Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T21:37:17.091Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Migrating moths collected in tower-mounted light traps in northern New South Wales, Australia: influence of local and synoptic weather

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

P.C. Gregg ,
G.P. Fitt ,
M. Coombs  and
G.S. Henderson
P.C. Gregg*
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
G.P. Fitt
Affiliation:
CSIRO Division of Entomology, Narrabri, NSW, Australia
M. Coombs
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
G.S. Henderson
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
*
Dr. P. C. Gregg, Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Catches of moths in tower-mounted light traps in northern New South Wales were analysed in relation to local and synoptic weather. Catches were correlated with windspeed, relative humidity and possibly rainfall. No correlations were obtained with temperature or moon phase. Catches were more likely to occur when winds were from the east, and were associated with wind shifts. There was a significant association with the passage of depressions or troughs, but not cold fronts. The traps were considered to be poor indicators of migration associated with fronts, because these were accompanied by high winds in which trap efficiency was reduced. Stepwise multiple regressions using temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and windspeed accounted for only about 25% of the variance, much lower than in comparable studies with ground level light traps. These results are thought to indicate that the trap catches were reflecting long-distance migration, which was usually associated with disturbed weather. Back tracking with upper wind data was used to define probable sources of moths. In the spring and early summer, these sources were predominantly to the north and west of the traps, in semi-arid pastoral and subhumid cropping zones. In the late summer and autumn they were predominantly to the south and east, in the humid pastoral and forest zone. These results are discussed in relation to the migratory strategies of several important agricultural pest species.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 84 , Issue 1 , March 1994 , pp. 17 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baker, R.R. & Sadovy, Y. (1978) The distance and nature of the light-trap response of moths. Nature, London 276, 818–820.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergh, J.-E. (1988) Take-off activity in caged desert locusts, Schistocerca gregaria (Forsk.) (Orthoptera. Acrididae) in relation to meteorological disturbances. International Journal of Biometeorology 32, 95–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowden, J. & Morris, M.S. (1975) The influence of moonlight on catches of insects in light-traps in Africa. III. The effective radius of a mercury-vapour light-trap and the analysis of catches using effective radius. Bulletin of Entomological Research 65, 303–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carpenter, J.E., Sparks, A.N. & Harrell, E.A. (1981) Effect of temperature on wingbeat frequency and sustained flight of certain lepidopteran insects. Journal of the Georgia Entomological Society 16, 451–457.Google Scholar
Clarke, D.P. (1969) Night flights of the Australian plague locust, Chortoicetes terminifera Walk., in relation to storms. Australian Journal of Zoology 17, 329–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Common, I.F.B. (1954) A study of the ecology of the adult bogong moth, Agrotis infusa (Boisd.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), with special reference to its behaviour during migration and aestivation. Australian Journal of Zoology 2, 223–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Common, I.F.B. (1990) Moths of Australia. 535 pp. Melbourne, Melbourne University Press.Google Scholar
Coombs, M., Del Socorro, A.P., Fitt, G.P. & Gregg, P.C. (1993) The reproductive maturity and mating status of Helicoverpa armigera, H. punctigera and Mythimna convecta moths collected in tower-mounted light traps in northern New South Wales, Australia. Bulletin of Entomological Research 83, 529–534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cribb, J. (Ed.) (1989) Australian Agriculture: the complete reference on rural industry. 561 pp. Camberwell, Victoria, Morescope Pty. Ltd.Google Scholar
Dickison, R.B.B., Haggis, M.J. & Rainey, R.C. (1983) Spruce budworm moth flight and storms: case study of a cold front system. Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 22, 278–286.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickison, R.B.B., Haggis, M.J., Rainey, R.C. & Burns, L.M.D. (1986) Spruce budworm moth flight and storms: further studies using aircraft and radar. Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 25, 1600–1608.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Douthwaite, R.J. (1978) Some effects of weather and moonlight on light-trap catches of the armyworm, Spodoptera exempta (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) at Muguga, Kenya. Bulletin of Entomological Research 68, 533–542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drake, V.A. (1985) Radar observations of moths migrating in a nocturnal low-level jet. Ecological Entomology 10, 259–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drake, V.A. & Farrow, R.A. (1988) The influence of atmospheric structure and motions on insect migration. Annual Review of Entomology 33, 183–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drake, V.A., Helm, K.F., Readshaw, J.L. & Reid, D.G. (1981) Insect migration across Bass Strait during spring: a radar study. Bulletin of Entomological Research 71, 449–466.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrow, R.A. (1986) Interactions between synoptic scale and boundary-layer meteorology on micro-insect migration. pp. 185–195in Danthanarayana, W. (Ed.) Insect flight: dispersal and migration Berlin, Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrow, R.A. & Daly, J.C. (1987) Long-range movements as an adaptive strategy in the genus Heliothis: a review of its occurrence and detection in four pest species. Australian Journal of Zoology 35, 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrow, R.A. & McDonald, G. (1987) Migration strategies and outbreaks of noctuid pests in Australia. Insect Science and its Application 8, 531–542.Google Scholar
