Short-term effects of a nun moth suppression programme (Lymantria monacha), (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) on epigeic non-target arthropods

The short-term responses of non-target soil arthropods to insecticides (Nomolt: Teflubenzuron, Karate: lambda-Cyhalothrin) applied against the nun moth (Lymantria monacha L.) were investigated in 2003. This phytophagous pest infested 30–40-year-old monocultures of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) located at an active military training area in northeast Saxony (Germany). According to the non-target epigeic arthropods, extinction of a higher systematic taxon (family, order) was not observed. Activity densities of soil macroarthropods were lower on plots treated with Karate, while those of necrophagous ground beetles increased considerably. Nomolt revealed no distinct impact on soil invertebrate density. Statistical analysis did not prove any consistent insecticidal effects on non-target arthropods. Adjacent open-heathland arthropods were not affected by a possible drift of the agents.