State: Fungus stopping gypsy moth outbreak

FILE - In this July 28, 2008, file photo, a female gypsy moth lays her eggs on the trunk of a tree in the Salmon River State Forest in Hebron, Conn. Oregon agriculture officials proposes to spray about 8,000 acres over the Portland area next spring to kill leaf-eating gypsy moths. Washington state agriculture officials will decide soon whether to propose spraying a biological pesticide over 10,500 acres in Western Washington. (AP Photo/Bob Child, File) less FILE - In this July 28, 2008, file photo, a female gypsy moth lays her eggs on the trunk of a tree in the Salmon River State Forest in Hebron, Conn. Oregon agriculture officials proposes to spray about 8,000 ... more Photo: Bob Child / Associated Press Photo: Bob Child / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close State: Fungus stopping gypsy moth outbreak 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station says this year’s gypsy moth outbreak appears to be over thanks to a natural fungus that is killing off the leaf-eating caterpillars.

Earlier this spring in eastern Connecticut and as far west as New Haven County, gypsy moth caterpillars stripped trees of leaves and were starting to feed on other types of vegetation.

The tide against the insect turned in late spring when rain came, helping a natural, caterpiller-killing fungas - Entomophaga maimagia - to develop.

The ag station reported this week that there are now “widespread reports of dead and dying gypsy moth caterpillars, which we have confirmed to be caused by the gypsy moth fungus.”

State Entomologist Dr. Kirby Stafford, said “we are now seeing widespread caterpillar mortality from the fungus. It is likely that this pathogen will knock back the gypsy moth population and help prevent another large outbreak in 2017.”

The high level gypsy moth activity this year and in 2015 shouldn’t mark a return to multiple years of widespread gypsy moth defoliation and the tree mortality experienced in the early 1980s. In 1981, 1.5 million acres were defoliated in Connecticut.

Christopher Martin, Director of Forestry at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said “partial or even complete defoliation of a tree in any one year does not mean the death of the tree. Healthy trees can tolerate some defoliation.” However, some older, mature oaks may have more difficulty recovering from a complete defoliation.

In describing the life of a gypsy month, the ag station wrote, “there is only one generation of the gypsy moth each year. The caterpillars hatched from the buff-colored egg masses in late April this year. An egg mass may contain 100 to more than 1000 eggs laid in several layers. A few days after hatching, the quarter-inch long caterpillars will ascend the trees and begin to feed on new leaves. These young caterpillars deposit silk trails as they crawl and, as they drop from branches on these threads, may be distributed on the wind. Larger caterpillars generally crawl up and down tree trunks and feed mainly at night. They seek cool, shaded protective sites during the day. However, under outbreak conditions with dense populations of caterpillars, they may feed continuously day and night and crawl at any time. The caterpillars generally complete their feeding sometime around the end of June, pupate, and transform into an adult moth in about 10 to 14 days.”