Petrucco Toffolo Edoardo, Zovi Daniel, Perin Chiara, Paolucci Paolo, Roques Alain, Battisti Andrea, Horvath Helmuth
Department of Agronomy Food Natural Resources Animals and Environment-Entomology, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy.
Integr Zool. 2014 Jun;9(3):320-7. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12031.
Larvae of the processionary moths of the Palaearctic region bear urticating setae that are released against vertebrate predators, especially insectivorous birds. A few species are pests of forest and urban trees and, consequently, may threaten human and animal health during outbreaks, causing dermatitis, conjunctivitis and respiratory distress. Although some studies provide detailed information about the setae, particularly those of the pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa, there is little knowledge on the morphological traits of the setae and their release by the larvae. In the present study we identify major traits of the setae of 3 species of processionary moth, T. pityocampa, T. pinivora and T. processionea, which are potentially helpful in the understanding of setae dynamics in the environment: (i) diameter and length of setae and (ii) analysis of dynamical properties of the setae in the airborne state. Setae are highly variable in size, with bimodal distribution in T. pityocampa and T. pinivora; in these 2 species, short and long setae are interspersed within the integument fields where they occur. The difference in the seta size has important consequences in dispersion, as smaller setae can spread 5 times further than their bigger counterparts. This information is relevant for a full understanding of the defensive importance of larval setae against natural enemies of the processionary moths, as well for elucidating the importance of the processionary setae as air pollutants, both close to the infested trees and at longer distances.
古北区的列队蛾幼虫带有可用于抵御脊椎动物捕食者（尤其是食虫鸟类）的螫毛。有几种列队蛾是森林和城市树木的害虫，因此在爆发期间可能威胁人类和动物健康，引发皮炎、结膜炎和呼吸窘迫。尽管一些研究提供了有关螫毛的详细信息，特别是松列队蛾舞毒蛾的螫毛，但对于螫毛的形态特征及其由幼虫释放的情况了解甚少。在本研究中，我们确定了3种列队蛾（舞毒蛾、松列队蛾和茶列队蛾）螫毛的主要特征，这些特征可能有助于理解环境中螫毛的动态：（i）螫毛的直径和长度，以及（ii）对空气中状态下螫毛动态特性的分析。螫毛大小差异很大，在舞毒蛾和松列队蛾中呈双峰分布；在这两个物种中，短螫毛和长螫毛在其出现的体表区域内相互交错。螫毛大小的差异在扩散方面具有重要影响，因为较小的螫毛比较大的螫毛传播距离远5倍。这些信息对于全面理解幼虫螫毛对列队蛾天敌的防御重要性以及阐明列队蛾螫毛作为空气污染物在靠近受侵染树木处和更远距离处的重要性都具有重要意义。
