Data from: Come from away: Reconstructing the long-range migratory flight of spruce budworm moths to Newfoundland, Canada

In this study, we combined Lagrangian atmospheric models with
ecophysiological factors to reconstruct a migratory flight of spruce
budworm (SBW, Choristoneura fumiferana) moths. This insect is a major
defoliator in boreal forests in Eastern Canada and was captured in large
numbers in a light trap on the night of 26-27 July 2017 at Sally's
Cove, on the west coast of Newfoundland, Canada.  First, we used
a simple trajectory model in backward mode in time to identify the most
likely source region of the SBW moths south of Anticosti Island, in the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, where moth take-off was likely facilitated by
orographic lift.  Second, using a thermo-circadian model of
take-off flight and the dispersion model MLDP (Modèle lagrangien de
dispersion des particules), we determined that, during their 375 km
journey, moths travelled a few hundred meters above surface level, under
windy and low-humidity conditions. Although the moths followed a
trajectory too low to be tracked by a nearby weather radar, potential
bioscatter reflectivities that could potentially be SBW bioscatter were
detected at higher altitudes, suggesting that the moths that landed in
Sally’s Cove could have been part of a larger dispersal event.