Invasion of Winter Moth in New England: Effects of Defoliation and Site Quality on Tree Mortality

Abstract

Widespread and prolonged defoliation by the European winter moth, Operophtera brumata L., has occurred in forests of eastern Massachusetts for more than a decade and populations of winter moth continue to invade new areas of New England. This study characterized the forests of eastern Massachusetts invaded by winter moth and related the duration of winter moth defoliation estimated using dendrochronology to observed levels of tree mortality and understory woody plant density. Quercus basal area mortality in mixed Quercus and mixed Quercus-Pinus strobus forests in eastern Massachusetts ranged from 0-30%; mortality of Quercus in these forests was related to site quality and the number of winter moth defoliation events. In addition, winter moth defoliation events lead to a subsequent increase in understory woody plant density. Our results indicate that winter moth defoliation has been an important disturbance in New England forests that may have lasting impacts.

Mate choice errors may contribute to slow spread of an invasive Eurasian longhorn beetle in North America

“…There are similar concerns in other invasive insects. For instance, the winter moth Operophtera brumata Linnaeus is invasive to north-eastern North America and co-exists with its native congener Operophtera bruceata Hulst (Elkinton et al 2010;Simmons et al 2014). As in Tetropium, sex pheromones are highly conserved across the genus and the sex pheromone blend of O. brumata females attracts both O. brumata and O. bruceata males (Khrimian et al 2010).…”

Asymmetric hybridization between non-native winter moth,Operophtera brumata(Lepidoptera: Geometridae), and native Bruce spanworm,Operophtera bruceata, in the Northeastern United States, assessed with novel microsatellites and SNPs

“…The European winter moth, Operophtera brumata L. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), is a non-native invasive pest in the Northeastern USA that is currently spreading and causing defoliation and tree mortality in the Northeastern USA (Elkinton et al , 2010; Simmons et al , 2014). In its native range of Europe, winter moth undergoes 9–10-year cyclical outbreaks (Tenow et al , 2013).…”