Can late flushing trees avoid attack by moth larvae in temperate forests?

Kulfan, Ján; Sarvašová, Lenka; Parák, Michal; Dzurenko, Marek; Zach, Peter

doi:10.17221/11/2018-pps

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Agriopis leucophaearia, the most dominant species recorded in caterpillar assemblages, on mature EF Q. pubescens, was in abundance, almost as in microhabitats out of forest as within it (differences were not significant), thus, it follows that the moth does not prefer any of the specific environments given. This species was abundant as well on Q. pubescens in open-canopy forest [10]. In contrast, another dominant species, O. brumata, appeared on Q. pubescens in higher abundance in microhabitats out of forest than in a continuous forest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Early spring Lepidoptera, as recorded, can develop on the leaves of both studied oak species [5,9,10,79,109,110], but caterpillars in Central Europe hatch synchronously with opening buds of EF Q. pubescens [5]. Previous studies have reported low abundances of caterpillars on Q. cerris [9,10,31,111] J. Liška, pers. comm.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…We studied the associational effect of neighbouring trees on spring caterpillar assemblages feeding on two oak species. The abundance and composition of these assemblages were mostly determined by two dominant moth species, A. leucophaearia and O. brumata, occurring frequently and in abundance on Central European oak species [2][3][4][5][9][10][11][12]. As for other tree species and their caterpillar assemblages, further research is needed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In temperate European forests, many early-flushing (EF) deciduous trees host numerous species of spring-feeding caterpillars of Lepidoptera, among them well-known Operophtera brumata (Linnaeus, 1758), Erannis defoliaria (Clerck, 1759), Agriopis spp., Tortrix viridana (Linnaeus, 1758), Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758), etc. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. They often cause defoliation of woody plants in forests or fruit trees.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spring caterpillars can resist starvation only for a few days [14]. On the other hand, if they do it too comprise numerous lepidopteran species occurring first in spring and being synchronised with the bud burst of EF host trees [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Infestation of Early- and Late-Flushing Trees by Spring Caterpillars: An Associational Effect of Neighbouring Trees

Sarvašová

Zach

Parák³

et al. 2021

Forests

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In temperate forests within Europe, early-flushing (EF) deciduous trees are often heavily infested by early spring leaf-eating Lepidoptera, while late-flushing (LF) trees are better protected in a phenological manner against such heavy infestations, as spring moth larvae begin to appear before their bud burst. The associational effects of EF trees on LF ones are only poorly known. We studied whether or not the infestation of LF trees by spring Lepidoptera can be affected by EF ones if they grow in the immediate vicinity. We compared spring assemblages of leaf-eating larvae of Lepidoptera on LF Quercus cerris L. with those on EF Q. pubescens Willd. in several microhabitats in Slovakia, Central Europe. Larvae were collected from mature and young trees. Mature trees sampled were growing: (1) in a closed-canopy forest; (2) in small groups; or (3) as a lone tree. Forest and tree groups are both constituted by oak species. Tree groups and lone trees were 20–50 m distant from forest edges. Young trees were growing (1) under mature Q. pubescens trees in a forest or (2) as a lone tree within forest gaps or near the edges. In the closed-canopy forest where LF trees (Q. cerris) were surrounded by EF ones (Q. pubescens), the caterpillars on mature LF trees were in abundance, almost as on mature EF ones. The species composition of larval assemblages on the two oak species was similar. In contrast, on small groups and on lone trees, the lepidopteran larvae were significantly less abundant on LF trees than EF ones. In the case of young trees, the abundance of larvae and their composition assemblages on both oaks were comparable in the forest. In the open habitat, LF trees were less infested by larvae than EF ones and the assemblages of moth larvae differed between the two. Our results reveal the effect (associational susceptibility) of EF trees on LF ones when growing in a close vicinity. It means that the phenological protection of LF trees may not be sufficient if they grow close to or are surrounded by EF ones.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Infestation of Early- and Late-Flushing Trees by Spring Caterpillars: An Associational Effect of Neighbouring Trees

Sarvašová

Zach

Parák³

et al. 2021

Forests

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Trait‐mediated responses of caterpillar communities to spongy moth outbreaks and subsequent tebufenozide treatments

