Forest Moth Research Articles

Bat diversity boosts ecosystem services: Evidence from pine processionary moth predation

Coniferous forests contribute to the European economy; however, they have experienced a decline since the late 1990s due to an invasive pest known as the pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa. The impacts of this pest are increasingly exacerbated by climate change. Traditional control strategies involving pesticides have had negative effects on public health and the environment. Instead, forest managers seek a more ecological and sustainable approach to management that promotes the natural actions of pest control agents. This study aims to evaluate the role of bats in suppressing pine processionary moths in pine forests and examine how the bat community composition and abundance influence pest consumption. Bats were sampled in the mountainous environment of the Serra da Estrela in central Portugal to collect faecal samples for DNA meta-barcoding analysis. We assessed the relationship between a) bat richness, b) bat relative abundance, c) bat diet richness, and the frequency of pine processionary moth consumption. Our findings indicate that sites with the highest bat species richness and abundance exhibit the highest levels of pine processionary moth consumption. The intensity of pine processionary moth consumption is independent of insect diversity within the site. The highest occurrence of pine processionary moth presence in bat diets is primarily observed in species that forage in cluttered habitats. A typical predator of pine processionary moths among bats is likely to be a forest-dwelling species that specialises in consuming Lepidoptera. These species primarily use short-range echolocation calls, which are relatively inaudible to tympanate moths, suitable for locating prey in cluttered environments, employing a gleaning hunting strategy. Examples include species from the genera Plecotus, Myotis, and Rhinolophus. This study enhances our understanding of the potential pest consumption services provided by bats in pine forests. The insights gained from this research can inform integrated pest management practices in forestry.

Short-term effects of a high-severity summer wildfire on conifer forest moth (Lepidoptera) communities in New Mexico, USA.

Forest fires in North America are becoming larger in area and burning with higher severity as a result of climate change and land management practices. High-severity, stand-replacement fires can inflict major changes to forest insect communities, potentially extirpating many species through altered post-fire habitat resources. We assessed forest-dwelling macrolepidopteran moth communities in mixed conifer and ponderosa pine forests during the first year after the 2011 Las Conchas fire in New Mexico, USA. We deployed blacklight traps in replicated burned and unburned stands during June, July, and August in 2012. We collected 9,478 individuals, representing 211 species and 8 families. Noctuidae (124 species) and Geometridae (53) comprised the majority of the taxa, followed by Erebidae (21), Sphingidae (5), Notodontidae (3), Lasiocampidae (2), Saturniidae (2), and Drepanidae (1). Moth communities (species composition and abundances) in each forest type (mixed conifer vs. ponderosa pine) were statistically distinguishable, but shared 56.4% (119) of observed species. Overall, compared to unburned forests, post-fire moth communities in both forest types had significantly lower numbers of individuals, species richness and diversity, and lower evenness in ponderosa pine forests. As expected, categorizing moth taxa by larval host plant taxa revealed that reductions of moth populations following fire were associated with the elimination or reduction of available larval host plants (particularly conifers, oaks, and junipers). We predict that future moth community succession will likely parallel the overall transformation from a forested landscape to a montane meadow/grassland ecosystem, with continued reduction in tree-feeding species and increasing dominance by forb/grass-feeding species.

Factors affecting pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) incidence in Mediterranean pine stands: A multiscale approach

The occurrence of the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa, hereafter PPM) in Mediterranean pine forests and plantations is of increasing concern as processes such as global warming and forest cover expansion have amplified the frequency and virulence of outbreaks. This study attempts to provide as complete an overview as possible of the different factors involved in pine forest susceptibility to PPM in 98 pine stands in Central Spain. A large study area (∼3,000 km2) was considered, including three different spatial scales (<1 ha, 1 ha, 10 ha) and four different pine tree species (Pinus pinaster, P. nigra, P. sylvestris, P. pinea), monitored over a 4-year period. Models were fitted for each of the three spatial scales, as well as for a combination of them (multiscale model). Pine species had a strong influence on vulnerability to PPM, with higher incidences in stands dominated by P. pinaster and P. nigra and lower for those dominated by P. sylvestris and P. pinea. Grazing pressure, a factor thus far disregarded, was also determining, with a prominent role at both the multiscale and the stand-scale levels. Other variables were highly influential at some of the spatial scales, showing a greater resistance in pine forests or plantations with a higher diversity of pine sizes, greater tree density, and a larger cover of non-host tree species. Open habitats also played a role in PPM incidence: we detected that, both at the locality and the plot scale, the presence of clearings occupied by bushes or rocky outcrops reduced vulnerability to PPM, while the clearings with a more simplified structure produced the opposite effect. We conclude that PPM incidence is greater in structurally simple pine forests, with strong grazing pressure and abundant open spaces without woody vegetation that may favour PPM pupation. To reduce damage by PPM, pine forest and plantations should be managed to avoid oversimplified forest structures. Patches of non-host tree species should be promoted, as well as some presence of shrubs in open areas. This implies avoiding overgrazing and other management models leading to an excessive increase in bare soil. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the implementation of these recommendations should consider the remaining challenges that need to be addressed in the current context of global change, such as the increased risk of wildfires and the emergence of other pests and diseases.

