Survival and Recovery of the Pine-Tree Lappet Dendrolimus pini When Subjected to Simulated Starvation

Abstract

There are many reasons to study the survival and recovery of animals after starvation in simulated transport conditions or other passive dispersal methods. To do so, we chose Dendrolimus pini, an economically important pest of Scots pine with great potential in terms of passive dispersal outside its territory. In this work, we sought to answer the following questions: What is the maximum survival of different instar larvae after total starvation? Does access to dry tissues of the preferred host plant extend the lifespan of the larvae? Does the possibility of larvae recovery exist after starvation for various periods? We found that older larvae survived longer without food than younger larvae. Moreover, dry food did not extend the lifespan of the larvae. Our observations showed that insects were interested in food and tasted it at the beginning, but they did not feed on it for long. Furthermore, larvae recovery was indeed possible, and the time of starvation did not significantly affect this. We generally concluded that the D. pini larvae were characterized by the ability to survive without food for up to one month, which confirms that this species is able to survive long durations of transport to almost anywhere in the world.

Metabolic responses to starvation and feeding contribute to the invasiveness of an emerging pest insect

“…For example, third instar larvae of Dendrolimus pini (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), an economically important pest of Pinus spp. that has undergone a range expansion in Europe, survived a maximum of 28 days under starvation (Lukowski et al, 2020). There are however several examples of insect larvae that survive to a similar extent (>2 months) under starvation (see Rotkopf and Ovadia, 2014).…”

Molecular investigation of the pine‐tree lappet moth Dendrolimus pini (L.) population in Scotland: a new arrival or an old acquaintance?

“…The phenotypically plastic D. pini, whose species range encompasses a wide range of environmental conditions from North Africa to Scandinavia, is patently capable of breeding in the Scottish environment. Moreover, recent work by Lukowski et al (2020) has shown that D. pini larvae are characterized by the ability to survive without food for up to 1 month. This highlights that D. pini larvae would be able to survive long distance transport from virtually anywhere in the world and if larvae had been transported in soil or on timber products into Scotland, the chance of finding an exact haplotype match is a considerable challenge.…”