Environmental Entomology (1995) 24, 193-203

A.M. Liebhold, J.S. Elkinton, G. Zhou, M.E. Hohn, R.E. Rossi, G.H. Boettner, C.W. Boettner, C. Burnham and M.L. McManus (1995)
Regional correlation of gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) defoliation with counts of egg masses, pupae, and male moths
Environmental Entomology 24 (2), 193-203
Abstract: Three different gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), sampling techniques were compared for their spatial correlation with regional defoliation maps. Counts of gypsy moth pupae and egg masses under burlap bands, and counts of male moths in pheromone-baited traps were taken in a network of 150 plots distributed irregularly throughout Massachusetts. These counts were compared with aerial sketch maps of gypsy moth defoliation collected (luring the same period and digitized into cells (2 by 2 km) cells in a geographic information system, The spatial correlation between counts of the three gypsy moth life stages and defoliation was examined using indicator cross-correlograms. A cross-correlogram quantifies the spatial covariation between two variables by plotting the cross-correlation for a series of interpoint distances. Cross-correlograms indicated that there was substantial correlation between egg mass counts and subsequent defoliation. These correlations extended to 10 cells (20 km) in some cases. Similar patterns were observed for counts of pupae. In contrast, there was little cross-correlation between defoliation and counts of male moths. These results indicate that counts of egg masses (or pupae) under burlap bands may be the most suitable variable to measure for predicting gypsy moth defoliation on a regional scale. The lack of correlation between male moth counts and regional defoliation is discussed.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Andrew M. Liebhold

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
damage/losses/economics
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Lymantria dispar		U.S.A. (NE)