Establishing in the right location is particularly important for larval insects. Lepidopteran females are generally selective when choosing oviposition sites to ensure the best survival for their offspring. Unlike most social and shelter-building Lepidoptera, egg batches of the pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa Denis & Schiffermüller (1775) (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae), are oviposited randomly on the host tree. Thaumetopoea pityocampa is gregarious throughout all larval instars and live in silken tents, spun repeatedly and maintained by the colony during larval development. In this study, a single T. pityocampa egg batch was transplanted on Pinus nigra trees free from natural egg batches in one of four compass orientations: north, east, south or west. The orientation of transplanted egg batches had no significant effect on the final survival of the larvae. Thaumetopoea pityocampa larvae were behavioural thermoregulators from first to final instar and tended to position their tent in a southerly orientation for maximum sun exposure. Thermoregulation was the utmost priority for T. pityocampa larvae as they feed through the winter. Feeding behaviour and number of tents built by early instars changed as larvae became older, and this could be explained by natural enemy avoidance and/or evasion of plant defence. The results can help predict larval movement and assist in pest management strategies for T. pityocampa at a microhabitat level. This study is the first to investigate detailed movement behaviour of all T. pityocampa larval instars on a host tree, describing the transition of larvae starting as patch-restricted foragers to central place foragers.

中文翻译：

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行为可塑性和树木结构影响松树游行幼虫集落的帐篷和觅食位置

在正确的位置建立地点对于幼虫尤其重要。鳞翅目雌性通常在选择产卵部位时具有选择性，以确保其后代的最佳生存。与大多数社会和庇护所鳞翅目动物不同，松树蛾的卵批次Thaumetopoea pityocampa Denis＆Schiffermüller（1775）（鳞翅目：Notodontidae）在产卵树上随机生卵。丘脑海藻在所有幼虫期幼虫中合群，生活在丝绸帐篷中，在幼虫发育过程中反复旋转并由菌落维持。在这项研究中，将单一的海豚皮成虫卵移植到无天然卵的黑松树上，以北，东，南或西四种方向之一进行移植。分批移植卵的方向对幼虫的最终存活没有显着影响。从最初到最后一个幼龄期，丘脑足节幼虫都是行为温度调节剂，它们倾向于将帐篷朝南放置，以最大程度地暴露于阳光下。在整个冬季进食时，体温调节是海藻T. pityocampa幼虫的首要任务。随着幼虫年龄的增长，早期幼虫建立的进食行为和帐篷数量也发生了变化，这可以用天敌躲避和/或逃避植物防御来解释。这些结果可以帮助预测幼虫的运动，并在微生境水平上协助海豚鼠的虫害防治策略。这项研究是第一个研究所有寄主海胆幼虫在寄主树上的详细运动行为的研究，