Winter Moths invade the Northeast for the first time
Exerpted from an article originally published in the Boston Globe
Written by Clare Leschin-Hoar
Was that a moth tapping on the windowpane the other night? Fluttering about the Christmas lights? Scientists say yes, you can believe your eyes. Winter moths have invaded the area."It's new to us," said Robert Childs, extension entomologist for the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. "We just positively identified it a little over a year ago. It's never before been recorded in the Eastern United States."
Childs said it's possible they have been in the area for as long as six years, but this year they may have reached "outbreak proportions."
Originally from Europe, the winter moth has been established in Nova Scotia for 30 years or longer, said Childs, but he said he still can't explain how they arrived here. The delicate moth isn't much to look at -- sort of an undistinguished brown-winged creature with a thin body and long legs, but you can tell them by their sheer numbers.
"Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, Boston are all very heavy with the winter moth, and going down to the South Shore, it's very heavy again -- down through Plymouth County and the Cape," said Childs.
Flitting about the windows and lights is a guy thing, apparently. Those moths are all male. The females are wingless and are most likely found in nearby trees such as maples and crabapples -- busy sending out pheromones to attract the males.
The swarm of activity will die down in a few weeks, once the mating frenzy is over, the specialists say. The females will lay eggs. Then, come spring, the eggs will hatch into caterpillars that burrow their way into young tree buds and feed from the inside out, possibly causing great damage to host trees. Blueberry growers are also concerned that the winter moth will damage future crops, said Childs.
How many are out there? Childs said, "Probably billions, I don't know. They are here in huge numbers."
<< back to archive