Automated software effort estimation for agile development system by heuristically improved hybrid learning

SummaryIn the process of modern software development, an important role is played by software effort estimation. The failure or success of the projects is mostly based on the schedule outcomes and effort estimation accuracy. The effort estimation problem still remains as a challenging issue because of the limitations of various standard measures for forecasting the efforts in the plan‐driven software development. This article emphasizes on novel software effort estimation framework using heuristically improved hybrid learning model. This article proposes heuristically improved hybrid learning (HI‐HL) with deep belief network and artificial neural network for software effort estimation. The weight optimization strategy of DBN and ANN to attain highly accurate estimation. Here, the weight optimization is performed by integrating two standard optimization algorithms such as forest optimization algorithm and moth‐flame optimization, so called as solution index‐based forest moth flame optimization with the purpose of solving the fitness function concerning the “Magnitude of Relative Error and Mean Absolute Error (MAE).” From the table results, for dataset 1, the SMAPE of SI‐FMFO‐HI‐HL is correspondingly secured 60.75%, 34.26%, 56.77%, and 61.44% improved than ELM, LSTM, DNN, and fuzzy. The simulation findings indicated that the recommended estimation model outperformed the baseline approaches on the three publically available datasets.

Comparative Efficacy Trials with Two Different Bacillus thuringiensis Serovar kurstaki Strains against Gypsy Moth in Mediterranean Cork Oak Forests

The efficacy of two formulations (Foray® 76B AVIO and Rapax® AS AIR) containing different Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (Btk) strains (ABTS-351 and EG-2348, respectively) was evaluated against Lymantria dispar larval populations in cork oak forests in Sardinia (Italy), in 2018 and 2019. The experimental design involved the following treatments: (I) untreated control; (II) Foray® 76B at the dose of 2.0 L/ha; (III) Foray® 76B at the dose of 2.5 L/ha; (IV) Rapax® AS AIR at the dose of 2.0 L/ha. Aerial applications were carried out using a helicopter equipped with four electronic rotary atomizers adjusted to sprinkle 160 micron-sized drops. Btk efficacy was evaluated by assessing the larval density reduction 7, 14, and 21 days after the application in each experimental plot in comparison with an untreated check. In addition to field surveys, the mortality of second and third instar larval samples, randomly collected from each plot after treatment and fed with foliage from the same plot, was determined in the laboratory. All Btk treatments were similarly effective, and no differences in larval density reduction among Btk strains and doses were found in either year. Twenty-one days after application, the average larval density reduction in the field was approximately 70% in all treated plots in 2018, whereas in 2019 it reached 80% only in areas treated with Foray 76B at 2.5 L/ha. Laboratory observations showed that all Btk-based products were effective against gypsy moth larvae, with significant differences in mortality between untreated control and the different Btk treatments. Our results shed light on the possibility of alternating different Btk strains for resistance management purposes and of applying lower doses than labeled, in order to achieve cost savings for product shipment and distribution and to reduce the environmental impact.

Host specificity and species colouration mediate the regional decline of nocturnal moths in central European forests

The high diversity of insects has limited the volume of long‐term community data with a high taxonomic resolution and considerable geographic replications, especially in forests. Therefore, trends and causes of changes are poorly understood. Here we analyse trends in species richness, abundance and biomass of nocturnal macro moths in three quantitative data sets collected over four decades in forests in southern Germany. Two local data sets, one from coppiced oak forests and one from high oak forests included 125K and 48K specimens from 559 and 532 species, respectively. A third regional data set, representing all forest types in the temperate zone of central Europe comprised 735K specimens from 848 species. Generalized additive mixed models revealed temporal declines in species richness (−38%), abundance (−53%) and biomass (−57%) at the regional scale. These were more pronounced in plant host specialists and in dark coloured species. In contrast, the local coppiced oak forests showed an increase, in species richness (+62%), while the high oak forests showed no clear trends. Left and right censoring as well as cross validation confirmed the robustness of the analyses, which led to four conclusions. First, the decline in insects appears in hyper diverse insect groups in forests and affects species richness, abundance and biomass. Second, the pronounced decline in host specialists suggests habitat loss as an important driver of the observed decline. Third, the more severe decline in dark species might be an indication of global warming as a potential driver. Fourth, the trends in coppiced oak forests indicate that maintaining complex and diverse forest ecosystems through active management may be a promising conservation strategy in order to counteract negative trends in biodiversity, alongside rewilding approaches.

