A Monarch Butterfly checks out the damage left behind by this year’s plague of Gypsy Moth Caterpillars.The Gypsy Moths has run their course for this year. What promised to be a devastating outbreak fizzled. Aerial spraying combined with a cold wet May and a multitude of songbirds the damage was not nearly as bad as last year. I did not encounter any area where the trees were completely stripped of foliage.
I was concerned about the future of our forest as the outbreak of 2007 stripped thousands of acres here in South Central Pennsylvania. Hopefully we have seen the worst of the Gypsy Moth outbreak with our oak forest spared the destruction we experienced in the 1980’s.
6 comments:
Great news as well as a great picture.. owning and working the land must surly be very worring at times.. we all understand the hard work and planning each year that needs doing to keep it viable.. but how can you plan for natures attacks. It seems this years you've been lucky and it's now back to all the hard work and planning again. :O)
Salty: What a beautiful Monarch but the tree looks awful. I haven'y see those Gypsy Moths at all this year and really don't like them.
Got away with a black eye, then!
Beautiful Monarch!
Cheers, Klaus
I know you have informed us of the distructive moth but I had no idea how destructive they really are. Amazing devestation.
The Monarch is so regal and beautiful. I'm glad to see its beauty.
I love the Monarchs and protect my milkweed plants the best I can. The only phase of this butterfly's cycle that I have never been able to capture is the crysalis but I will get it one day.
Those moths sound like our Japanese Beetles we get here although they havent beeen anywhere near as bad this year as they were last year.
Beautiful shot!
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