Leroy,

Rabl,

Püls

et al. 2023

Ecological Applications

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Outbreaks of the spongy moth Lymantria dispar can have devastating impacts on forest resources and ecosystems. Lepidoptera‐specific insecticides, such as Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (BTK) and tebufenozide, are often deployed to prevent heavy defoliation of the forest canopy. While it has been suggested that using BTK poses less risk to non‐target Lepidoptera than leaving an outbreak untreated, in situ testing of this assumption has been impeded by methodological challenges. The trade‐offs between insecticide use and outbreaks have yet to be addressed for tebufenozide, which is believed to have stronger side effects than BTK. We investigated the short‐term trade‐offs between tebufenozide treatments and no‐action strategies for the non‐target herbivore community in forest canopies. Over 3 years, Lepidoptera and Symphyta larvae were sampled by canopy fogging in 48 oak stands in southeast Germany during and after a spongy moth outbreak. Half of the sites were treated with tebufenozide and changes in canopy cover were monitored. We contrasted the impacts of tebufenozide and defoliator outbreaks on the abundance, diversity, and functional structure of chewing herbivore communities. Tebufenozide treatments strongly reduced Lepidoptera up to 6 weeks after spraying. Populations gradually converged back to control levels after 2 years. Shelter‐building species dominated caterpillar assemblages in treated plots in the post‐spray weeks, while flight‐dimorphic species were slow to recover and remained underrepresented in treated stands 2 years post‐treatment. Spongy moth outbreaks had minor effects on leaf chewer communities. Summer Lepidoptera decreased only when severe defoliation occurred, whereas Symphyta declined 1 year after defoliation. Polyphagous species with only partial host plant overlap with the spongy moth were absent from heavily defoliated sites, suggesting greater sensitivity of generalists to defoliation‐induced plant responses. These results demonstrate that both tebufenozide treatments and spongy moth outbreaks alter canopy herbivore communities. Tebufenozide had a stronger and longer lasting impact, but it was restricted to Lepidoptera, whereas the outbreak affected both Lepidoptera and Symphyta. These results are tied to the fact that only half of the outbreak sites experienced severe defoliation. This highlights the limited accuracy of current defoliation forecast methods, which are used as the basis for the decision to spray insecticides.

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Trophic generalism in the winter moth: a model species for phenological mismatch

Weir

2024

Oecologia

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Climate change has the potential to disrupt phenological synchrony among interacting species that vary in their phenological sensitivity to temperature. The phenological synchrony observed between winter moth Operophtera brumata caterpillars and oak leafing in spring has become an emblematic test case of this phenomenon, with caterpillars seemingly advancing their phenology more than their host-plant. However, work on this trophic interaction—and on phenological mismatch more widely—routinely overlooks the potential for trophic generalism to buffer the negative effects of mismatch. In the largest study of its kind—using over 3500 individuals reared from egg to pupa—I tested the performance of winter moth caterpillars from four UK populations across nine host-plant species, and considered how adaptation to locally abundant host-plants may modulate performance in different populations. I found that caterpillars survive and grow well across a range of host-plant species, with some evidence of a host-plant by population interaction in performance. Contrary to widespread assumptions, oak seems a relatively poor host-plant species. Occupying a broad trophic niche may help consumers like the winter moth exploit a narrow phenological niche, whereby phenological variation among host-plant species buffers them against asynchrony with any one particular host-plant species. Determining the significance of trophic generalism in the ecology of consumers is a crucial first step towards assessing its role as a potential buffering mechanism and, hence, evaluating the true threat posed by mismatch.

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Can late flushing trees avoid attack by moth larvae in temperate forests?

Cited by 11 publications

References 51 publications

Infestation of Early- and Late-Flushing Trees by Spring Caterpillars: An Associational Effect of Neighbouring Trees

Infestation of Early- and Late-Flushing Trees by Spring Caterpillars: An Associational Effect of Neighbouring Trees

Trait‐mediated responses of caterpillar communities to spongy moth outbreaks and subsequent tebufenozide treatments

Trophic generalism in the winter moth: a model species for phenological mismatch

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