Environmental Entomology (1998) 27, 858-862

Andrew M. Liebhold, Yasutomo Higashiura and Akira Unno (1998)
Forest type affects predation on gypsy moth (Lepidoptera : Lymantriidae) pupae in Japan
Environmental Entomology 27 (4), 858-862
Abstract: A compilation of historical defoliation data from Hokkaido, Japan confirms previous reports that plantations of Larix leptolepis Gordon are more susceptible to defoliation by the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) than are natural forests dominated by Quercus crispula Thumb. In this study, we compared levels of predation on laboratory-reared pupae deployed at a natural Quercus stand, a plantation of Betula platyphylla Hara, and a plantation of L. leptolepis. Predation was highest in the natural Quercus stand, lowest in the Larix plantation and intermediate in the Betula plantation. Counts of small mammals in traps indicated that populations of Apodemus argenteus, Apodemus speciosus ainu, and Clethrionymus rufocanus bedfordiae were most abundant in the oak forest, least abundant in the Larix plantation, and intermediate in the Betula plantation. We hypothesize that variation in the abundance of small mammals and their predation on gypsy moth pupae during periods of low gypsy-moth densities is a partial cause of the variation among stand types in their susceptibility to defoliation by gypsy moth. We also argue that predation on gypsy moth pupae by small mammals in natural oak forests is more important to gypsy moth dynamics than previously considered and that considerable similarities may exist between gypsy moth dynamics in Japan and North America.
(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:
biocontrol - natural enemies
environment - cropping system/rotation
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
environment/habitat manipulation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Lymantria dispar	Oak (Quercus)
	Lymantria dispar	Birch (Betula)
	Lymantria dispar	Larch (Larix)
Apodemus argenteus (predator)	Lymantria dispar	Oak (Quercus)
Apodemus speciosus (predator)	Lymantria dispar	Oak (Quercus)
Clethrionomys rufocanus (predator)	Lymantria dispar	Oak (Quercus)