An adult male gypsy moth - only 3 /«-inch long - is held
captive while his reaction to various sex attractants is
recorded by USDA scientists.
Hundreds of thousands of gypsy moth traps such as this
are scattered through the eastern United States each year.
The traps, which are baited with an artificial sex attractant,
provide data on pest spread and population levels required
for planning and conducting USDA and state regulatory
activities.
Scientists in an Agricultural Research Service laboratory in Beltsville,
Maryland, are chromatic separations of an active gypsy jnpth
USDA Fights Constant
War Against Gypsy Moth
Gypsy moths have been in this
country since 1869, when im
ported specimens escaped
during experiments being per
formed by a Massachusetts
naturalist. Extensive Federal-
State efforts confined gypsy moth
destruction to New England, New
York and Pennsylvania for many
years.
But, m 1958, concern over the
possibility of environmental
contamination caused a switch
from large-scale spraying of
DDT to limited application of less
persistent insecticides.
In recent years, gypsy moth
populations have built up to
alarming levels, with spread
occurring throughout much of the
Northeast and into parts of the
South. The nearly 2 million acres
of trees defoliated in 1971 doubled
the acreage stripped in 1970, was
six times more than in 1969, and
was twelve times more than
recorded in 1968.
The gypsy moth is a European
insect and is one of the world’s
worst forest pests. They are
harmless in the moth stage, but
as caterpillars feed on the leaves
of forest, shade, ornamental and
fruit trees.
A single complete defoliation
can kill some softwood trees; two
or more defoliations can kill
many types of hardwoods.
USDA has an intensified
research and development
program underway to provide
nonchemical weapons to help
bring the gypsy moth under
control.
Biological controls expected to
be operational in the next five
years include: a bacterial in
secticide, bacillus thuringiesis; a
virus that is a critical factor in
halting natural outbreaks; and
the use of the artificial sex at-
sex lure material. This was an important step in the development of a
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 8,1972
tractant, disparlure, to confuse
male moths and prevent mating.
Hundreds of thousands of
gypsy moth traps are scattered
throughout the eastern United
States each year. The traps
(which are baited with an ar
tificial sex attractant)
providedATA on pest spread and
population levels required for
planning and conducting USDA
and state regulatory activities.
Natural enemies of the gypsy
moth are also being studied in the
hope that man can learn to
“manage” these biological
agents. A battery-operated
transistor radio signalling device
is used to study movement
patterns and mortality factors of
white-footed deer mice-an im
portant predator of gypsy
moth caterpillars. The tiny
device is inserted into a mouse’s
body cavity.
USDA and the infested States
annually cooperate in importing,
rearing and releasing millions of
insect enemies of the forest pest.
Female moths attach their egg
masses to tree trunks and other
hard surfaces-including mobile
homes and recreational vehicles.
The velvety egg masses are
covered with buff or yellowish
hairs from the abdomen of the
female and average about IV2
inches long and % inches wide.
Each mass contains up to 1,000
eggs.
In their later stages, gypsy
moth caterpillars are from IV2 to
2Vz inches long and sport pairs of
red and blue dots on their backs.
Each mature caterpillar eats one
square foot of leaves every 24
hours.
Campers and mobile home
owners can help stop the spread
of gypsy moths by carefully in
specting their vehicles and
camping equipment before
traveling from infested to
uninfested areas In the past, the
pests have often achieved long
distance artificial spread by
attaching their egg masses and
“cocoons” to such equipment.
USDA does not undertake or
cooperate in any spray programs
until Department scientists have
evaluated the environmental,
biological and economic impact
of applying different pest control
methods versus the consequences
of not taking any action at all.
Gypsy moth infestations leave
their mark on urban and
suburban areas as well as on
forests. Caterpillars cover
sidewalks and get into water
reservoirs, stores, homes and
swimming pools. They make
parks and other outdoor
recreational facilities tem
porarily unusable and lower
property values with tree-killing
defoliations.
Female gypsy moths attach
their egg masses to tree
trunks and other hard sur
faces.
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