Planning for Gypsy moth

摘要

Amongst the myriad of reasons 2020 was such an interesting year, I found the increase in gypsy moth (GM) defoliation to be almost calming. But this is likely not the case for those who have contacted me concerned about the potential impact of GM on their woodlot. For many, this was the first time in many years that they have seen such seemingly widespread defoliation. Where I live, near Ithaca, I recall the first wave of GM defoliation in the mid 1980's. At that time defoliation was widespread and Irecall a number of large red oak perishing after just three years of defoliation at one of my research sites. Since that time, largely due to the proliferation of fungal and viral pathogens, I've found a only a few stray GM caterpillars and an egg mass here or there, but they have not been the cause of noticeable defoliation and certainly no tree mortality. But this is certainly not the case elsewhere in the state where defoliation has been evident over the years in the southern Catskills and Hudson River Valley, up to the SE Adirondacks as well as a few years ago in the Allegany State Park. Further south in Pennsylvania GM has been a persistent problem, with applications of pesticides made every year, and this year some 200,000 acres are planned for treatment.