Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T15:05:29.626Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

KORSCHELTELLUS GRACILIS (GROTE): A PEST OF RED SPRUCE AND BALSAM FIR ROOTS (LEPIDOPTERA: HEPIALIDAE)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

David L. Wagner ,
Donald R. Tobi ,
William E. Wallner  and
Bruce L. Parker
David L. Wagner
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, U-43, Room 312, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, Connecticut, USA 06269 and Entomology Research Laboratory, 655B Spear Street, South Burlington, Vermont, USA 05403
Donald R. Tobi
Affiliation:
Entomology Research Laboratory, 655B Spear Street, South Burlington, Vermont, USA 05403
William E. Wallner
Affiliation:
Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, 51 Mill Pond Road, Hamden, Connecticut, USA 06514
Bruce L. Parker
Affiliation:
Entomology Research Laboratory, 655B Spear Street, South Burlington, Vermont, USA 05403
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Korscheltellus gracilis (Grote) is a pest of red spruce and balsam fir roots in the forests of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. The larvae feed below ground on woody and non-woody plant tissues for 2 years before maturing. It was found at 18 localities across New England and Nova Scotia during the summers of 1987 and 1988. On Whiteface Mt., New York, and Mt. Moosilauke, New Hampshire, larvae were absent to uncommon at low (500 m) and high (1300 m) altitudes, but common to abundant in red spruce – balsam fir associations at 700, 900, and 1100 m. During September 1987, larval populations were estimated at 56 000 and 312 000 per hectare in soils at 900 m on Whiteface and Moosilauke, respectively. Dense populations occurred locally, e.g. 27 larvae were recovered from a single 0.25-m2 soil pit at 900 m on Moosilauke. By June 1988, larval numbers on Whiteface and Moosilauke had declined by 51% and 72%, respectively. Seedlings and mature trees of both spruce and fir were damaged by larval feeding on bark and cambium. Seedlings were girdled; mature trees had wounds paralleling the root axes.

Résumé

Korscheltellus gracilis (Grote) est un insecte nuisible aux racines de l’épinette rouge et du sapin baumier dans les forêts du nord-est des États-Unis et du sud-est du Canada. Les larves se nourrissent sous la terre de tissus ligneux et non-ligneux des plantes pendant une période de 2 ans avant le développement complet. Il a été trouvé à 18 endroits à travers la Nouvelle-Angleterre et la Nouvelle-Écosse pendant les étés de 1987 et de 1988. À Whiteface Mountain, New York, et à Mount Moosilauke, New Hampshire, les larves ont été absentes à rares aux basses altitudes (500 m) et aux hautes altitudes (1300 m), mais elles ont été communes à abondantes dans les associations de l’épinette rouge et du sapin baumier à 700, 900 et 1100 m. Pendant septembre 1987, les populations larvaires ont été évaluées à 56 000 et à 312 000 par hectare, respectivement, à 900 m dans les sols de Whiteface et de Moosilauke. Les populations denses ont été trouvées localement, p.ex : 27 larves ont été prises dans une fosse unique de sol de 0,25 m2 à Moosilauke. Au mois de juin, 1988, le nombre de larves à Whiteface et à Moosilauke a diminué de 51% et de 72%, respectivement. Les semis naturels et les arbres matures des deux espèces ont été endommagés par l’alimentation des larves sur l’écorce et le cambium. Les semis ont été cernés : les arbres matures ont eu des blessures en parallèle aux axes des racines.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 123 , Issue 2 , April 1991 , pp. 255 - 263
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1991

