Incidence and occurrence profiles of the small brown planthopper (Laodelphax striatellus Fallén) in Korea in 2011–2015

Abstract The small brown planthopper (SBPH, Laodelphax striatellus Fallen) is an important pest that causes severe yield losses in rice by transmitting viral plant diseases. For the proper management of this pest, therefore, it is necessary to understand its temporal and spatial dynamics by establishing a periodical monitoring system. A dataset, including the number of SBPHs by location, collection method [aerial collection net (AeCN) or light trap (LT)] and period (May–Aug.) for five years (2011–2015) was provided by the Rural Developmental Administration, and missing values were imputed using multiple imputation methods. Of the 15,848 individuals collected, approximately 47% and 52.9% were collected using the AeCN and LT methods, respectively. Large numbers of SBPHs were generally collected from western coastal regions using AeCNs but not LTs. A high incidence of migratory SBPHs was observed during Julian days 144–166 using the AeCN method, with slightly different migration periods in each year. Generally, the migratory SBPHs made up 39.4% of the total populations of SBPHs during those periods. According to clustering analysis, the migratory region was located along the western coastal regions. Putative migration paths were estimated by trajectory cluster analyses using meteorological data. Interestingly, an L-shaped trajectory path emerged as a potentially important route for migratory SBPHs, passing through major wheat cultivation areas in Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces in China, where high densities of SBPHs occur from late May to early June. These results would provide valuable information to predict the incidence period of migratory SBPHs and establish a proactive management system against SBPH, including the basis for the detection of hazardous factors and decisions regarding appropriate pesticide treatment periods.