[mou] FW: [PABIRDS] gypsy moths and birds.

[Alt, Mark]

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:PABIRDS@LIST.AUDUBON.ORG] On Behalf Of Scott Weidensaul
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 7:06 PM
To: PABIRDS@LIST.AUDUBON.ORG
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 <tr1045@GMAIL.COM>
>>To: PABIRDS@LIST.AUDUBON.ORG
>>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