From forest to fragment: compositional differences inside coastal forest moth assemblages and their environmental correlates

Patterns of β-diversity can provide insight into forces shaping community assembly. We analyzed species-rich insect assemblages in two reserve fragments that had once been part of one contiguous Mediterranean coastal pine forest. Local environments are still similar across both fragments, but their landscape context differs strongly, with one surrounded by intense agricultural land, while the other neighbors the urbanized area of Ravenna. Using 23,870 light-trap records of 392 moth species, and multiple local and landscape metrics, we compared the relative importance of habitat- versus landscape-scale environmental factors for shaping small-scale variation in differentiation and proportional insect β-diversity across 30 sites per reserve. Moth assemblage composition differed substantially between fragments, most likely due to ecological drift and landscape-scale variation. For proportional β-diversity, especially local forest structure was important. At well-developed forest sites, additive homogenization could be observed, whereas the lack of typical forest species at dry, dense, and younger forest sites increased species turnover (subtractive heterogenization). For differentiation β-diversity, local and landscape-scale factors were equally important in both reserves. At the landscape-scale (500 m radius around light-trapping sites) the proximity to urban areas and the fraction of human-altered land were most important. At the habitat scale, gradients in soil humidity, nutrient levels and forest structure mattered most, whereas plant diversity had very little explanatory power. Overall, landscape-scale anthropogenic alterations had major effects on moth communities inside the two conservation areas. Yet, even for these parts of one formerly contiguous forest trajectories in community change were remarkably idiosyncratic.

β-Diversity partitioning of moth communities within and between different forest types.

The partitioning of β-diversity is a recurrent practice in biogeographic and ecological studies that can provide key insights for land management, such as identification of biodiversity hot-spots. In this study, we used Baselga's metrics to measure the contribution of spatial turnover (βsim) and nestedness-resultant dissimilarity (βnes) to overall β-diversity (βsor) within- and between-forest types. We analyzed a presence/absence dataset concerning 593 species of nocturnal Lepidoptera sampled within chestnut, silver fir, beech, and black pine forests of southern Italy. Ordination methods and analysis of similarities were used to assess the relative contribution of βsim and βnes to βsor, and to assess their relationships with variables linked to the experimental design and known to be determinant for insect diversity and abundance. We found that βsor was mostly due to turnover, around 98.5% in β-diversity assessment of the whole sample, and around 91% in β-diversity assessment of individual forests. Using ordination analyses based on βsim, stands were grouped according to forest type, while βnes alone was used to ordinate stands coherently with their species richness. Nevertheless, the addition of βnes to βsim produced a more ecologically coherent grouping of stands within individual forest types, and βnes alone was able to recognize patterns determined by human disturbance. In conclusion, we demonstrate that β-diversity partitioning can help to detect differences in magnitude and role of processes determining the composition of forest moth communities as in different forests the same pattern can be due to opposite processes, providing strong ecological insights into managing forest biodiversity.

A Continuous Model for Oscillating Outbreaks of the Population of a Phytophagous Moth, the Tent Caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria (Lepidoptera, Lasiocampidae)

Outbreaks of individual species populations are important phenomena in many aspects and are not alike in terms of the theory of multispecies community dynamics. Outbreaks of insect populations develop more quickly with long-lasting effects experienced by the forest industry. These events are considered as extreme unbalanced and transient processes. The mechanisms of the development and subsidence of insect outbreaks differ in different taxonomic groups of pests. The duration and occurrence of repeated outbreaks of psyllids and forest moths, which affect deciduous or coniferous forests in the same region, are different. Computational simulation is needed for understanding the dynamics of insect outbreaks. For the mathematical description of the outbreaks of forest tent caterpillar, in addition to the threshold version of the development of the insect outbreak, it is interesting to modify continuous computational models for the analysis of fluctuation dynamics. In this paper, we simulate the dynamics of spontaneously damping oscillations under a specific scenario during a population outbreak using a continuous model with delayed regulation and nonlinear counteraction by the biotic environment. The scenario described by the new phenomenological equation, which consists of a series of maxima of different sizes and final attenuation of peaks near balance, occurs for the pest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria, which affects deciduous forests in North America leading to large-scale defoliation. The new scenario is qualitatively different from our model of the threshold development and subsidence of outbreaks of the psyllid Cardiaspina albitextura in Australia.

