Tuesday, December 11, 2007
D0359

Dispersal of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) pathogens to newly established host populations

Ann E. Hajek, aeh4@cornell.edu1, Patrick Tobin, pc.tobin@gmail.com2, Joshua J. Hannam, jhannam@uark.edu3, Charlotte Nielsen, chni@life.ku.dk1, Andrea Diss-Torrance, Andrea.DissTorrance@wisconsin.gov4, and Kenneth Raffa, raffa@entomology.wisc.edu5. (1) Cornell University, Department of Entomology, 6126 Comstock Hall, Ithaca, NY, (2) USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, 180 Canfield Street, Morgantown, WV, (3) University of Arkansas, Department of Entomology, 319 AGRI, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, (4) Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Office of Science Services, Madison, WI, (5) University of Wisconsin, Department of Entomology, 345 Russell Labs, 1630 Linden Ave, Madison, WI

The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), has spread in the United States since its introduction outside of Boston, Massachusetts in 1869, and is currently established from eastern Wisconsin to northern North Carolina. As the gypsy moth colonizes new areas, entomopathogens that infect larvae, such as the fungus Entomophaga maimaiga and gypsy moth nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV), eventually disperse into new gypsy moth populations, but it is not known how long it takes for these pathogens to naturally follow. We conducted empirical studies in central and southern Wisconsin in 2005-2007 to quantify the movement of entomopathogens and to understand the association among pathogen incidence, gypsy moth abundance, and the time since initial gypsy moth establishment. Prevalence of pathogens and tachinids in gypsy moth populations of varying densities along the edge of gypsy moth spread will be presented.


Species 1: Lepidoptera Lymantriidae Lymantria dispar (gypsy moth)
Species 2: Entomophthorales Entomophthoraceae Entomophaga maimaiga