Conversation

My area is in year two of a spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) outbreak. Last year they appeared by the millions, eating many of the oak, maple, and apple trees in the area completely bare, before cocooning and turning into a swarm of moths that laid large fluffy beige egg sacs everywhere. This year their numbers seem to be even higher. If I stand in the trees beside my house I can hear the sound of their poop raining down. The local department of agriculture says that lower than normal rainfall for the past several years has suppressed the growth of a fungus which usually keeps their populations in check (they are a naturalized invasive from Europe), so we can probably thank climate change for this. Supposedly such outbreaks typically go through a 3 year cycle, where eventually they become so population dense they succumb to a pandemic of "NPV" virus which destroys most of them. So, we have an even worse year in store for 2023. Like many in my area I've begun wrapping the trunks of some of the larger oaks on my property with tape coated in petroleum jelly. The caterpillars drop to the ground at night and climb back up in the day to feed so this (hopefully) will prevent many of them from getting into those trees.

#moths #insects #spongymoth #invasivespecies #trees #nature #climatechange #thanksobama