Influence of Bacillus thuringiensis application timing on population dynamics of gypsy moth in Mediterranean cork oak forests.

The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is one of the main pests of oak forests worldwide and causes extensive defoliation during its periodic outbreaks. In the Mediterranean region, control of gypsy moth populations in cork oak forests is based on application of Bacillus thuringiensis serovar kurstaki (Btk) formulations. This research investigated the effects of Btk applications carried out in two different population development phases on gypsy moth population dynamics. With this aim, temporal and spatial fluctuation patterns of L. dispar egg density were monitored in cork oak forests treated with Btk applications from 2004 to 2009 in Sardinia (Italy). Applications undertaken during the progradation and culmination phases protected the oak canopies equally in the year of application, leading to a similar decrease in pest population density in the following year. However, the medium-term effectiveness of Btk differed between the two application timings, because only applications in the culmination phase caused a gradual decrease in L. dispar infestations throughout subsequent years. By contrast, when the application was undertaken during the progradation phase, population density increased again after 2-3 years. Moreover, Btk applications in the culmination phase reduced significantly the number of years in which gypsy moth density was damaging compared with those done in progradation. Our results indicate that Btk applications during the culmination phase were more effective than those in the progradation period, because application in the latter case did not suppress the population, but only postponed the outbreak peak by 2-3 years. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Long‐term (2005–2017) macromoth community monitoring at Mt. Jirisan National Park, South Korea

AbstractMoths, which are one of the mega‐diversity insect groups, play important roles as herbivores in terrestrial ecosystems. Because most moths are nocturnal and easily attracted to lights, the utilization of consistent and uniform sampling methods based on a set of standardized protocols can lead to creation of comparable datasets on regional to global scales. These datasets can be used to address environmental issues such as the biological impacts resulting from climate change and land‐use policies. More than 60% of the Korean peninsula is mountainous, and the forests on most mountains are undergoing marked changes related to forest succession and recent climatic variability. Therefore, the present study was conducted to monitor macromoth communities in a mountain ecosystem of Korea. Our study site, Mt. Jirisan National Park is the first national park and the highest mountain on the mainland of South Korea. This mountain range runs 34 km east to west and 26 km north to south, harboring more than 1,400 vascular plant and more than 3,000 insect species. We monitored macromoth communities at six sites in Mt. Jirisan National Park, South Korea from 2005 to 2017, during which time moths were collected from May to October using an ultraviolet bucket trap. The generated dataset, which contains 1,089 species and 40,694 individuals in 20 families, can be used to establish a baseline for development of a network‐oriented database to assess the temporal and spatial changes of moths in temperate and tropical forests and the biotic impact of environmental change.

Distinguishing eastern North American forest moth pests by wing-scale ultrastructure: potential applications in paleoecology

The use of fossil moth wing scales has recently been introduced as a new method to reconstruct population histories of lepidopterans and provide a proxy for insect disturbance. We investigated the potential for using wing-scale ultrastructure to distinguish between the five most common outbreak species of moth pests in eastern North America: spruce budworm ( Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens), hemlock looper ( Lambdina fiscellaria Guenée), forest tent caterpillar ( Malacosoma disstria Hübner), blackheaded budworm ( Acleris variana Fernie), and jack pine budworm ( Choristoneura pinus Freeman). Using scanning electron images of scales, we made qualitative and quantitative comparisons of morphological traits at the ultrastructural level. We found that hemlock looper and eastern blackheaded budworm scales could be categorically separated from each other and from the three other species. We developed a quadratic discriminant function using measurements of ultrastructure traits that distinguishes scales of the three remaining species with an overall accuracy of 66%. We found that forest tent caterpillar could be well separated based on these traits, but we were less confident in distinguishing the closely related jack pine and spruce budworm. Our method offers potential advantages in scale identification for future studies in paleoecology, while providing the additional advantage of not requiring intact, unfolded, and undamaged scales.

