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Incidence of mesoscale convergence lines as input to spruce budworm control strategies

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Abstract

On occasion Greenbank et al. (1980) in their 1973 to 1976 study on spruce budworm moth dispersal in New Brunswick, Canada, detected intense line concentrations of airborne moths crossing special radar observing sites located about 100 km inland from both the Bay of Fundy and the Northumberland Straits. Line concentrations of insects reflect the presence of atmospheric convergence lines. Data from a surface mesonetwork and wind and temperature soundings up to 2 km collected in New Brunswick from 1976 to 1978 around the period of spruce budworm moth activity has revealed sea breeze fronts to be the meteorological origin for the line concentrations of moths. Analysis has shown sea breeze fronts penetrating 80 to 100 km inland in New Brunswick can be expected once or twice each year during the moth dispersal period. An equation for maximum inland penetration was developed which gave a correlation coefficient of 0.78 between predicted and observed inland penetrations with a standard error of 17.5 km. Predicted sea-breeze frontal penetrations of 100 km or more were considered likely to produce a line concentration of moths observable at the radar sited. Using this criteria the prediction scheme delineated four out of the five nights when line concentrations of moths were observed and only over-predicted on one occasion. Thus meteorological data can be used to predict the appearance of line concentrations of spruce budworm moths and so provide input into population redistribution studies and into the development of control strategies directed at the adult budworm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atmospheric Environment Service, 4905 Dufferin Street Downsview, M3H 5T4, Ontario, Canada

    H. H. Neumann

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  1. H. H. Neumann
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  2. E. I. Mukammal
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Neumann, H.H., Mukammal, E.I. Incidence of mesoscale convergence lines as input to spruce budworm control strategies. Int J Biometeorol 25, 175–187 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02184467

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02184467

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