Gypsy moth, Lyrnantria dispar (L.), was first discovered in Michigan in 1954. Results of survey for the years 1954-1980 are presented

Hanna, Murray

English

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 14 Number 2 - Summer 1981 Number 2 - Summer 1981 Article 5 June 1981 Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in Michigan Murray Hanna Michigan Department of Agriculture Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Hanna, Murray 1981. "Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in Michigan," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 14 (2) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol14/iss2/5 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST GYPSY MOTH (LEPIDOPTERA: LYMANTRIIDAE) SURVEY IN MICHIGAN Murray ~ a n n a '  ABSTRACT Gypsy moth, Lyrnantria dispar (L.), was first discovered in Michigan in 1954. Results of survey for the years 1954-1980 are presented. Riley (1870) documented the first occurrence of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar [L.]) in North America stating, "And only a year ago the larva of a certain Owlet-moth, (Hypogymna dispar), which is a great pest in Europe both to fruit-trees and forest-trees, was accidentally introduced by a Massachusetts entomologist into New England, where it is spreading with great rapidity." Spears (1974) identified human activities which risked extending the range of gypsy moth. Dunlap (1980) traced the history of shifting relationships between science and public policy with regard to gypsy moth from 1889 until now. Respon- sibility for preventing the introduction and spread of destructive insects has been delegated to  the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Plant Industry Division (MDA-PID). The Director of Agriculture is authorized (Act 189, Public Acts 1931, as amended) to promulgate state quarantines regulating the movement of plants and other articles capable of canying destructive insects. McCubbin (1954) considered survey to determine the state distribution of troublesome pests an indispensable feature of plant quarantine. The United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PP&Q), and MDA-PID act together in survey for gypsy moth in Michigan. The Department of Natural Resources, Forest Managment Division (DNR-FMD), and the National Campers and Hikers Association (NC&HA) have assisted in survey of parks and campgrounds. Gypsy moth was discovered in Ingham County, Michigan, when concern and curiosity caused a resident of Lansing to inform the City Forester on 19 May 1954, that many unfamiliar caterpillars were crawling on his house, garage, shrubs, and neighboring elm trees. Specimens which had been sent to entomologists at Michigan State University were recognized as  being gypsy moth larvae and of regulatory concern. The MDA-PID and USDA-APHIS-PP&Q were immediatlely notified and the identity of the insect was quickly verified. The MDA and USDA arranged to secure funding to delimit the area of infestation and to  intervene with insecticide. Hurried, visual, roadside scouting for defoliation or other signs of gypsy moth was done from vehicles from 25 May until 5 June in order to delimit the obviously infested area. By this method, it was determined that portions of East Lansing, Lansing, and adjacent Eaton County were infested. O'Dell (1955) thoroughly documented the cooperative gypsy moth management program of 1954. Gypsy moth is sexually dimorphic, and both sexes are polymorphic varying at least in development, behavior, size, and color. Adult females have off-white wings with dark markings and are flightless. Male gypsy moths have brown wings with dark markings and are strong fliers. The more strongly bipectinate antennae of males are provided with chemo- receptors which discern chemical signals emitted by females. Males are able to locate and to fly to adult female moths which have emitted sex pheromone. Near the turn of the century, a pheromone trap was invented in which virgin female gypsy moths were used to attract male moths. The attractant first used for gypsy moth survey in Michigan was natural sex I ~ i c h i ~ a n  Department of Agriculture, Lansing, MI 48913. 1Hanna: Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in MichiganPublished by ValpoScholar, 1981104 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2 pheromone which had been extracted from adult female gypsy moths. Gyplure, a synthetic attractant, replaced natural pheromone in 1%3. Disparlure, an improved synthetic at- tractant, replaced gyplure in 1972. In 1973, traps were baited with a cotton wad containing 0.3 mg of optically inactive disparlure in 2 mg of trioctanoin keeper. When traps were serviced during the moth flight season, lure lost by volatilization was replaced from a dropper bottle. More sophisticated methods of dispensing disparlure were subsequently developed and, beginning in 1974, the amount of disparlure in each trap was substantially reduced. Attractant enriched with the (+)-enantiomer of disparlure was first used in a few localities in 1978. Neary all survey traps were baited with (+)-enantiomer disparlure in 1980. Schwalbe (1980) summarized pheromone-based trapping methods used in gypsy moth sur- vey from 1896 to 1977, while Elkinton and Carde (1980) traced the history of pheromone trapping for gypsy moth in the United States. Systematic placement of pheromone traps during the male flight season has been the principal method of gypsy moth survey in Michi- gan. Between 1954 and 1980, frequent changes were made in trap number, distance between traps, and locality surveyed. The entire Lower Peninsula of Michigan was surveyed in stages between 1978 and 1980, with an array of one trap per three square miles (about 200 traps per county). The entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan was surveyed in 1980, with an array of 35 traps per county. Descriptions of localties where traps were placed are on file with the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Figure 