News › 10–240 million migrant moths will reach the UK this spring

Silver Y moth - photo by Ian Woiwod

27 August 2012

Scientists at Rothamsted Research, working with UK scientific colleagues at the Universities of Exeter, Greenwich, York and Oxford, the Lund University in Sweden and the Met Office, combined data from entomological radars and ground-based light-traps to show that annual migrations are highly adaptive in the noctuid moth Autographa gamma (silver Y), a major agricultural pest that migrates northward every spring from its winter breeding-grounds in North Africa and the Middle East to its temporary summer breeding grounds in Northern Europe.

Lead author, Dr. Jason Chapman, of the Department of AgroEcology at Rothamsted Research, which receives strategic funding from the BBSRC noted that "billions of insects immigrate annually to, or within, the temperate zone, providing major ecosystem services as well as, in some cases, causing serious crop damage and spreading diseases of humans and their livestock."

Previous to this work, it was believed billions of insects migrate to exploit temperate zones, but their offspring seldom return, the 'Pied Piper' effect. But this work shows that after a period of intense northward flight in the spring, when 10 - 240 million immigrants reach the United Kingdom, summer breeding leads to a four-fold increase in the abundance of adults, most of which return southward in the autumn. Thus, the authors suggest, the moth's poleward movement not only results in population growth but also contributes to its survival as a species by facilitating summer breeding. Dr Chapman said that "these findings may require a fundamental change in our understanding of insect migration."

Professor Keith Goulding, leader of the Delivering Sustainable Systems research programme at the world renowned Rothamsted Research said "This is tremendously exciting research that is opening up new ways of tracking and understanding the movement and development of agricultural pests. A better understanding of their lifecycles will enable us to develop sustainable control methods."

Publication

› Seasonal migration to high latitudes results in major reproductive benefits in an insect (10.1073/pnas.1207255109)

Contacts

› Jason Chapman, Donald Reynolds and James Bell

Rothamsted Research Press Office

For further information, please contact Darren Hughes, Head of Communications, on +44 (0) 1582 763 133 ext 2673, email darren.hughes@rothamsted.ac.uk

Rothamsted is the longest running agricultural research station in the world, providing cutting-edge science and innovation for nearly 170 years. Our mission is to deliver the knowledge and new practices to increase crop productivity and quality and to develop environmentally sustainable solutions for food and energy production. Our strength lies in our integrated, multidisciplinary approach to research in plant and soil science.

Rothamsted Research receives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) . It is the longest running agricultural research station in the world, developing environmentally sustainable solutions for food and energy production through science and innovation for nearly 170 years.

About BBSRC

BBSRC is the UK funding agency for research in the life sciences and the largest single public funder of agriculture and food-related research.

Sponsored by Government, BBSRC's budget for 2011-12 is around £445M which it is investing in a wide range of research that makes a significant contribution to the quality of life in the UK and beyond and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders, including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.

BBSRC provides institute strategic research grants to the following:

The Babraham Institute, Institute for Animal Health, Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (Aberystwyth University), Institute of Food Research, John Innes Centre, The Genome Analysis Centre, The Roslin Institute (University of Edinburgh) and Rothamsted Research.

The Institutes conduct long-term, mission-oriented research using specialist facilities. They have strong interactions with industry, Government departments and other end-users of their research.

For more information see: www.bbsrc.ac.uk