Population Biology of Asian Gypsy Moth

Research Issue

The biology and ecology of Asian strains of the gypsy moth are both similar and different from European strains in important ways.  In order to develop more efficient strategies or managing invasions of Asian strains via survey and eradication, it is necessary to understand the population biology of Asian strains.

Our Research

Our work focuses on several important aspects of Asian gypsy moth population ecology, including dispersal, population growth, naturally occurring mortality and establishment of isolated populations.

Expected Outcomes

One outcome of this work will be a better understanding of the population dynamics of Asian gypsy moth populations. We need to know the extent to which their populations are governed by the same processes (e.g., predation) as populations already established in N. America.

We also intend to develop more sound strategies for surveying and eradicating isolated gypsy moth populations. Given the greater ability of females to fly found in many Asian strains, this information will be incorporated in models to simulate population growth.  These models can be tested to evaluate the effectiveness of detection / eradication strategies.

Research Results

Robinet, C. and A.M. Liebhold. 2009. Dispersal polymorphism in an invasive forest pest affects its ability to establish. Ecological Applications 19: 1935–1943 

Liebhold, A.M., Naoto Kamata, Marek Turcáni. 2008. Inference of Adult Female Dispersal from the Distribution of Gypsy Moth Egg Masses in a Japanese City. Agricultural and Forest Entomology 10: 69–73

Liebhold, A.M., Y. Higashiura, and A. Unno. 1998. Forest type affects predation on gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) pupae in Japan. Environ. Entomol. 27: 858-862.

Research Participants

Principal Investigator

• Andrew Liebhold, USDA-Forest Service- Northern Research Station, Research Entomologist

Research Partners

• Christelle Robinet, INRA, Orleans, France, Ecologist
• Naoto Kamata, Tokyo University, Professor
• Almaz Orozumbekov, Osh Technological University, Professor

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/invasive_species/asiangm/biology_ecology/population_biology/