1 shows the 83 counties of Michigan. Figures 2 4  present results of gypsy moth survey for years 1954-1980. The numbers of traps used and male moths captured are given. Solid circles indicate for each year, the counties where L. dispar was captured in pheromone traps. The solid square in Figure 1, and for 1954 in Figure 2, identifies Ingham county where gypsy moth caterpillars were discovered in May 1954. The locality where caterpillars were found was treated with insecticide in June 1954. During the summer of 1954, results of pheromone trap survey in Ingham County were negative. Traps have not always been placed in every locality where gypsy moth occurred the previous season. No pheromone traps were placed in Gratiot County in 1979, but gypsy moth egg masses were observed in Arcada and Newark townships. No pheromone traps were placed in Midland County in 1980, but all stages of gypsy moth were observed in Mt. Haley Township. Table 1 presents the chronology of county records for L. dispar in Michigan. The earliest verified records of gypsy moth in Eaton and Ingham counties were based on caterpillars which had been found by visual scouting. The earliest verified records of gypsy moth in 45 other counties were based on male moths which had been captured in pheromone traps. Table 1. Chronology of county records for L. dispar in Michigan. Year County 1954 Eaton, Ingham, Ionia 1955 Clinton 1956 Shiawassee 1959 Calhoun 1972 Bay, Isabella, Mecosta 1973 Arenac, Cheboygan, Clare, Crawford, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Livingston, Midland, Montcalm, Newaygo, Oceana, Roscommon, Saginaw, Tuscola, Washtenaw, Wayne 1974 Allegan, Macomb 1975 Benien 1976 Osceola 1978 Barry, Kent, Oakland, Ottawa, Van Buren 1979 Kalamazoo, Lake, Muskegon 1980 Chippewa, Genesee, GrandTraverse, Iosco, Luce, Menominee, Ogemaw, St. Clair, Schoolcraft 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 14, No. 2 [1981], Art. 5ttps://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol14/iss2/51981 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 105 Although gypsy moth has been recorded from 47 counties of Michigan, current distribution may be more wide-spread. Regulatory intervention with insecticide has reduced to below detectable levels, over several generations, previously known gypsy moth populations in Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, and Newaygo counties, and it is not certain whether or not the insect occurs in those counties now. Furthermore, Embody (1980) investigated gypsy moth pheromone trap catches as they relate to the populations from which they were collected, and he suggested that if no moths are captured, the judgment that no moths are present cannot be made. Fig. 1.  The counties of the State of Michigan. 3Hanna: Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in MichiganPublished by ValpoScholar, 1981106 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2 For many years, numerous localities of Michigan have been subject to invasion by L. dispar. Pheromone traps have been used extensively for early detection, which has had high priority in management strategy. Over a span of 27 years, prompt regulatory intervention plus the unpredictable elements of nature have helped to prevent potentially destructive gypsy moth populations from dangerously exceeding economic thresholds. Perhaps fewer than 4 ha of woodlands throughout all of Michigan were known to have been defoliated by gypsy moth in 1980. Perhaps no more than 10 ha, woodlots and solitary trees all totaled, have been defoliated since gypsy moth was first introduced. Despite these relatively low acreages affected, the potential for wide-spread defoliation is so great that systematic monitoring of gypsy moth distribution and population trends should be continued. TRAPS 5,000 MOTHS 47 TRAPS 4,911 MOTHS 0 TRAPS 4,055 Fig. 2.  Results of gypsy moth survey 1954-62. 4The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 14, No. 2 [1981], Art. 5https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol14/iss2/51981 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 107 TRAPS 3,056 MOTHS 0 TRAPS 5,223 MOTHS 0 Fig. 3. TRAPS 26 MOTHS 0 I Results of gypsy moth survey 1963-71. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to give credit to Richard L. Moore, Walter M. Ring and H. Bruce Smith (USDA- APHIS-PP&Q) for carefully recording much of the original gypsy moth survey information. I thank Thomas E. Moore of the Museum of Zoology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, for help in writing the manuscript and preparing the illustrations. LITERATURE CITED Dunlap, T. R. 1980. The gypsy moth: a study in,science and public policy. J. For. Hist. 24: 116126. 5Hanna: Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in MichiganPublished by ValpoScholar, 1981108 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2 TRAPS 4,000 MOTHS 8 TRAPS 7,900 MOTHS 1,828 Fig. 4. Results of gypsy moth survey 1972-80. Elkinton, J. S. and R. T. Carde. 1980. The use of pheromone traps to monitor distribution and population trends of the gypsy moth. in E. R. Mitchell and J. H. Turnlinson (eds.). Management of insects with semiochemicals. Plenum Publ. Embody, D. R.1980. Arrays of sex pheromone traps and the important variables affecting catches of gypsy moth, L. dispar (L.) Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae. APHIS 81-32. USDA. McCubbin, W. A. 1954. The plant quarantine problem. Ejnar Munksgaard, Copenhagen, Denmark. O'Dell, W. V. 1955. The gypsy moth outbreak in Michigan. J. Econ. Entomol. 48: 170-72. Riley, C. V. 1870. Amer. Entomol., 2:111. Schwalbe, C. P. 1980. Disparlure-baited traps for survey and detection. in The gypsy moth: Research toward integrated pest management. USDA Tech. Bull. 1584. Spears, J. F. 1974. A review of federal domestic plant quarantines. APHIS, USDA. 6The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 14, No. 2 [1981], Art. 5https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol14/iss2/5

Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in Michigan

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 14 
Number 2 - Summer 1981 Number 2 - Summer 
1981 
Article 5 
June 1981 
Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in Michigan 
Murray Hanna 
Michigan Department of Agriculture 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Hanna, Murray 1981. "Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in Michigan," The Great Lakes 
Entomologist, vol 14 (2) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol14/iss2/5 
This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. 
For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 
GYPSY MOTH (LEPIDOPTERA: LYMANTRIIDAE) 
SURVEY IN MICHIGAN 
Murray ~ a n n a '  
ABSTRACT 
Gypsy moth, Lyrnantria dispar (L.), was first discovered in Michigan in 1954. Results of 
survey for the years 1954-1980 are presented. 
Riley (1870) documented the first occurrence of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar [L.]) in 
North America stating, "And only a year ago the larva of a certain Owlet-moth, 
(Hypogymna dispar), which is a great pest in Europe both to fruit-trees and forest-trees, was 
accidentally introduced by a Massachusetts entomologist into New England, where it is 
spreading with great rapidity." Spears (1974) identified human activities which risked 
extending the range of gypsy moth. Dunlap (1980) traced the history of shifting relationships 
between science and public policy with regard to gypsy moth from 1889 until now. Respon- 
sibility for preventing the introduction and spread of destructive insects has been delegated 
to  the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Plant Industry Division (MDA-PID). The 
Director of Agriculture is authorized (Act 189, Public Acts 1931, as amended) to promulgate 
state quarantines regulating the movement of plants and other articles capable of canying 
destructive insects. McCubbin (1954) considered survey to determine the state distribution 
of troublesome pests an indispensable feature of plant quarantine. The United States 
Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection 
and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PP&Q), and MDA-PID act together in survey for gypsy 
moth in Michigan. The Department of Natural Resources, Forest Managment Division 
(DNR-FMD), and the National Campers and Hikers Association (NC&HA) have assisted in 
survey of parks and campgrounds. 
Gypsy moth was discovered in Ingham County, Michigan, when concern and curiosity 
caused a resident of Lansing to inform the City Forester on 19 May 1954, that many 
unfamiliar caterpillars were crawling on his house, garage, shrubs, and neighboring elm 
trees. Specimens which had been sent to entomologists at Michigan State University were 
recognized as  being gypsy moth larvae and of regulatory concern. The MDA-PID and 
USDA-APHIS-PP&Q were immediatlely notified and the identity of the insect was quickly 
verified. The MDA and USDA arranged to secure funding to delimit the area of infestation 
and to  intervene with insecticide. Hurried, visual, roadside scouting for defoliation or other 
signs of gypsy moth was done from vehicles from 25 May until 5 June in order to delimit the 
obviously infested area. By this method, it was determined that portions of East Lansing, 
Lansing, and adjacent Eaton County were infested. O'Dell (1955) thoroughly documented 
the cooperative gypsy moth management program of 1954. 
Gypsy moth is sexually dimorphic, and both sexes are polymorphic varying at least in 
development, behavior, size, and color. Adult females have off-white wings with dark 
markings and are flightless. Male gypsy moths have brown wings with dark markings and are 
strong fliers. The more strongly bipectinate antennae of males are provided with chemo- 
receptors which discern chemical signals emitted by females. Males are able to locate and to 
fly to adult female moths which have emitted sex pheromone. Near the turn of the century, a 
pheromone trap was invented in which virgin female gypsy moths were used to attract male 
moths. The attractant first used for gypsy moth survey in Michigan was natural sex 