Динамика популяции непарного шелкопряда в лесостепных дубравах Европейской России

Динамика популяции непарного шелкопряда в лесостепных дубравах Европейской России

Effects of Forest Management Practices on Moth Communities in a Japanese Larch (Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carrière) Plantation

Biodiversity in forests is strongly affected by forest management practices, such as clearcutting and aggregated retention. Therefore, the assessment of the effects of forest management on biodiversity is a major concern in forest ecology. In the present study, we aimed to characterize the effects of forest management practices, after one year, on the abundance, species richness, community composition, and functional groups of moths in forests. The moths were sampled in four different forest stands: three stands (clearcutting, aggregated retention, and no cutting) in a planted Japanese larch forest and one stand in a natural Mongolian oak forest. The results revealed that the moth communities changed in response to the changes in vegetation after the implementation of forest management practices, and clearcutting increased the abundance and species richness of herbivorous and warm-adapted species. The structure and function of moth communities were affected by the forest management practices such as clearcutting and aggregated retention, which were reflected by a decrease in community indices and change in moth community composition with changes in vegetation.

Temporal Variation in Macro-Moth Abundance and Species Richness in a Lowland Fijian Forest

In this study we investigated temporal patterns in activity of adult macro-moths in Colo-i-Suva mixed lowland tropical forest on Fiji’s largest island, Viti Levu. Moths were collected for 2 or 3 nights per month over a 12-month period using a mercury-vapor light as an attractant and collecting moths that had settled onto a white sheet for 4 hr after dusk. In total 1,397 specimens were captured, belonging to 116 species in 10 families. There were no significant relationships between total abundance and species richness with any of the climatic factors measured: average minimum and maximum daily temperature, average daily rainfall, and relative humidity. There were no obvious trends in total abundance and species richness over the 12-month monitoring period, although multivariate analysis suggested that moth assemblages in the wet and dry seasons were distinct in terms of their composition. These differences appear to be caused by some of the more-common species exhibiting clear peaks in abundance at certain times of the year, whereas other less-common species were restricted to only dry-season or only wet-season samples. We believe that this study is the first to obtain detailed information on flight periods of adult macro-moths in Fiji. Further research is required to ascertain whether patterns we have observed at this location repeat themselves in subsequent years, and to compare seasonal patterns of moths in other forests, other habitats, and other Fijian islands.

Stable isotope signatures reflect dietary diversity in European forest moths.

BackgroundInformation on larval diet of many holometabolous insects remains incomplete. Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stable isotope analysis in adult wing tissue can provide an efficient tool to infer such trophic relationships. The present study examines whether moth feeding guild affiliations taken from literature are reflected in isotopic signatures.ResultsNon-metric multidimensional scaling and permutational analysis of variance indicate that centroids of dietary groups differ significantly. In particular, species whose larvae feed on mosses or aquatic plants deviated from those that consumed vascular land plants. Moth δ15N signatures spanned a broader range, and were less dependent on species identity than δ13C values. Comparison between moth samples and ostensible food sources revealed heterogeneity in the lichenivorous guild, indicating only Lithosia quadra as an obligate lichen feeder. Among root-feeding Agrotis segetum, some specimens appear to have developed on crop plants in forest-adjacent farm land. Reed-feeding stem-borers may partially rely on intermediary trophic levels such as fungal or bacterial growth.ConclusionDiagnostic partitioning of moth dietary guilds based on isotopic signatures alone could not be achieved, but hypotheses on trophic relationships based on often vague literature records could be assessed with high resolution. Hence, the approach is well suited for basic categorization of moths where diet is unknown or notoriously difficult to observe (i.e. Microlepidoptera, lichen-feeders).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12983-016-0170-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Massive structural redundancies in species composition patterns of floodplain forest moths

Terrestrial arthropod communities usually consist of very large species numbers. Data from experiments or long time‐series would be required to ascertain the functional significance of individual species. Both are largely unavailable for species‐rich natural communities. Recognising structural redundancies in species composition allows for an alternative approach to address how strong functional redundancy might be in natural assemblages, if structural and functional redundancies are related to each other. Determining structural redundancies is a regular topic in aquatic ecology, but has rarely been applied to terrestrial communities.We explored the extent of structural redundancy in species‐rich terrestrial insect assemblages and whether structural redundancies are contingent to species abundances or functional group affiliations.We used the BVSTEP algorithm to determine structural redundancies in a large data set of moth species (32 181 individuals; 448 species) that had been sampled with light‐traps in three different floodplain forests in eastern Austria. We partitioned the moth species into 12 functional types based on larval host‐plant affiliations to test if moth species included in reduced subsets represent functional groups in the same proportions as they occur in the entire fauna.We observed far more massive structural redundancies in moth assemblages than previously found in aquatic communities. Subsets containing only 8–15 species (1.8–3.3% of all recorded species) were still highly representative for the overall data. Subsets selected by the BVSTEP procedure performed better than equally small subsets that were defined solely by species abundances or by functional group affiliations. Effective ‘surrogate’ subsets contained only 6–9 of the 12 functional moth types. High abundance only loosely corresponded with the frequency at which a moth species was included in the subsets. Thus, certain uncommon species contribute importantly to species composition patterns.Our results show unexpectedly extensive structural redundancies in complex floodplain forest moth communities, which may also indicate strong functional redundancies.

