"What Happened to our Biggest Moths"

[Ron Gatrelle]

All.
This is some great information (though VERY dismaying). It should once and
for all get moth collectors off the hook for being suspected by some as the
fault. I will also here state that if 300 years from now 80% of all
American leps have become extinct due to this exotic - that the extinction
had no relativity to human over population - just human irresponsibility
(introduction of both the Gypsy Moth and the fly). No, I don't see the
number of humans as the paramount problem - it is the humans in that number
who as individuals or small groups are able to wreck such massive havoc -
morally, politically, economically, and environmentally.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Quinn" <Mike.Quinn at tpwd.state.tx.us>
To: "Leps-L (E-mail)" <LEPS-L at lists.yale.edu>
Cc: "Entomo-L (E-mail)" <ENTOMO-L at LISTSERV.UOGUELPH.CA>; <SLouda at UNL.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2001 1:39 PM
Subject: "What Happened to our Biggest Moths"


> Hope everyone caught Peigler's article in the latest issue of the "News
of
> the Lep. Soc."
>
> Peigler (2001) draws our attention to Boettner, et al. (2000) who
squarely
> lay the blame for the virtual disappearance of the Cecropia and Promethea
> silk moths from New England on "an especially virulent parasitic fly
named
> Compsilura concinnata in the fly family Tachinidae." The parasitoid was
> introduced as a biological control agent against the gypsy moth.
According
> to Milius (2000), "this fly has a known host range of almost 200 species,
> and it would not be approved for introduction under U.S.D.A. guidelines
and
> standards today." Michael Collins is cited as pointing out that "one
reason
> this insect is so successful biologically is that is escapes
hyperparasitism
> by killing its hosts quickly." Peigler says he "found published records
of
> it parasitizing many nontarget hosts in North America, including species
in
> the Papilionidae, Nymphalidae, Hesperiidae, Sphingidae," and the
following
> additional silk moths: Luna, Io, and Polyphemus. Peigler notes that this
> parasitoid is now found in California as well...
>
> Peigler, R. S. 2001. "We now know what happened to our biggest Moths."
News
> of the Lep. Soc. 43(1): 30-31.
>
> Boettner, G. H., J. s. Elkinton & C. J. Boettner. 2000. Effects of a
> biological control introduction on three nontarget native species of
> saturniid moths. Conservation Biology 14(6): 1798-1806.
>
> Milius, S. 2000. Fly may be depleting U.S. giant silk moths. Science 158:
> 359.
>
> =========================================================
>
> This best paper to get a copy of is Boettner's.
>
> According to Boettner, et al. (2000), *Compsilura concinnata* was
repeatedly
> introduced into North America from 1906 until 1986, "and has been
recorded
> killing over 180 different species of native Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and
> Symphyta in North America."
>
> The authors monitored 500 Cecropia larvae in Massachusetts and found that
> none survived beyond the fifth instar.
>
> They simultaneously deployed cohorts (n=100 per cohort) of the first
three
> instars of Cecropia larvae. C. concinnata was responsible for 81% of
> Cecropia mortality.
>


 
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