Lymantria monacha

Still another case of reproductive character displacement has been proposed for the nun moth, Lymantria monacha, by Gries et al. (2001). In Honshu, Japan,... 

Gries, G., Schaeffer, P. W., Gries, R., LiSka, J. and Gotoh, T. (2001). Reproductive character displacement in Lymantria monacha from Northern Japan Journal of Chemical Ecology 27 1163-1176. 

Diversity in the structure and proportion of pheromone components is mirrored in the diversity of the proteins from the olfactory system. A specialized olfactory system is responsible for distinguishing the pheromone from other odorants in the environment. The high precision of the pheromone olfactory system becomes apparent when we compare closely related species whose pheromones differ in subtle ways. For example, Heliothis species have the same unsaturated aldehyde as the major pheromone component, but their pheromone signals differ in the structure and proportion of minor components (Table 16.1). Another example is seen with the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) and nun moth (Lymantria monacha), both of which respond to la. The blend produced by the nun moth consists mostly of lb, which is a powerful behavioral antagonist in the gypsy moth and is behaviorally inactive in the nun moth (Hansen, 1984). Stereochemical features play an important role in the molecular recognition of pheromone components. 

More than 460 years ago an Italian poet, Vida, in a poem about silkworms, described a disease that was probably caused by a virus. Presumably the same disease, called "grasserie" in French, was described in the scientific literature by Nysten in 1908 (7). In 1890-1892 a disease was described that killed enormous numbers of the nun moth, Lymantria monacha, in the spruce forests of central Europe (2). Wahl in 1909 (J) identified the causative agent of the disease as a virus. In 1921 Allen reported an outbreak of a polyhedrosis disease in the fall armyworm, Spodoptera fmgiperda, that left dead larvae hanging from the tips of blades of grass in considerable numbers (4). These... 

Boness 568) used disparlure in field trials against the nun moth, Lymantria monacha, which is closely related to the gypsy moth. After treating 5 hectares of pine forest with 5.4 g of microencapsulated disparlure, he distributed 40 small disparlure-baited traps in the central part of the plot. Catches were reduced by 99% in comparison with a control plot. 

Some lepidopteran species secret methyl-branched chemicals for their sexual communication. These have been abbreviated with Me to indicate the position of the methyl group. Disparlure (Me2,epo7-18 H) is a well-known pheromone identified from Lymantria dispar [3] and two other species in the same genus, L.fumida [95] and L. monacha [96]. L. monacha also secrets an... 

L. monacha is sympatric with five other congeners, including Lymantria fumida, which has (7 .85)-cA-7,8-epoxy-2-methyloctadecane (called (+)-disparlure ) as... 

Grant G. G., Langevin D., Liska J., Kapitola P. and Chong J. M. (1996) Olefin inhibitor of gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a synergistic pheromone component of nun moth, L. monacha. Naturwissenschaften 83, 328-330. 

Boness, M. Disparlure Comparison of effectiveness in Lymantria dispar and Lyman-tria monacha as shown in field tests. VIII International Plant Protection Congress, Section V, Biological and Genetic Control, 41—47 (1975). 

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