Mild Winter Causes Increased Mortality in the Fall Webworm Hyphantria cunea (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)

SIMPLE SUMMARY: There is concern that global warming will change and expand the habitat of insect pests. In 1945, the fall webworm Hyphantria cunea (Drury) was introduced from North America to Japan, and for several decades it had been growing in large numbers on roadside trees and garden trees in various parts of Japan. However, it has disappeared from where it used to have outbreaks and is now found only in areas with high latitudes or high altitudes. In Kanazawa City, which is in the middle of Japan, 18 years of weekly data on the occurrence of this species are recorded. We collated records of the occurrence of this species with annual meteorological data. We found that the number of individuals in the generation that entered dormancy in the fall and emerged in the following spring was negatively correlated with the warmth of the winter. When this phenomenon was manipulated in the laboratory, pupae stored under warm winter conditions showed significant weight loss and a high mortality rate. Many of the pupae that died were infected with fungi. These results suggest that the populations of Hy. cunea have disappeared in warmer southwestern Japan due to the mild winter, and currently survive only in the high-altitude areas of Japan’s northern and central mountainous regions. This result further predicts that the distribution of this species, which is currently invading the world, will be strongly affected by global warming and will continue to change in the future. ABSTRACT: The fall webworm Hyphantria cunea (Drury) is native to North America and Mexico and has currently expanded its distribution to the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere including Japan. According to the data on seasonal fluctuations of this moth for 18 years collected in western-central Japan, the abundance of adults of the overwintered generation showed a negative correlation with winter temperature. We investigated survival, weight loss, and fungal infection of diapausing pupae at 3.0 (an approximate temperature of cold winter) and 7.4 °C (a temperature of mild winter). In the results, mortality was higher and weight loss was larger in pupae exposed to 7.4 °C than in those exposed to 3.0 °C. In addition, pupae that were heavier at the start of cold exposure survived longer than lighter ones. Furthermore, almost all pupae that died at 7.4 °C were infected by fungi. It has been reported that the distribution range of this moth shifts to higher latitudes. According to the experiments conducted, it has been observed that warm winters can lead to a decrease in pupae weight and an increase in fungal deaths; however, the impact of warm winters on populations in the field can be more complicated and multifaceted.