I have heard people ask about Gypsy moths in the past, I felt this was interesting.
-----Original Message----- From: Bird discussion list for Pennsylvania [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Scott Weidensaul Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 7:06 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [PABIRDS] gypsy moths and birds. Some history here...gypsy moths are Eurasian natives, and were=20 brought to this country in the mid-19th century in a misguided=20 attempt to create a domestic silk industry. They escaped into the=20 wild in New England, and began moving out from that epicenter. The moths hit northeastern Pennsylvania in the 1930s, and the first=20 major infestations reached southeastern Pennsylvania, where I live,=20 in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As Deb said, the gypsy moths would=20 go through boom-and-bust cycles, their populations eventually=20 reaching plague proportions in which the entire forest would be=20 defoliated in mid-June. Then disease would sweep through, the=20 population would crash, and it would be a number of years before it=20 built up again. Although they'll eat many species of trees, especially when=20 stressed by hunger, their primary food are oaks. Hardwoods usually=20 recover from defoliation, leafing out again later in the summer,=20 although two or more years in a row will kill a tree, and defoliation=20 in a time of drought can cause massive mortality. The last regionwide defoliation in this part of the state was, I=20 believe, in 1991; I was section-hiking part of the Appalachian Trail=20 that summer, and hiked for days through hot, shadeless forests that=20 reeked of ammonia from the rotting frass (caterpillar droppings) and=20 dying caterpillars. About that time, a virus introduced in the early=20 1900s as a potential biological control finally kicked in (why it=20 took so long, no one knows) and has generally kept the gypsy moths=20 below the plague threshold, except for periodic, fairly localized=20 outbreaks. Interestingly, one of the other attempted biological controls was a=20 parasitic fly, the tachnid, which made little progress against gypsy=20 moths but has decimated our native silkworm moths like lunas,=20 cecropias and prometheas. Likewise, the bacterial BT spray the state=20 uses is caterpillar-specific, but not gypsy moth specific, and kills=20 the larvae of such forest butterflies and moths as red-spotted=20 purples, various swallowtails and underwings -- basically, any=20 lepidoptera. Scott Weidensaul Schuylkill Haven, PA >Gypsy Moths have infested PA forests for many years -- since early=20 >1980's as far as I know and others can probably give a better idea=20 >than I can. > >The populations wax and wane. They basically eat themselves out and=20 >levels become low until vegetation increases again and they increase. > >In Rothrock State Forest in Centre county and northern Huntingdon=20 >counties my husband Greg Grove has shown with BBS routes that=20 >yellow-billed and black billed cuckoos increase with the=20 >caterpillars. his numbers are small but there is a definite trend. > >I have seen scarlet tanagers eat the caterpillars as well. > >It may be similar to what I have seen with the cicadas when they=20 >erupt. In one big year I saw robins knocking them to the ground and=20 >eating them. It is an insect that they may not come in contact very=20 >often in their lifetime but they somehow decide it is a good prey. > >When the caterpillars are at their maximum levels, you can hear=20 >their droppings falling around you in the woods or what is left of=20 >the woods. You can see the caterpillars themselves completely cover=20 >trees, including evergreens. I don't think I have seen them on=20 >laurel. > >anyway I realize some of this is anecdotal but thought it was interesting. > >Deb > > > >>The gypsy moth caterpillars are really doing a number on the=20 >>forests in Pike County, even though they were supposed to have been=20 >>sprayed. In some places there's so much brown that it looks like=20 >>early spring, before the leaves emerge. I sat on our cabin porch=20 >>yesterday watching a veery gathering food, and, alas, he seemed to=20 >>be letting them alone. There were a ton of them - he wouldn't have=20 >>had to work very hard! The lone plus I see to this is a selfish=20 >>one - without so much foliage, it's easier to see the birds. But=20 >>it's not worth the trade-off. >> >>Sue Schmoyer >> >>-----Original Message----- >>From: Douglas A. Bauman <[email protected]> >>To: [email protected] >>Sent: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 13:26:57 -0400 >>Subject: [PABIRDS] gypsy moths and birds. >> >> >>Do any birds eat gypsy moths, and is there any >>chance this invasion will spread to PA? >>I remember the last time in the early or mid '90s >>here in Western PA. >>Thanks. >>Doug Bauman >>Westmoreland Co. >>--------- >>An invasion of gypsy moths has been destroying thousands of acres of >>New Jersey forests in the span of a month, setting the state up for >>its worst outbreak since the caterpillars defoliated 140,000 acres in >>2001. >>______________________________________________________________________ __ >>Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures,=20 >>email and IM. All on demand. Always Free. > > >-- >Deborah S. Grove, Ph.D. >Director of Research Projects >Nucleic Acid Facility >Huck Institute for Life Science >The Pennsylvania State University >210 Wartik Lab >University Park PA 16802 > >814 865 3332 > >http://www.hils.psu.edu/stf/naf/home.html
