Adaptive migratory orientation of an invasive pest on a new continent
Hui Chen,
Guijun Wan,
Jianchun Li,
Yibo Ma,
Don R. Reynolds,
David Dreyer,
Eric J. Warrant,
Jason W. Chapman,
Gao Hu
Affiliations
Hui Chen
Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; National Key Laboratory of Bio-interactions and Crop Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 22362 Lund, Sweden
Guijun Wan
Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; National Key Laboratory of Bio-interactions and Crop Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Jianchun Li
Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; National Key Laboratory of Bio-interactions and Crop Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Yibo Ma
Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; National Key Laboratory of Bio-interactions and Crop Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Don R. Reynolds
Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham ME4 4TB, UK; Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK
David Dreyer
Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 22362 Lund, Sweden
Eric J. Warrant
Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 22362 Lund, Sweden
Jason W. Chapman
Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK; Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
Gao Hu
Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; National Key Laboratory of Bio-interactions and Crop Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Many species of insects undertake long-range, seasonally reversed migrations, displaying sophisticated orientation behaviors to optimize their migratory trajectories. However, when invasive insects arrive in new biogeographical regions, it is unclear if migrants retain (or how quickly they regain) ancestral migratory traits, such as seasonally preferred flight headings. Here we present behavioral evidence that an invasive migratory pest, the fall armyworm moth (Spodoptera frugiperda), a native of the Americas, exhibited locally adaptive migratory orientation less than three years after arriving on a new continent. Specimens collected from China showed flight orientations directed north-northwest in spring and southwest in autumn, and this would promote seasonal forward and return migrations in East Asia. We also show that the driver of the seasonal switch in orientation direction is photoperiod. Our results thus provide a clear example of an invasive insect that has rapidly exhibited adaptive migratory behaviors, either inherited or newly evolved, in a completely alien environment.