Fitt, G.P. & Daly, J.C. (1990) Abundance of overwintering pupae and the spring generation of Helicoverpa spp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in northern New South Wales, Australia: implications for pest management. Journal of Economic Entomology 83, 1827–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitt, G.P., Zalucki, M.P. & Twine, P.H. (1989) Temporal and spatial patterns in pheromone-trap catches of Helicoverpa spp. (Lepidoptera Noctuidae) in cotton-growing areas of Australia. Bulletin of Entomological Research 79, 145–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forrester, N.W. (1990) Designing, implementing and servicing an insecticide resistance management strategy. Pesticide Science 28, 167–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, K.J. (1978) The transoceanic migration of Lepidoptera to New Zealand—a history and a hypothesis on colonisation. New Zealand Entomologist 6, 368–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregg, P.C. (1993) Pollen as a marker for migration of Helicoverpa armigera and H. punctigera (Lepidoptera Noctuidae) from western Queensland Australian Journal of Ecology 18, 209–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregg, P.C., Fitt, G.P., Coombs, M. & Henderson, G.S. (1993a) Migrating moths collected in tower-mounted light traps in northern New South Wales, Australia: species composition and seasonal abundance Bulletin of Entomological Research 83, 563–578.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregg, P.C., Fitt, G.P., Zalucki, M.P. & Murray, D.A.H. (in press) Insect migration in an and continent. II. Hehcoverpa spp. in Australia pp. 00in Drake, V.A. & Gatehouse, A.G (Eds) Insect migration: physical factors and physiological mechanisms. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gunning, R.V. & Easton, C.S. (1989) Pyrethroid resistance in Hehothis armigera (Hubner) collected from unsprayed maize crops in New South Wales, 1983–1987. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 28, 57–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartstack, A.W., Hollingsworth, J.P., Ridgway, R.L. & Hunt, H.H. (1971) Determination of trap spacings required to control an insect population. Journal of Economic Entomology 64, 1090–1100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, C.G. (1969) Migration and dispersal of insects by flight. 763 pp London, Methuen.Google Scholar
McDonald, G. (1989) Colonisation of grasslands and crops of eastern Australia by the common armyworm, Mythimna convecta (Walker) pp. 169–176in Stahle, PP. (Ed) Proceedings of the Fifth Australasian Conference on Grassland In vertebrate Ecology.Victoria,Melbourne University Press.Google Scholar
McDonald, G. (in press) Insect migration in an arid continent. I. The common armyworm (Mythimna convecta) in eastern Australia. In Drake, V A. & Gatehouse, G. (Eds) Insect migration: physical factors and physiological mechanisms Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
McGeachie, W.J. (1989) The effects of moonlight illuminance, temperature and windspeed on light-trap catches of moths. Bulletin of Entomological Research 79, 185–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morton, R., Tuart, L.D., & Wardhaugh, K.G. (1981) The analysis and standardisation of light-trap catches of Hehothis armigera (Hübner) and H. punctigera Wallengren (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Bulletin of Entomological Research 71, 207–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muirhead-Thomson, R.C. (1991) Trap responses of flying insects. 287 pp. London, Academic PressGoogle Scholar
Pedgley, D.E. (1982) Windborne pests and diseases, meteorology of airborne organisms. 250 pp Chichester, Ellis Horwood.Google Scholar
Pedgley, D. (1990) Concentration of flying insects by the wind Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 328, 631–653.Google Scholar
Persson, B. (1976) Influence of weather and nocturnal illumination on the activity and abundance of populations of noctuids (Lepidoptera) in south coastal Queensland Bulletin of Entomological Research 66, 33–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rainey, R.C. (1989) Migration and meteorology flight behaviour and the atmospheric environment of locusts and other migrant pests 314 pp. Oxford, Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Riley, J.R. & Reynolds, D.R. (1986) Orientation at night by high-flying insects pp. 71–87in Danthanarayana, W. (Ed.) Insect flight: dispersal and migration Berlin, Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riley, J.R., Reynolds, D.R. & Farmery, M.J. (1983) Observations of the flight behaviour of the armyworm moth, Spodoptera exempta, at an emergence site using radar and infra-red optical techniques. Ecological Entomology 8, 395–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riordan, A.J. (1979) Density and availability of meteorological data and their use in illustrating atmosphere long-range transport in the southeastern United States. pp. 120–132in Rabb, R.L. & Kennedy, G.G. (Eds) Movement of highly mobile insects: concepts and methodology in research Raleigh, North Carolina State University.Google Scholar
Taylor, L.R. (1974) Insect migration, flight periodicity and the boundary layer. Journal of Animal Ecology 43, 225–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, L.R. & Carter, C.I. (1961) The analysis of numbers and distribution in an aerial population of Macrolepidoptera Transactions of the Royal Society of London 113, 369–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, M.R. (1983) Light trap catches of African armyworm moths, Spodoptera exempta (Walker) (Lepidoptera. Noctuidae), in relation to rain and wind. Bulletin of Entomological Research 73, 315–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, M.R., Mwandoto, S. & Pedgley, D.E. (1982) Further evidence for windbome movement of armyworm moths, Spodoptera exempta, in East Africa. Ecological Entomology 7, 463–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wellington, W.G. (1954) Atmospheric circulation processes and insect ecology Canadian Entomologist 86, 312–333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolf, W.W., Sparkes, A.N., Pair, S.D., Westbrook, J.K. & Tryesdale, F.M. (1986) Radar observations and collections of insects in the Gulf of Mexico. pp 221–234in Danthanarayana, W (Ed) Insect flight. Berlin, Springer VerlagCrossRefGoogle Scholar