I ~ i c h i ~ a n  Department of Agriculture, Lansing, MI 48913. 
1
Hanna: Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in Michigan
Published by ValpoScholar, 1981
104 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2 
pheromone which had been extracted from adult female gypsy moths. Gyplure, a synthetic 
attractant, replaced natural pheromone in 1%3. Disparlure, an improved synthetic at- 
tractant, replaced gyplure in 1972. In 1973, traps were baited with a cotton wad containing 
0.3 mg of optically inactive disparlure in 2 mg of trioctanoin keeper. When traps were 
serviced during the moth flight season, lure lost by volatilization was replaced from a 
dropper bottle. More sophisticated methods of dispensing disparlure were subsequently 
developed and, beginning in 1974, the amount of disparlure in each trap was substantially 
reduced. Attractant enriched with the (+)-enantiomer of disparlure was first used in a few 
localities in 1978. Neary all survey traps were baited with (+)-enantiomer disparlure in 1980. 
Schwalbe (1980) summarized pheromone-based trapping methods used in gypsy moth sur- 
vey from 1896 to 1977, while Elkinton and Carde (1980) traced the history of pheromone 
trapping for gypsy moth in the United States. Systematic placement of pheromone traps 
during the male flight season has been the principal method of gypsy moth survey in Michi- 
gan. Between 1954 and 1980, frequent changes were made in trap number, distance between 
traps, and locality surveyed. The entire Lower Peninsula of Michigan was surveyed in 
stages between 1978 and 1980, with an array of one trap per three square miles (about 200 
traps per county). The entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan was surveyed in 1980, with an 
array of 35 traps per county. Descriptions of localties where traps were placed are on file 
with the Michigan Department of Agriculture. 
Figure 1 shows the 83 counties of Michigan. Figures 2 4  present results of gypsy moth 
survey for years 1954-1980. The numbers of traps used and male moths captured are given. 
Solid circles indicate for each year, the counties where L. dispar was captured in pheromone 
traps. The solid square in Figure 1, and for 1954 in Figure 2, identifies Ingham county where 
gypsy moth caterpillars were discovered in May 1954. The locality where caterpillars were 
found was treated with insecticide in June 1954. During the summer of 1954, results of 
pheromone trap survey in Ingham County were negative. Traps have not always been placed 
in every locality where gypsy moth occurred the previous season. No pheromone traps were 
placed in Gratiot County in 1979, but gypsy moth egg masses were observed in Arcada and 
Newark townships. No pheromone traps were placed in Midland County in 1980, but all 
stages of gypsy moth were observed in Mt. Haley Township. 
Table 1 presents the chronology of county records for L. dispar in Michigan. The earliest 
verified records of gypsy moth in Eaton and Ingham counties were based on caterpillars 
which had been found by visual scouting. The earliest verified records of gypsy moth in 45 
other counties were based on male moths which had been captured in pheromone traps. 
Table 1. Chronology of county records for L. dispar in Michigan. 
Year County 
1954 Eaton, Ingham, Ionia 
1955 Clinton 
1956 Shiawassee 
1959 Calhoun 
1972 Bay, Isabella, Mecosta 
1973 Arenac, Cheboygan, Clare, Crawford, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Livingston, 
Midland, Montcalm, Newaygo, Oceana, Roscommon, Saginaw, Tuscola, 
Washtenaw, Wayne 
1974 Allegan, Macomb 
1975 Benien 
1976 Osceola 
1978 Barry, Kent, Oakland, Ottawa, Van Buren 
1979 Kalamazoo, Lake, Muskegon 
1980 Chippewa, Genesee, GrandTraverse, Iosco, Luce, Menominee, Ogemaw, St. 
Clair, Schoolcraft 
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 14, No. 2 [1981], Art. 5
ttps://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol14/iss2/5
1981 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 105 
Although gypsy moth has been recorded from 47 counties of Michigan, current distribution 
may be more wide-spread. Regulatory intervention with insecticide has reduced to below 
