Flight of North American Female Gypsy Moths 1 , 2

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Abstract
Although Eurasian gypsy moth, Porthetria dispar (L.), females are known to fly (Mikkola 1971) the premise that the females of the European form are flightless has been widely accepted. Since the European form was introduced into North America in 1869, many studies have been made of various aspects of its life history. The descriptions usually state that the adult female does not fly (e.g., Beroza and Knipling 1972, Campbe11 1967, Friend 1945). This statement may be a perpetuation of the report that “The female has never been seen to fly in this country, except on one occasion, and that was after the laying of the eggs.” A female “that had finished or nearly finished laying her eggs, upon being disturbed by males, drop[ped] to the ground and … [flew] about twenty feet, striking the ground and rising again at distances of about two feet” (Forbush and Fernald 1896). Most entomologists either ignore or discount the single report of flight, and state categorically that females do not fly.

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