Jifeng Zhang: College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Baode Wang: US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Science and Technology, Forest Pest Methods Laboratory, Buzzards Bay, MA 02542, USA. ORCID
Liqiang Wang: College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Cheng Zuo: College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Junnan Li: Fujian Academy of Forestry Sciences, Fuzhou 350012, China.
Yonghong Cui: College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Xuanye Wen: College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. ORCID
David Cowan: US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Science and Technology, Forest Pest Methods Laboratory, Buzzards Bay, MA 02542, USA.
Songqing Wu: College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. ORCID
Mengxia Liu: College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Rong Wang: College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. ORCID
Feiping Zhang: College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
The biological characteristics of Swinhoe (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), a moth that threatens coastal forests in Fuzhou, China, are closely linked to its spread risk. To characterize these traits, we primarily investigated emergence, reproductive, and flight behaviors. Our findings show that females typically emerge, mate, and copulate during specific times of day. The peak hours of emergence, courtship, and copulation are 13:00-14:00, 19:00-21:00, and around 0:00, respectively. The starting time of oviposition was concentrated before dawn and during the daytime. They preferentially lay eggs on columnar objects, including artificial ones. On average, females laid 361 eggs, lived for 4.5 days, and weighed 0.74 g. Non-ovipositing females were observed to fly for short distances, especially during the evening. Field observations suggest that these females can potentially travel up to 184.5 m in total and 34.5 m continuously. While this indicates a theoretical risk of long-distance dispersal, our findings suggest that the overall risk is limited. These results contribute to our understanding of the biology and dispersal potential of .
