Impacts and Options for Biodiversity-Oriented Land Managers
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GYPSY MOTH (LYMANTRIA DISPAR): IMPACTS AND OPTIONS FOR BIODIVERSITY-ORIENTED LAND MANAGERS May 2004 NatureServe is a non-profit organization providing the scientific knowledge that forms the basis for effective conservation action. A NatureServe Technical Report Citation: Schweitzer, Dale F. 2004. Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar): Impacts and Options for Biodiversity- Oriented Land Managers. 59 pages. NatureServe: Arlington, Virginia. © 2004 NatureServe NatureServe 1101 Wilson Blvd., 15th Floor Arlington, VA 22209 www.natureserve.org Author’s Contact Information: Dr. Dale Schweitzer Terrestrial Invertebrate Zoologist NatureServe 1761 Main Street Port Norris, NJ 08349 856-785-2470 Email: [email protected] NatureServe Gypsy Moth: Impacts and Options for Biodiversity-Oriented Land Managers 2 Acknowledgments Richard Reardon (United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, Morgantown, WV), Kevin Thorpe (Agricultural Research Service, Insect Chemical Ecology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD) and William Carothers (Forest Service Forest Protection, Asheville, NC) for technical review. Sandra Fosbroke (Forest Service Information Management Group, Morgantown, WV) provided many helpful editorial comments. The author also wishes to commend the Forest Service for funding so much important research and technology development into the impacts of gypsy moth and its control on non-target organisms and for encouraging development of more benign control technologies like Gypchek. Many, but by no means all, Forest Service-funded studies are cited in this document, including Peacock et al. (1998), Wagner et al. (1996), and many of the studies cited from Linda Butler and Ann Hajek. Many other studies in the late 1980s and 1990s had USDA Forest Service funding from the Appalachian Gypsy Moth Integrated Pest Management Project (AIPM). USDA Forest Service-funded work on BTK in the 1990s in particular has produced results that could not have been anticipated. Restrictions on Use: Permission to use, copy, and distribute these data is hereby granted under the following conditions: 1. The above copyright notice must appear in all documents and reports; 2. 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NatureServe Gypsy Moth: Impacts and Options for Biodiversity-Oriented Land Managers 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Basic Life History ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Gypsy Moth Habitat and Foodplant Comments .......................................................................................... 8 Population Dynamics ................................................................................................................................... 9 Short term trends ........................................................................................................................... 11 Long term trend ............................................................................................................................ 11 Native and introduced natural controls ......................................................................................... 11 Threats and Impacts of Gypsy Moth Control Practices ............................................................................. 12 Apparent Impacts from Past (1950s – 1980s) Control Programs .............................................................. 13 Impacts from biological control efforts, especially Compsilura and Entomophaga ..................... 15 Potential Impacts from More Current Control Practices ............................................................................ 18 Potential Impacts from Gypsy Moth .......................................................................................................... 19 Impacts of gypsy moth outbreaks on native Lepidoptera and other leaf eaters ........................... 21 Summary of Potential Impacts Related to Gypsy Moth ............................................................................. 24 Protection Needs ........................................................................................................................................ 24 Protecting special habitats ............................................................................................................. 24 Management Summary, Current Management Programs .......................................................................... 26 Overview of Gypsy Moth Management Practices ..................................................................................... 27 Impacts Related to Gypsy Moth and Its Management for Biodiversity Oriented Managers to Consider . 28 Defoliation and tree mortality ....................................................................................................... 28 Old growth forests ........................................................................................................................ 28 Rare plants .................................................................................................................................... 28 Native fauna.................................................................................................................................. 29 Overview of Management Methods and Options ...................................................................................... 32 Non-target issues with Dimilin® .................................................................................................. 35 Non-target issues with Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (= BTK) ........................................... 38 Non-target issues with Entomophaga maimaiga .......................................................................... 44 Evaluation of Natural Communities and Rare Species Occurrences With a History of Gypsy Moth Spraying ..................................................................................................................................................... 44 NatureServe Gypsy Moth: Impacts and Options for Biodiversity-Oriented Land Managers 4 Monitoring Methods .................................................................................................................................. 45 Monitoring Programs and Contacts ........................................................................................................... 46 Management Research Programs............................................................................................................... 46 Management Research Needs .................................................................................................................... 46 Restoration Potential.................................................................................................................................. 48 Additional Topics: Decline of Larger Summer Moths In and Near New England.................................... 49 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 52 Foreword In July 2001, Dale Schweitzer, representing NatureServe, contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Health Protection (FHP) in Region 8 concerning their interest in providing funding to update the Gypsy Moth Element Stewardship abstract prepared by this author in 1987-1988. FHP, R-8 and the Forest Health Technology Enterprise team provided financial assistance in completing this version to be posted on the NatureServe website. The use of trade, firm or corporation names as well as remarks about insecticides or their impacts do not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or U.S. Forest Service. NatureServe Gypsy Moth: Impacts and Options for Biodiversity-Oriented