MODELING OF ONE-DIMENSIONAL SPATIAL EFFECTS ON THE SPREAD OF GYPSY MOTHS

Modeling of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)) populations is extremely complex. In this work, a recently proposed mo del for spatially homogeneous populations which involves only three va riables has been modified to study the spread of gypsy moth population s. The dynamics of this model includes waves of modulating amplitude w hich propagate in the spatio-temporal domain. Under certain conditions these spatial inhomogeneities eventually decay, resulting in spatiall y homogeneous behavior. Under other conditions they continue to exist, and in one case it was observed that appropriate perturbations on a c haotic system led to the establishment of a constant-shape, constant-v elocity traveling wave. In this work we also study the effects of atte mpting to stimulate outbreaks by the implantation of a large number of gypsy moth egg masses at a specific location, as well as the effects of repeated transportation of egg masses to a single site (such as a c amp ground). In addition, we report the results of simulating the appl ication of pesticides.