RIVER TALK

Different name, same pest

BY SCOTT RANDO
Posted 12/31/69

If you live near trees or forest land, you may have seen tiny black caterpillars last spring around the middle of May, gradually getting larger as the month ended. When tiny, they were all dark, and people asked, “What are they?” 

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RIVER TALK

Different name, same pest

Posted

If you live near trees or forest land, you may have seen tiny black caterpillars last spring around the middle of May, gradually getting larger as the month ended. When tiny, they were all dark, and people asked, “What are they?” 

As they get older, color spots appear, and the hairs on the body are easier to see, making them easier to identify. These caterpillars, which become moths in early summer, were formerly known as gypsy moths, but they now have a new name: the spongy moth.

The spongy moth (Lymantria dispar; the scientific name remains the same) had its common name changed by the Entomological Society of America as part of their Better Common Names project. Learn more about the project here: https://entsoc.org/publications/common-names/better-common-names-project.

If searching for resources on state or county websites, most are using the new name for this pest now.

The spongy moth is an invasive insect that has been around for a long time; the first few were accidently introduced in this country in 1869 in Medford, MA, and they have spread across wide areas in the northeast U.S, and are now in parts of the South and Midwest. In sufficient numbers, they can do severe damage to trees, to the point of defoliation. As caterpillars, they feed on a host of leaf-bearing trees and even some pines.  Control, in the form of aerial spraying, has been implemented by various agencies and other groups for many decades. 

In a recent press release, the PA Game Commission has announced that it will spray large tracts of State Game Land 180 (Shohola Marsh) during leaf-out this spring. That spraying will likely be completed by the time this column goes to press.

There are various steps landowners can take to minimize the impact of a spongy moth infestation. Use insecticides with care; if misused, a lot of beneficial pollinators can be adversely affected as well as the intended target species. Some helpful information, from the University of Wisconsin, can also be found at https://bit.ly/3wN36wT.



outdoors, caterpillars, moths, pest, classification

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