http://www.cosbc.ca/index.php?

option=com_content&view=article&id=377&Itemid=75

Invasive Species:
Lymantria Dispar
Tiffany Chan

Song: Embrace (Fred Falke and Miami Horror Remix) - PNAU ft. Ladyhawke 1
Best heard through speakers. Slides automatically change and clicking is unnecessary.
 Lymantria Dispar

Asian Gypsy Moth

Insect family

Defoliates trees

Destructive to forest
ecosystem Asian Gypsy Moth
(John H. Ghent)

Defoliation of hardwood trees along Allegheny Front near

Snow Shoe, Pennsylvania in July, 2007.
(Dhalusa, 2007)

2
 Adult Gypsy Moths
• Both sexes have hairy bodies
• Males
– Colour: tan, brown, grey with
irregular black wing markings
– Wingspan: 4 – 5 cm
– Plumose antennas
• Females
– Colour: white with faint dark,
wavy bands across wing
– Wingspan: 5 – 9 cm
Male (left) and female (right) gypsy moths
– Strong fliers (USDA APHIS PPQ Archive)
• Asian species larger than
European

3
 Gypsy Moth Eggs
• Length: 15 to 40 mm
• 1000+ eggs each
• Oval shaped, raised
• Beige colour
– Hairs, scales shed
• Tree trunks, branches,
rocks, buildings, vehicles,
outdoor furniture, storage
containers, ships Wintering moth eggs.
(Milan Zubrik)

4
 Larvae
• Emerge in spring
• Black bodies with yellow stripes
– Rows of blue or red tubercles bearing tufts of hair
• From 2-3 mm to 2-3 inches
• Pupation lasts for two weeks

Larva
(Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Archives)
5
 Pupae
• Dark reddish brown
– Some yellowish hairs
• Females
– 15 to 35 mm
• Males
– 15 to 20 mm
• Adults emerge Larvae going into pupation.

midsummer Ferenc Lakatos

6
 Life Cycle
• Procreate annually
• Hatching depends on
weather
– Mid-late April
– Sometimes late May
• “Ballooning” adds 5
km to range
Larvae “flying” away.
(A. Steven Munson)

7
 Life Cycle
• Feed for 6-8 weeks
– Varies with weather,
host conditions,
location
• 5 male instars, 6
female instars
• Larvae may disperse
in search of more
foliage

Larvae crawling over a port a potty.

Fengyou Jia 8
 Destruction

Damage from Lymantria dispar

(Mark Robinson)

• Consumer
– Defoliate, feed on trees, shrubs
• Decomposed, preyed on

9
 Origins
• Eastern Russia
• China
• Japan
• Korea
• Germany
• North Africa
Map of Asia and Africa
Unknown

10
 Niche : What it Does
• Unknown niche
– Repopulates, eaten in short
period
• Alder, birch, dogwood,
Douglas-fir, hazelnut, hemlock,
juniper, larch, maple, oak,
pine, poplars, some cedars,
some true firs, trembling
aspen, willow, apple, apricot
ash, beech, cherry, chestnut,
elm, hawthorn, holly, linden,
peach, pear, plum, redwood,
walnut
Egg masses on an oak tree.
(USDA APHIS PPQ)

11
 Niche : What Feeds on It
• Flies
• Ground beetles
• Ants
• Wasps
• Spiders
• Birds
– Chickadees, blue jays,
nuthatches, towhees, robins,
starling, grackles, red-winged
blackbirds
• Woodland mammals
– White-footed mouse, shrews,
chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons
– Small mammals responsible for
Invite birds to feed on gypsy moths.
most deaths
Unknown
• Calosoma beetles, cuckoos,
flocking birds
– Attracted to infested areas

12
 Introduction
• Medford, Massachusetts (1863)
– Amateur entomologist Étienne Léopold Trouvelot
– To make caterpillar hybrid that could resist disease
• Moths escaped, found a suitable habitat (1869)

Étienne Léopold Trouvelot

13
Unknown
 Effects
• Hairs induces allergic
reactions
– Skin rash, respiratory
problems
• Trees susceptible to
disease, bacteria, fungus,
drought, insects, forest
fires
– Ecosystem must reset itself
• Economic industries,
recreational areas greatly Gypsy moth egg masses covering tree.
(Milan Pernek, 2004)
affected
14
 Methods of Control
• Entomophaga maimaiga
– Native Japanese fungus
– Feeds on the moth caterpillars
tissue
• Coat egg clusters with
pesticide Gypsy moth filled with
• Collect, seal eggs in cans Entomophaga
maimaiga hanging
• Band tree trunks with from tree trunk.
Donald Specker
tanglefoot to kill larvae
• Bacillus thuringienisis,
diflubenzuron dimilin, acephate
orthene, carbaryl sevin

Tanglefoot slathered duct tape.

Unknown

15
 Methods of Control
• Wilt disease
– LdNPV (Nucleopolyhedrosis)
virus
– Collapses outbreaks by killing
larvae, pupae
– Larvae are shiny, hang limply
in an inverted ‘V’ position
• Temperature of -29°C for 48 to
72 hours
– Kill exposed eggs
• Cold, rainy weather slows
growth
• Alternate periods of freezing Late instar gypsy moth killed by NPV. Note moist
appearance and inverted the "V" position.
and thawing prevent eggs from (D. Specker)

hatching

16
 Conclusion

Plane sprays Bacillus thuringienisis

on forest to help control gypsy
moth outbreak.
(Dale Meyerhoeffer, 2008)

• Attempts to control these pests have been

effective
– Moths still reproducing
• It will take many years for the trees and the
ecosystems of the region to recover
17
 Conclusion

Gypsy moth life cycle.

Unknown

Eggs on a ship.
Unknown

A tree stripped by gypsy moth larvae.

Unknown Larvae growing on
garden gnome. 18
(Fengyou Jia)
 Works Cited
• Asian gypsy moth definition of Asian gypsy moth in the Free Online Encyclopedia..
(n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2009, from
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Asian+gypsy+moth
• Gypsy Moth. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2009, from
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/gypsymoth.htm
• Gypsy moth - Canadian Forest Service. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2009, from
http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/factsheets/gypsy-moth
• Gypsy Moth - Urgent Advisory. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2009, from
http://www.cosbc.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=377&Itemid=75
• Gypsy moth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2009,
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsy_moth
• Issg Database: Ecology of Lymantria dispar. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2009,
from www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?fr=1&si=96
• Issg Database: Impact Information for Lymantria dispar. (n.d.). Retrieved September
23, 2009, from http://www.issg.org/database/species/impact_info.asp?
si=96&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN
• (2004). 2004 WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA SET - G8. Chicago : World Book
Encyclopedia.

19