Spotted lanternfly in Massachusetts and the US
Speaker: Joshua Bruckner, Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator, Massachusetts Dept. of Agricultural Resources
Spotted lanternfly is a highly destructive insect that has appeared in several states on the east coast. Learn about this pest’s lifecycle and biology, what aspects of Massachusetts life it threatens, and what’s being done to control and stop its spread.
Successful Biological Control of Winter Moth in Eastern New England
Speaker: Dr. Joseph Elkinton, Professor of Entomology, Dept. of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst
The winter moth, Operophtera brumata, an inchworm caterpillar that is native to Europe, became a devastating invasive defoliator of many species of forest and shade trees in eastern New England beginning in the late 1990’s. Dr. Elkinton will discuss a biological control effort based on the introduction of the specialist fly parasitoid Cyzenis albicans. Each year for 14 years, the Elkinton lab collected and reared C. albicans from British Columbia and released them across sites in the northeastern United States. By 2016 they have documented a decrease in the winter moth population along with an increase in parasitism rates by C. albicans.