation were about four times higher on unbanded than on banded trees, but counts of pupae beneath burlap bands did not differ between treatments.


2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 1021-1025
Author(s):  
M. Milenkovic ◽  
V. Ducic ◽  
B. Milovanovic

The connection between the solar flux at 2.8 GHz (based on mean monthly values) and the outbreaks of gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar L.) in Serbia was investigated. The researches included six outbreaks from 1952 to 2007. The average values of the solar flux ranged between 83.8 and 101.8 sfu during the outbreaks, whereas they were between 147.9 and 188.3 sfu for the periods without outbreaks. The results of the research showed that the increase in the number of gypsy moths appears when the values of the solar flux at 2.8 GHz range from 70 to 120 sfu.


1982 ◽  
Vol 114 (7) ◽  
pp. 617-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald M. Weseloh

AbstractTethered gypsy moth larvae, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), placed in various tree microhabitats were most heavily parasitized by Compsilura concinnata (Meigen) (Diptera: Tachinidae) near the ground especially on leaves. In laboratory experiments, hosts were parasitized primarily between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM (E.S.T.), with little parasitism at night. These data suggest that in the field, this tachinid will most efficiently attack young gypsy moth caterpillars, as instars 1 to 3 are the only ones consistently on or near foliage during daylight. C. concinnata females successfully parasitized young hosts, but larval development on 2nd instars was twice as long as that on 4th instars. Thus, only one generation of parasitoids on gypsy moths is likely per year. Results indicate that methods for improving the effectiveness of this parasitoid should emphasize increasing adult numbers early in the season.


Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Xu ◽  
Sufang Zhang ◽  
Hongbin Wang ◽  
Mei Wang ◽  
Guohong Li

The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is among the most destructive quarantine pests of forests. Here, we reconstructed the genetic structure and determined the population differentiation of gypsy moths across its distribution range at different times. This information could be used to both improve the prevention and detection of gypsy moths in the field. Using 31 newly designed species-specific primers targeting fragments of 216–1102 bp, we identified 103 full-length cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences from eight fresh samples and 95 L. dispar specimens collected between 1955 and 1996, mainly in China. Combining 103 full-length COI gene sequences with 146 COI gene sequences from Genbank or DNA barcode libraries, we analyzed the genetic differentiation, gene flow and haplotypes between gypsy moth populations in order to reflect the genetic structure and population dynamics of gypsy moths. We discovered 25 previously unknown haplotypes from old gypsy moth specimens. We found that the genetic diversity among gypsy moth populations (collected in the same region at different time points) was relatively high. Furthermore, the genetic structure of Chinese geographical populations (Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Beijing) in different years was distinct. Our results suggested that some gypsy moths in China showed the genetic affinity with European gypsy moths (a sub-species of gypsy moths found mainly in Europe).


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifan Zuo ◽  
D. K. Kurenshchikov ◽  
Jinyong Yu ◽  
Yuanping Zou ◽  
Yiming Wang ◽  
...  

The gyspy moth Lymantria dispar Linnaeus, a widely distributed leaf-eating pest, is considered geographically isolated in the world, with two Asian gypsy moth subspecies, Lymantria dispar asiatica and Lymantria dispar japonica. In China, only one subspecies, L. d. asiatica, has been observed. In this study, we characterized gypsy moth diversity and divergence using 427 samples covering a wide range of the species distribution, with a focus on sampling along a latitudinal gradient in China. We combine the quantitative analysis of male genitalia and the genetic diversity analysis of nine microsatellite loci of nuclear genes nuclear genes to study the structure of gypsy moth individuals in 23 locations in the world and the male genitalia of gypsy moths in some areas. In mixed ancestry model-based clustering analyses based on nuclear simple sequence repeats, gypsy moths were divided into three well-known subspecies, a unique North American cluster, and a southern Chinese cluster with differentiation between the Asian gypsy moth and European gypsy moth. We also found individuals identified as European gypsy moths in two distant regions in China. The results of a quantitative analysis of male genitalia characteristics were consistent with an analysis of genetic structure and revealed the differentiation of gypsy moths in southern China and of hybrids suspected to be associated with L. d. japonica in the Russian Far East. Admixture in gypsy moths can be explained by many factors such as human transport. In China, we detected European gypsy moths, and found unexpectedly high genetic diversity within populations across a wide range of latitudes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 030098582110226
Author(s):  
Elise E. B. LaDouceur ◽  
Ann E. Hajek

European gypsy moths ( Lymantria dispar dispar) are an invasive species in North America, and are listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as one of the 100 most destructive invasive species worldwide. They have several known viruses, some of which are used as biological control agents. However, there are no detailed descriptions of many entomopathogenic viral infections, including in European gypsy moths, using bright-field microscopy. In this study, 11 European gypsy moth caterpillars were evaluated histologically: 4 were experimentally infected with Lymantria dispar multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV; Baculoviridae); 4 were experimentally infected with Lymantria dispar cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (LdCPV; Reoviridae); 3 control animals were uninfected. A complete tissue set was evaluated in all animals from all groups using bright-field microscopy, including epidermis, cuticle, striated muscle, tracheae, foregut, midgut, hindgut, Malpighian tubules, hemocytes, fat body, and nervous system. LdMNPV-infected caterpillars had marked karyomegaly and intranuclear viral inclusions in cells of the epidermis, tracheae, fat body, and hemocytes. LdMNPV-infected caterpillars also had hyperplasia and hypertrophy of epidermal and tracheal epithelial cells. LdCPV-infected caterpillars had numerous granular eosinophilic intracytoplasmic viral inclusions in midgut epithelial cells. Both LdMNPV-infected and LdCPV-infected caterpillars had atrophy of fat body adipocytes; this change was more pronounced in LdCPV-infected caterpillars. This work provides the first detailed descriptions of these viral infections in European gypsy moth caterpillars using bright-field light microscopy and provides images of normal histology from control caterpillars.


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