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21 January 2016 Distribution of Lepidopteran Larvae on Norway Spruce: Effects of Slope and Crown Aspect
Ján Kulfan, Katarína Dvořáčková, Peter Zach, Michal Parák, Marek Svitok
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Abstract

Lepidoptera associated with Norway spruce, Picea abies (L.) Karsten, play important roles in ecosystem processes, acting as plant pests, prey for predators, and hosts for parasites and parasitoids. Their distribution patterns in spruce crowns and forests are only poorly understood. We examined how slope and crown aspect affect the occurrence and abundance of moth larvae on solitary spruce trees in a montane region in Central Europe. Moth larvae were collected from southern and northern crowns of trees growing on south- and north-facing slopes (four treatments) using emergence boxes at the end of winter and by the beating method during the growing season. Species responses to slope and crown aspect were not uniform. Treatment effects on moth larvae were stronger in the winter than during the growing season. In winter, the abundance of bud-boring larvae was significantly higher in northern than in southern crowns regardless of the slope aspect, while both slope and aspect had marginally significant effects on abundance of miners. During the growing season, the occurrence of free-living larvae was similar among treatments. Emergence boxes and beating spruce branches are complementary techniques providing valuable insights into the assemblage structure of moth larvae on Norway spruce. Due to the uneven distribution of larvae detected in this study, we recommend adoption of a protocol that explicitly includes sampling of trees from contrasting slopes and branches from contrasting crown aspect in all seasons.

© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Ján Kulfan, Katarína Dvořáčková, Peter Zach, Michal Parák, and Marek Svitok "Distribution of Lepidopteran Larvae on Norway Spruce: Effects of Slope and Crown Aspect," Environmental Entomology 45(2), 436-445, (21 January 2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvv221
Received: 23 June 2015; Accepted: 10 December 2015; Published: 21 January 2016
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KEYWORDS
beating method
emergence box
forest herbivore
microhabitat
sampling
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