Ecological Entomology (2002) 27, 204-212

Marc Rhainds, Gerhard Gries, Cheng Tuck Ho and Poh Soon Chew (2002)
Dispersal by bagworm larvae, Metisa plana: effects of population density, larval sex, and host plant attributes
Ecological Entomology 27 (2), 204-212
Abstract: 1. The work reported here investigated the incidence of dispersal by bagworm larvae Metisa plana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Psychidae), a species with apterous females and winged males.
2. A mark-recapture study conducted in a plantation of oil palm revealed that a significant proportion of larvae undertakes multiple episodes of ballooning, and suggested that ballooning represents a strategy for foraging both within and between hosts.
3. Experiments conducted in a controlled cage environment indicated that increasing population density and defoliation of oil palm both promote dispersal by larvae.
4. Neonatal larvae typically remained on the host where they emerged, indicating that pupation site of late-instar females influences the distribution of their progeny, and suggesting a high level of genetic relatedness in localised bagworm populations.
5. Density-dependent dispersal may generate relatively uniform distributions of M. plana in plantations of oil palm, by simultaneously stabilising populations on heavily infested palms and redistributing larvae on lightly infested palms.
6. The rate of ballooning was greater for female than for male larvae, possibly resulting from the sex-specific impact of population density on reproductive success or from late-instar females seeking suitable oviposition sites for their future progeny.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Marc Rhainds, Gerhard Gries

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Metisa plana	Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis)	Malaysia