Anyone else dealing with gypsy moth caterpillar devastation this year?

We've been hit hard in my area this year by the gypsy moth caterpillars and some areas look more like late November than mid-July. I realize many trees survive the blight, and some re-leaf by August, however not all will survive. Just in one area where I live, the forest service mapped out 31,000 acres of defoliation from the caterpillars (pic below). It's been years since they hit the area however I have never seen it this bad. For about a month, you could walk out at night and it sounded like pouring rain (but was just the noise of caterpillar crap falling through the trees).

I know the forest service has (aerial) sprayed a fungal pathogen in the past to deal with the infestation however they said the recurring drought has reduced the effectiveness of the pathogen. Hopefully most of the trees will survive.

Oaks seem to have been hit the hardest by these buggers.

 

Not here, this year.

First the oaks. Then fruit. Then pines.

Damp springs and summers seem to keep them in check.

Lots of dead standing oaks in this area from them a few years ago

 

None here. We were hit a few years ago. Eastern CT the worst into RI not far from MikeInMa. Lots of "skeleton" oaks still seen.

 

And that leads into another concern. My biggest fear up here is forest fires (especially with all the tourists and their naivete with fireworks and campfires). With the growing drought issue in the northeast, and now this defoliation, I think I will have to update my evacuation plan (I basically live in the middle of the national forest and there is only one road through my area so it is prudent to be prepared).

 

From what i saw yours is a LOT worse. Seems like they like the oaks and i noticed cherry too, but this was only in the yard of where i was working. This was the very NE corner of the state. On my ride home on the interstate (395) i could see lots of bare trees, mostly oaks.

 

I told them the NH oaks taste better!

 

I was born and raised in the state and don't recall ever seeing it this bad. Definitely going to devastate the oak population. I have seen some infestation on beech and white birch, however I haven't seen a single oak left unscathed. Sad.

I'll pass that on when all are oaks start dying. It's all buZZsaw BRAD's fault! He sent them here!

 

Gypsy Moths

 

So, the news is telling me that calling them "gypsy" is an ethnic slur, now. 'It's An Ethnic Slur': Insect Society Wants To Rename Gypsy Moths

Are they seeking suggestions for a replacement name?

Since no one likes them, they destroy the things that I like, then flutter around aimlessly after that, my vote for the new name would be Congressional Moth Caterpillars.

I'm sure others have better suggestions.

 

I knew it was a matter of time before the outrage culture would get a hold of that one too. The “gypsies” in Europe prefer to be called “Roma” but if we called the caterpillars Roma would that be offensive to the Roma people? There’s no end to it...

 

Wish there was an unlike or sad option for the effects of the moths in the original post...

There is a large infestation in parts of mid-Michigan this year too. I was around the area known as Canadian Lakes a couple of days ago, and the trees were close to being bare. Thousands of moths and egg masses everywhere. Same SE of Cadillac. Seems like the oaks are the hardest hit.

 

Yeah, this 'woke' culture has gone beyond ridiculous. I would assume that naming the caterpillar has absolutely nothing to do with the ethnic/racial side of things but is due to the migratory nature of the caterpillar (they move around just as the gypsies used to). It could have been called Bedouin caterpillar instead, or any other name that is synonymous with a group that moves from location to location based on food sourcing (like the hunter/gatherers of old). Our (pathetic) local news station finally did a clip on the gypsy moth infestation and not one word was said about how it will affect the area or anything at all about the actual infestation. The entire clip was about a Roma doctor who was offended by the name gypsy moth. I would have thought it was more important to get the word out to people that some trees will survive, however there will be a lot of dead trees in the future and an increased risk of forest fires. SMH.

 

There's racism lurking under every rock and stone for racists.
It's all they see sometimes.

 

Missed this. Thanks.

 

Wow!! That’s devastating! We don’t have those that I’m aware of. We don’t have a big enough oak population, I guess.

 

They're coming... 13 miles per year, naturally, if I understand it right, and faster when the eggs hitch a ride on firewood.

Wasn't sure how to put a .gif in here, but the link below is an animation of the spread.

File:Gypsy moth spread 1900-2007.gif - Wikipedia

 

We are visiting and doing a lot of hiking in eastern New York state near the Massachusetts border and have seen many thousands of trees damaged, if not killed by the moth. That's on top of the ash killed by EAB and hemlocks killed by fungus and the list goes on.

 

I haven't seen any this year. Last year we had them but nothing on the level of EODMSgt photos. Im afraid the lanternfly is going to reign supreme this year in my locale.

 

Interesting read from a UNH study:

Gypsy moth caterpillars prefer oaks, apples, birches, poplars, and willows. Less preferred species are ashes, maples, cherries, elms, beeches, and softwoods. Caterpillars will feed on many kinds of plants once the preferred trees in an area or stand are defoliated.

Defoliation, and hence growth loss and tree mortality, are directly related to the percent of oak (the preferred host) in the stand. Though pure stands of softwoods are practically immune to defoliation, hemlocks and pines are especially vulnerable to mortality when mixed with oaks. Suppressed softwoods, often in the understory of hardwood stands, are much more likely to die than dominant trees. Overstory pines often escape complete defoliation and survive.

Softwoods like hemlocks and pines are more likely to die after a single defoliation than hardwoods. It takes softwoods several years to grow a full complement of needles, whereas hardwoods grow a full crown of leaves each year.

Healthy hardwoods generally require two or more years of heavy defoliation (61-100%) before they are killed. Defoliation weakens trees and increases the likelihood of attacks by fungi and other insects (secondary invaders). Hardwoods with more than 50% defoliation will usually re-foliate before fall. This new flush of leaves uses most of the food reserves necessary for growth the following year. Defoliated trees enter dormancy later, and are thus more prone to winter injury. Bad weather (especially drought), poor soil type, and low tree vigor also lead to tree mortality. As a result, trees may not die until years after defoliation. Among the hardwoods, oaks receive the greatest mortality because they are the preferred host and suffer the most defoliation. Do not remove defoliated plants unless they fail to leaf out in the spring following defoliation.

Oak mortality after heavy defoliation depends on crown condition, crown position in the forest canopy, and species, in that order. Suppressed trees with small or sparse crowns are more likely to die than large, full crowned dominant trees. Chestnut oaks, black oaks, and white oaks are more likely to die than red oaks. NH red oaks tend to be resilient, perhaps because repeated outbreaks lead to natural selection of resistant trees. In a study by the author after the 1981 outbreak, average red oak mortality for trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of 10” or greater was only 6%. However, this is an average and some stands received greater mortality. Better sites sometimes have higher mortality because they often have more insects and diseases to act as secondary invaders. Also, dry, shallow sites, “select” for hardy trees that are more capable of withstanding defoliation.

In a typical outbreak cycle in New Hampshire, a susceptible oak stand will receive one year of light (1-30%) to moderate (31-30%) defoliation and 1-2 years of heavy defoliation (61-100%). Based on our studies, the first year of light defoliation reduces annual growth an average of 29%; the first year moderate defoliation reduced growth about 40%; in the second year (heavy defoliation) growth is reduced about 50%; in the third year (heavy defoliation) growth is reduced 75% compared to “normal” pre-defoliation growth rates. After the outbreak, trees will increase annual growth during each year of the recovery until normal growth rates are attained. Healthy stands recover to normal growth within 2-3 years after the last defoliation. Highly stressed stands may take up to 10 years to recover.