Human-mediated long-distance jumps of the pine processionary moth in Europe

Abstract

Although climate change is currently affecting the distribution of many species, insects are particularly impacted because of their high sensitivity to temperature. The pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa, is a forest insect extending its distribution in response to climate warming. Some pioneer colonies were recently detected far beyond the main range, near Paris and in eastern France. This study tracked the origin and pathways of these pioneer colonies through a combined use of genetic markers, measurement of female flight capabilities, and comparative analyses of the natural enemy complexes. This study also aimed to determine the establishment capability beyond the main range, considering the survival rate during two recent cold periods. The larval survival rate was higher in pioneer colonies (which behave like urban heat islands) than in main range. The flight capacity of females would not have allowed them to come from the main range or the nearest established colonies, and molecular tools further showed that individuals from at least three pioneer colonies were not assigned or similar to individuals at the edge of the main range. Egg parasitoids were absent while pupal parasitoids were present in the pioneer colonies suggesting an introduction at the pupal stage. These approaches provided strong evidence that this species has been accidentally moved near Paris and to eastern France, supporting the hypothesis of human-mediated transportation over natural dispersal. This type of dispersal was unexpected because of risks from urticating hairs and the easy detection of the species.

Trees outside forests in agricultural landscapes: spatial distribution and impact on habitat connectivity for forest organisms

“…The distribution of PPM is controlled by the minimum winter temperatures (Huchon and Demolin 1970), and the species range is currently expanding northward and in elevation due to climate change (Battisti et al 2005;Robinet et al 2007). Since the early 90s, the PPM's range has expanded towards north of France without being noticeably affected by the presence of large wide open-field areas such as the Beauce region (Roques et al 2015a) despite limited female dispersal ability (Robinet et al 2012) (Fig. 1).…”

“…3a). Figure 3b shows experimental data illustrating the flight abilities of female moths in the laboratory (data from Robinet et al 2012). From this barplot, it can be seen that more than 54 % of female moths fly between 0 and 1 km; 16.21 % fly a distance between 1 and 2 km, while this proportion is 13.51 % for distances ranging from 2 to 3 km.…”

Cambio climático y plagas: algo más que el clima

“…Pero si entendemos la agrupación de los hospedadores a una escala espacial algo más amplia, una cierta continuidad en los pinares favorece la infección de los parches locales cercanos, ya que aunque la mariposa puede eventualmente hacer vuelos de larga distancia, la mayor parte de sus movimientos son de corta o muy corta distancia (Robinet et al 2012). …”

“…3). Tengamos en cuenta que la capacidad de vuelo de la mariposa de la procesionaria es usualmente pequeña (Robinet et al 2012) y, sobre todo, que su tiempo de selección de lugar de puesta es muy limitado, ya que suele aparearse y ovopositar en la misma noche de su emergencia. Añadamos a esto que, como perteneciente a la familia Notodontidae, su capacidad auditiva es reducida en comparación con otras familias de lepidópteros nocturnos, lo que la hace muy susceptible al ataque por murciéla-gos mientras está en vuelo.…”

Artvin ve Çevresinde Çam Kese Böceği Riskinin Geleceğe Yönelik Modellenmesi

“…to spread towards east. Furthermore, it could be transported accidentally to available pine stands as it has happened to T. pityocampa in France (Robinet et al 2012). Apart from these possibilities, shifting host preference is the main reason of pestiferous organisms being such an overwhelming diversity today and it should never be ignored in future management plans.…”