detectable levels, over several generations, previously known gypsy moth populations in 
Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, and Newaygo counties, and it is not certain whether or not the 
insect occurs in those counties now. Furthermore, Embody (1980) investigated gypsy moth 
pheromone trap catches as they relate to the populations from which they were collected, 
and he suggested that if no moths are captured, the judgment that no moths are present 
cannot be made. 
Fig. 1.  The counties of the State of Michigan. 
3
Hanna: Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in Michigan
Published by ValpoScholar, 1981
106 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2 
For many years, numerous localities of Michigan have been subject to invasion by L. 
dispar. Pheromone traps have been used extensively for early detection, which has had high 
priority in management strategy. Over a span of 27 years, prompt regulatory intervention 
plus the unpredictable elements of nature have helped to prevent potentially destructive 
gypsy moth populations from dangerously exceeding economic thresholds. Perhaps fewer 
than 4 ha of woodlands throughout all of Michigan were known to have been defoliated by 
gypsy moth in 1980. Perhaps no more than 10 ha, woodlots and solitary trees all totaled, 
have been defoliated since gypsy moth was first introduced. Despite these relatively low 
acreages affected, the potential for wide-spread defoliation is so great that systematic 
monitoring of gypsy moth distribution and population trends should be continued. 
TRAPS 5,000 
MOTHS 47 
TRAPS 4,911 
MOTHS 0 
TRAPS 4,055 
Fig. 2.  Results of gypsy moth survey 1954-62. 
4
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 14, No. 2 [1981], Art. 5
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol14/iss2/5
1981 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 107 
TRAPS 3,056 
MOTHS 0 
TRAPS 5,223 
MOTHS 0 
Fig. 3. 
TRAPS 26 
MOTHS 0 
I 
Results of gypsy moth survey 1963-71. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
I want to give credit to Richard L. Moore, Walter M. Ring and H. Bruce Smith (USDA- 
APHIS-PP&Q) for carefully recording much of the original gypsy moth survey information. 
I thank Thomas E. Moore of the Museum of Zoology, The University of Michigan, Ann 
Arbor, for help in writing the manuscript and preparing the illustrations. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Dunlap, T. R. 1980. The gypsy moth: a study in,science and public policy. J. For. Hist. 
24: 116126. 
5
Hanna: Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in Michigan
Published by ValpoScholar, 1981
108 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2 
TRAPS 4,000 
MOTHS 8 
TRAPS 7,900 
MOTHS 1,828 
Fig. 4. Results of gypsy moth survey 1972-80. 
Elkinton, J. S. and R. T. Carde. 1980. The use of pheromone traps to monitor distribution 
and population trends of the gypsy moth. in E. R. Mitchell and J. H. Turnlinson (eds.). 
Management of insects with semiochemicals. Plenum Publ. 
Embody, D. R.1980. Arrays of sex pheromone traps and the important variables affecting 
catches of gypsy moth, L. dispar (L.) Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae. APHIS 81-32. USDA. 
McCubbin, W. A. 1954. The plant quarantine problem. Ejnar Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 
Denmark. 
O'Dell, W. V. 1955. The gypsy moth outbreak in Michigan. J. Econ. Entomol. 48: 170-72. 
Riley, C. V. 1870. Amer. Entomol., 2:111. 
Schwalbe, C. P. 1980. Disparlure-baited traps for survey and detection. in The gypsy moth: 
Research toward integrated pest management. USDA Tech. Bull. 1584. 
Spears, J. F. 1974. A review of federal domestic plant quarantines. APHIS, USDA. 
6
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 14, No. 2 [1981], Art. 5
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol14/iss2/5


Murray Hanna

Crossref

https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1384&amp;context=tgle

Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Survey in Michigan

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Valparaiso University

ValpoScholar

Crossref