Effects of Wind Speed on Background Herbivory of an Insect Herbivore

Abstract

ABSTRACT Climate change has major effects on background insect herbivory, but only a few studies have involved long-term investigation, and the effects of wind on bigger insect herbivores such as moths have been largely neglected. We correlated climatic data during the period 2006–2017 with a set of background herbivory data of Culcula panterinaria (Bremer et Grey) derived from a long-term investigation (2007–2017) in the oak forest of Luanchuan county, Henan, China and discuss the impacts of wind speed on background insect herbivory. Background insect herbivory was significantly correlated with wind speed parameters of both the same year and previous year, implying direct and cumulative effects of wind speed on background insect herbivory. Our study offers a new perspective for monitoring and predicting background insect herbivory.