The costs of colour: plasticity of melanin pigmentation in an outbreaking polymorphic forest moth

AbstractOutside the context of industrial melanism, little is known about the physiological and ecological importance of genetic melanic polymorphisms in moths. Melanin pigments are synthesized from amino acid precursors and should therefore be costly to produce in nitrogen‐limited insects. A genetic melanic polymorphism is present in adult Malacosoma disstria Hübner (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), a widespread forest moth with outbreaking population dynamics. We test the hypotheses that melanin‐based colouration is physiologically costly in M. disstria, that expression of melanin‐based colouration is a plastic trait which varies with population density and nutrition, and that the genetically based melanic phenotype is disadvantaged under nutritionally poor conditions. Two experiments were used to test these hypotheses. A field study compared pigmentation and phenotypic frequencies in moths collected from high‐ and low‐density populations. A laboratory experiment investigated the effects of larval nitrogen availability on adult pigmentation and phenotypic frequencies. High population density and nitrogen limitation reduced pigmentation and size of all moths, but phenotypic frequencies were not affected in either experiment. The effects of diet on both pigmentation and size were stronger for melanic moths than for typical moths. Our results show that adult melanism in M. disstria is physiologically costly, that colour expression is plastic despite its genetic component, and that the melanic phenotype may be disadvantaged under poor conditions but favoured under good conditions. We suggest that temporal variation in selection and trait plasticity help maintain polymorphism stability.

Guild-specific responses of forest Lepidoptera highlight conservation-oriented forest management – Implications from conifer-dominated forests

The loss of biodiversity in forest ecosystems has led to a discussion on conservation-oriented forest management, particularly in intensively managed coniferous forest of the northern hemisphere. Two conservation-oriented management strategies, namely advancement of multi-layered forests stands and benign neglect of naturally disturbed stands, are currently being promoted over conventional management strategies of single-layered stands and salvage logging after natural disturbances. However, the effect of these conservation-oriented strategies on nocturnal Lepidoptera has not yet been assessed, despite the high contribution of this order to biodiversity. Here we used full assemblage data of forest-dwelling micro-moths and macro-moths to compare species densities and relative abundance of moths of the larval feeding guilds in single-layered and multi-layered stands, and in naturally disturbed salvaged or unsalvaged stands. We demonstrate that forest moth assemblages are sensitive to conservation-oriented forest management strategies. The relative abundance of moths of the saproxylic and detritus-feeding larval guilds was higher in naturally disturbed unsalvaged stands and in multi-layered stands, whereas that of moths of the moss-feeding larval guild was lower in multi-layered stands. These results corroborate the benefit of a benign-neglect strategy in the management of naturally disturbed stands in conserving saproxylic and detritus-feeding moths and in using natural disturbance to guide the enhancement of stand complexity. Our results demonstrate both the power of functional approaches to reveal slight changes in species communities and the importance of including micro-moths (a frequently disregarded group) in studies aimed at developing management implications for forest managers.

Richness and composition of tiger moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) in a Neotropical savanna: are heterogeneous habitats richer in species?

Several studies have found a positive relationship between habitat complexity and species richness. Here, we sampled Arctiinae moths in a savanna-forest gradient to test if (1) structurally complex habitats harbour more species and individuals than simple habitats, (2) composition of Arctiinae moths in forests is dissimilar from the other vegetation types, and (3) due to its strong association with the vegetation the tribe Arctiini will present more consistent results to the first two hypotheses when compared to the tribe Lithosiini. Species richness was higher in more complex vegetation types. Forest and savanna had distinct Arctiinae species composition. These findings were more consistent to Arctiini than to Lithosiini because Arctiini feeds on a great range of plant species whereas Lithosiini has a specialized diet on lichens, algae and bryophytes.