Gypsy Moth Plague Attacks Mid-Atlantic Forests
Pastor Dale Morgan
Jun 14, 3:47 AM EDT
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Gypsy Moth Plague Attacks Mid-Atlantic Forests*
By GENARO C. ARMAS
Associated Press Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Picnickers in East Coast woods may get some
hungry visitors this summer. But at least they won't ask for sandwiches.
A Plague of Leaf-eating gypsy moth caterpillars are out in force in
parts of the mid-Atlantic following a warm, dry spring - just the kind
of weather that can make the insects thrive.
Experts are predicting an especially bad year for trees, primarily oaks,
which are the caterpillars' favorite snack. The moths will also munch on
475 types of foliage.
At their largest, the hungry caterpillars can consume 1 square foot of
foliage per day, according to University of Maryland entomologist Mike
Raupp.
"As soon as the warm weather hits, they eat like dynamos, juggernauts,"
Raupp said.
In Maryland, 50,000 acres of forests were sprayed last month with a
bacterial pesticide, the most acreage sprayed since 1995. Defoliation
there appears to be worse than last year, especially near the
Pennsylvania line, according to the state agriculture department.
Nearly 700,000 acres of Pennsylvania forests - primarily in the Poconos
and central Pennsylvania - were defoliated last year because of the
persistent bugs, and the infestation could be worse in 2007, said Donald
Eggen, director of the Office of Forest Pest Management for the
Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry.
Homeowners in the Washington, D.C., area are reporting green trees
"disappearing in the blink of an eye," Raupp said.
In New Jersey, this year's infestation has been called one of the
largest in years. The state's agriculture department expects more than
200,000 acres to be defoliated this year, up from 125,000 last year.
While spraying can kill gypsy moths' larvae at very early stages, not
every caterpillar-covered tree can be treated, said Greg Hoover, an
entomologist at Penn State University.
"In all my years as a forest entomologist, I have never witnessed the
quick development of larvae as I have in 2007," said Hoover, who has
worked at Penn State for nearly two decades.
Most trees in the region are as full and green as they will be all year.
Trees that lose leaves now may not immediately die, but re-sprouting
leaves in the middle of the season can stress them.
Spraying typically occurs in the early- to mid-spring in areas where
scientists think there might be high infestations. Spraying is timed to
try to catch the caterpillars just after they hatch from eggs laid the
previous summer.
After hatching, caterpillars try to feast on foliage, then return to a
"resting" stage before transforming into moths.
Female moths lay eggs, primarily on tree trunks, restarting the cycle.
Cool, wet springs can lead to the rise of viral and fungal diseases that
attack the eggs, keeping populations down.
Homeowners who suspect gypsy moths should contact forest or
environmental officials to see if they need spraying, Eggen said.
The critters first appeared in the United States in the 1860s after an
amateur entomologist who settled outside Boston brought them from
France. He was conducting an experiment on trees near his house when
some of the larvae escaped.
Since then, gypsy moths have expanded about five miles a year, according
to Christopher Tipping, an assistant professor of biology at Delaware
Valley College in Doylestown. They've spread as far west as Oregon and
as far south as Virginia.
The U.S. Forest Service has been working with some states bordering
those with high gypsy moth populations to try to suppress their advance.
Gypsy moths don't seem to be as serious a problem in the Midwest this
year. Michigan, for example, didn't have a statewide spraying program
for the first time in 20 years, said Michael Philip of the state's
agriculture department.
But eradicating the gypsy moth is nearly impossible. More gypsy moths
this year will likely mean more eggs ready to hatch in 2008.
"We have to gird ourselves for a pretty serious year next year," Raupp said.
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On the Net:
U.S. Forest Service gypsy moth information:
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/morgantown/4557/gmoth