Long-distance wind-borne dispersal of the moth Cornifrons ulceratalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Evergestinae) into the northern Mediterranean
Dantart, Jordi (Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona)
Stefanescu, Constantí (Museu de Granollers. Àrea de Ciències Naturals)
Àvila i Castells, Anna (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Alarcón Jordán, Marta, 1958- (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament de Física i Enginyeria Nuclear)

Date:	2009
Abstract:	On October 2006, during an episode of abnormally warm weather, the African moth Cornifrons ulceratalis (Lederer, 1858) was captured simultaneously for the first time in several sites in north-eastern Spain, the Balearic Islands and southern France. A deep depression situated over the Atlantic at the time gave rise to warm south-westerly winds, accompanied by suspended dust, that blew towards the north-western Mediterranean Basin. Back trajectories of air masses at two different altitudinal levels indicate that the moths most probably originated from an area located in Morocco and northern Algeria, where C. ulceratalis can be extremely abundant. With winter approaching, this invasion of a typically non-migratory species into the north-western Mediterranean Basin provides a good example of the so-called "pied piper" phenomenon, by which wind-borne insects may be carried into areas unfavourable for survival or reproduction. However, because climate change may make the establishment of this and other African species more likely in the future, we suggest that monitoring of this process may become an essential issue in the coming years.
Rights:	Tots els drets reservats.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Cornifrons ulceratalis ; Crambidae ; Moth ; North-western Mediterranean ; Pied piper phenomenon ; Wind-borne migration
Published in:	European journal of entomology, Vol. 106 Núm. 2 (2009) , p. 225-229, ISSN 1210-5759

DOI: 10.14411/eje.2009.030

6 p, 1.1 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles