Spatial ecology, phenology, and dispersal of the threatened barrens buck moth, Hemileuca maia (Drury), in a fragmented pine-oak barren

At its northern range edge, Hemileuca maia (inland barrens buck moth) is a specialist on shrubby oaks in pine barrens. Buck moth presence may indicate well-managed pitch pine-scrub oak habitat. Our objectives were to (1) analyze buck moth spatial distribution, estimating both population density and dispersal across management units and (2) quantify phenological differences along frost pocket gradients. Larval density is strongly positively correlated with adult flight counts from the previous fall, as 2012 (R²=0.87; p=0.02) and 2013 (R²=0.91; p=0.003) comparisons suggest. Egg masses were deployed along frost pockets, and larvae were enclosed and weighed three times during their development. Neonate emergence date varied significantly across these gradients (p=0.036), and larvae in frost pockets grew significantly slower than their higher-elevation counterparts during early season feeding (p=0.01). Mark-release-recapture work suggests that traditional adult monitoring overestimates moth abundance. Male moths can fly up to 1 km, even across major anthropogenic barriers, to locate females.