The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will again begin spraying to control gypsy moths in at least 8 counties whose moth population have grown recently despite a virtual collapse in numbers of the woodland insect a few years ago.

Daily updates on spraying activities can be found on the Forest Pest webpage.

Suppression efforts will be conducted over nearly 82,000 acres of private and public forestlands and state game lands in Pike, Lackawanna, Wayne, Luzerne, Monroe, Lycoming, Tioga, and Franklin counties. Spraying is scheduled to begin early this week in Franklin County.

DCNR opted not to undertake aerial spraying in 2003, 2004 and 2005 because of sharply declining gypsy moth populations, during which a naturally occurring fungus proved deadly to the insect that defoliates certain hardwoods.

Gypsy moth defoliation also has dropped sharply. During spring 2002, a total of 55,798 acres of Pennsylvania forestland were defoliated by the gypsy moth. That was a 76-percent reduction in defoliation from 2001's total of 237,559 acres. In 2000, almost 837,600 acres were defoliated.

Four helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft will be used to complete this spring’s aerial suppression project. Again all areas will be treated with the biological insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), comprised of naturally occurring Bacillus spores. In some areas, the bureau also will be applying using Gypchek, a naturally occurring virus specific to gypsy moth larvae.

The 2006 Cooperative Gypsy Moth Suppression Project is expected to last approximately five weeks.

Forestry bureau experts identify the gypsy moth as one of the most destructive forest pests in Pennsylvania. Feeding while in the larval, or caterpillar, stage, gypsy moth caterpillars hatch and begin feeding from mid- to late April in southern Pennsylvania, and in early- to mid-May in the northern part of the state. Oak, sugar maple, beech and aspen trees are affected the most by the forest pest.

When populations peak, the insects may strip trees of foliage, leaving them weakened and susceptible to disease, drought, and attack by other insects. A tree begins to suffer when 30 percent or more of its leaves are lost.

Forest insect spray programs are a cooperative effort among DCNR's Bureau of Forestry, county and municipal governments, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Forest Health Protection Unit. County and municipal governments share the cost of treating private residential and local government-owned lands for gypsy moth suppression.

The gypsy moth was introduced to North America in 1869 at Medford, Mass., where it was used in a silk-production experiment. The gypsy moth first reached Pennsylvania in Luzerne County in 1932, and since then has infested every county.

For more information, visit the Forest Pest webpage.

5/12/2006