Flight characteristics of the summer and winter phenological form of the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) according to data from automatic pheromone traps near Asenovgrad in Bulgaria

By

Georgiev, Georgi
Georgieva, Margarita
Zaemdzhikova, Gergana
Belilov, Sevdalin
Matova, Maria
Hristova, Mihaela
Mirchev, Plamen

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-1-3

Original Publication

Silva Balcanica

Volume

26

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

9--18

Subjects

CapTrap® , critical temperatures , phenological forms , South Bulgaria , Thaumetopoea pityocampa

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Forest Research Institute - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (FRI-BAS) [2001]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.26.e141062

 

Abstract

The winter and summer phenological forms of the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) were recorded in two adjacent sites in the region of Asenovgrad, South Bulgaria. In the land of Muldava village (at the foot of the Rhodopes at 290 m a.s.l.), the typical winter phenological form was established, while the summer form was found in the vicinity of Dobrostan village (on the northern slopes of the Rhodopes at 1200 m a.s.l.). The calculated air fly distance between both villages is 9.3 km. In 2019, funnel automatic pheromone traps – CapTrap® were installed in Dobrostan and Muldava villages to obtain information about the flight dynamics of the male butterflies of T. pityocampa. For the studied period (June-September), hourly data on the humidity and air temperature in both sites were also analysed. In both sites, the flight started at the beginning of July and ended in the first decade of September. Two clear peaks in the flight of male butterflies were observed on 7-8 and 23-28 July, which was associated with catches of both phenological forms due to the proximity of the traps. In Dobrostan, no high maximum temperatures above 30-32 °C were measured in the days during the period July-September. In Muldava, critical temperatures for the survival of T. pityocampa were recorded in this period: July (61.3% of the days), August (87.1%) and September (23.3%).