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

Adams, H.S., Stevensen, S.L., Blasing, T.J., and Duvick, D.N.. 1985. Growth-trend declines of spruce and fir in mid-Appalachian subalpine forests. Environ. Exp. Bot. 25: 315–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Battles, J.J., Johnson, A.H., and Siccama, T.G.. 1989. Relationships between red spruce decline and forest characteristics at Whiteface Mountain, NY. pp. 163–172in Proceedings of the US–FGR Symposium: Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on the Spruce–Fir Forests of the Eastern United States and Federal Republic of Germany. Gen. Tech. Rep. USDA Forest Service Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Broomall, PA.Google Scholar
Covell, C.V. Jr, 1984. A Field Guide to the Moths of Eastern North America. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA. 496 pp.Google Scholar
Edwards, C.A. 1964. The bionomics of swift moths. I. The ghost swift moth, Hepialus humuli (L.). Bull. ent. Res. 55: 147–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, C.A., and Denis, E.B.. 1960. Observations on the biology and control of the garden swift moth. Pl. Path. 9: 95–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forbes, W.T.M. 1923. The Lepidoptera of New York and neighboring states. Part I. Primitive forms, microlepidoptera, pyraloids, bombyces. Cornell Univ. Agric. Exp. Stat. Mem. 68. 729 pp.Google Scholar
Grehan, J.R. 1989. Larval feeding habits of the Hepialidae (Lepidoptera). J. Nat. Hist. 23: 803–824.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardy, R.J. 1973. The biology of Fraus simulans Walker (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae). J. Austral. ent. Soc. 12: 113–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardy, R.J. 1974. The biology and pest status of Oxycanus fuscomaculatus Walker (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) in Tasmania. J. Austral. ent. Soc. 13: 317–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hertel, G.D., Zarnock, S.J., Arre, T., Eager, C., Mohnen, V., and Medlarz, S.. 1987. Status of the Spruce–Fir Cooperative Research Program. 80th Annual Meeting of the APCA (Air Pollution Control Association), June 21–26, New York, NY. 87–34. 2: 1–19.Google Scholar
Holland, W.J. 1917. The Moth Book. Doubleday, Page and Co., Garden City, New York, NY. 479 pp.Google Scholar
Hornbeck, J.W., and Smith, R.B.. 1985. Documentation of red spruce decline. Can. J. For. Res. 156: 1199–1201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hornbeck, J.W., Smith, R.B., and Federer, C.A.. 1986. Growth decline in red spruce and balsam fir relative to natural processes. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 31: 425–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, A.H., and Siccama, T.G.. 1983. Acid deposition and forest decline. Environ. Sci. Technol. 17: 294–305.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kalshoven, L.G.E. 1965. Notes on some injurious Lepidoptera from Java. Tijdschrift Ent. 108: 73–93.Google Scholar
Kile, G.A., Hardy, R.J., and Turnbull, C.R.A.. 1979. The association between Abantiades latipennis (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) and Eucalyptus obligua and Eucalyptus regnans in Tasmania. J. Austral. ent. Soc. 18: 7–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klein, R.M., and Perkins, T.D.. 1988. Primary and secondary causes and consequences of contemporary forest decline. Botan. Rev. 54: 1–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madge, P.E. 1954. A field study on the biology of the underground grass caterpillar, Oncopera fasiculata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae), in South Australia. Austral. J. Zool. 2: 193–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Packard, A.S. 1895. On the larvae of the Hepialidae. J. New York ent. Soc. 3: 69–73.Google Scholar
Peart, D.R., Conkey, L.E., Smith, W.H., Knight, F.B., and Keifer, M.. 1989. Condition of the spruce–fir forest at Mount Moosilauke, New Hampshire. pp. 173–182in Proceedings of the US–FGR Symposium: Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on the Spruce–Fir Forests of the Eastern United States and Federal Republic of Germany. Gen. Tech. Rep. USDA Forest Service Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Broomall, PA.Google Scholar
Pitelka, L.F., and Raynal, D.J.. 1989. Forest decline and acidic deposition. Ecology 70: 2–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prentice, R.M. [Compiling Editor]. 1965. Forest Lepidoptera of Canada. Vol. 4. Microlepidoptera. Dept. Forestry Can. Publ. 1142. p. 827.Google Scholar
Sankey, J.H.P. 1948. Observations on the biology of Hepialus lupulinus (L.) (Lep.). Ent. Mon. Mag. 84: 175–177.Google Scholar
Scott, J.T., Siccama, T.G., Johnson, A.H., and Briesch, A.. 1984. Decline of red spruce in the Adirondacks. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 111: 438–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siccama, T.G., Bliss, M., and Vogelmann, H.W.. 1982. Decline of red spruce in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 109: 163–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tindale, N.B. 1953. On a new species of Oenetus (Lepidoptera, Family Hepialidae), damaging Eucalyptus saplings in Tasmania. Trans. R. Soc. Austral. 76: 77–79.Google Scholar
Tobi, D.R., Wallner, W.E., and Parker, B.L.. 1989. The conifer swift moth, Hepialus gracilis, and spruce–fir decline. pp. 351–354in Proceedings of the US–FGR Symposium: Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on the Spruce–Fir Forests of the Eastern United States and Federal Republic of Germany. Gen. Tech. Rep. USDA Forest Service Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Broomall, PA.Google Scholar
Toyomura, K., and Matsuzawa, H.. 1965. [The damage done to tobacco by Phassus excrescens and its control.] Agric. Hortic. (Toyko) 40: 45–46. [In Japanese.]Google Scholar
Vogelmann, H.W., Badger, G.H., Bliss, M., and Klein, R.M.. 1985. Forest decline on Camels Hump, Vermont. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 112: 274–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagner, D.L. 1988. The taxonomic status of Korscheltellus Börner in North America. J. New York ent. Soc. 96: 345–354.Google Scholar
Wagner, D.L., and Rosovsky, J.. 1991. Mating systems in primitive Lepidoptera, with emphasis on the reproductive behavior of Korscheltellus gracilis (Hepialidae). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. In press.Google Scholar
Wagner, D.L., Tobi, D.R., Wallner, W.E., Parker, B.L., and Leonard, J.. 1989. The immature stages and natural enemies of Korscheltellus gracilis. Ann. ent. Soc. Am. 82: 717–724.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zedeker, S.M., Hyink, D.M., and Smith, D.W.. 1987. Growth declines in red spruce. J. For. January: 34–36.Google Scholar