2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Unpaired silkworms harm about three hundred species of vegetation. However, most often these parasites can be found on fruit trees, as well as on poplars with oaks. In the case of mass reproduction, harmful caterpillars entirely eat up leaves on solid territories, which almost always leads to drying out of trees. Therefore, it is extremely important to timely identify the appearance of intruders and take appropriate measures against them
Meet the pest
The wingspan of gypsy moth females can reach 75 mm. Females are characterized by combed black antennae and covered with brownish thick hairs, rather massive and thick abdomen. Their wings are usually white, with black zigzag lines. The wingspan of males reaches 45 mm. Their antennae are feathery, brown in color, the abdomen is thin. The gray front wings have transverse stripes, and the rear brownish wings are framed by a fringe of lighter shades.
The eggs laid by the pest are flattened, yellowish, ranging in size from 0.8 to 1.3 mm. The length of the hairy brownish caterpillars ranges from 50 to 75 mm. On the first five segments, they have two blue warts, and on all the rest - a pair of red ones. Small reddish warts can also be seen on the sides of the caterpillars.
The formed caterpillars hibernate in the so-called egg shells. They perfectly tolerate high humidity and are very resistant to extremely low temperatures (up to thirty degrees below zero). Caterpillars revive in April, as soon as the buds begin to bloom. This usually occurs on early forms of common oak. In general, the emergence of caterpillars is slightly extended in time and lasts from twelve to fifteen days. When cool weather is established, caterpillars can sit on clutches from several hours to a whole day, after which they go to the crown, where they feed on leaves for 35 to 50 days. First, they skeletonize the leaves, and then eat them rather roughly. For caterpillars of younger generations, the sides of tree crowns warmed by the sun are most attractive.
The development period of female gypsy moth caterpillars includes six stages, and males - five. Somewhere in mid-June, they pupate without cocoons, after which the parasites attach themselves to cracks in the bark, as well as to the trunks and branches in the crown, with a few filaments like spider webs.
Butterfly years in the forest-steppe start towards the end of June. The emerged butterflies do not feed at all and live very shortly: males - up to five days, females - from seven to ten. After mating, the females lay all their stocks of eggs on the lower parts of tree trunks (less often on poles, pebbles and stumps). They cover the eggs with hairs from their own abdomen, giving the clutch the appearance of gray soft pillows. On average, the total fertility of females is 300 - 450 eggs, the maximum is more than a thousand. Caterpillars that form in egg membranes enter diapause until the spring of next year. The generation of the voracious gypsy moth is always one year old.
How to fight
Entomophages (about two hundred species) and all kinds of diseases help well in reducing the gypsy moth population. The laid eggs are often infected by predatory horsemen, which are representatives of the genus Anastatus, and young caterpillars are affected by braconids. In pupae, ichneumonids, etc. can parasitize. As for the caterpillars of the latest generations, they are often infected by dipterans. In seasons characterized by high humidity, a fairly decent part of the caterpillars also die from all kinds of diseases.
Also, dead eaters and various birds - titmouses, jays, woodpeckers, finches, orioles and cuckoos - do a good job with the destruction of the gypsy moth. Therefore, one of the most effective measures to combat these parasites is to attract insectivorous birds to the site and protect them.
Ovipositions on older trees are recommended to be treated with diesel oil or oil using a fairly stiff brush. And before the start of the revival of harmful caterpillars, glue belts are applied to the tree trunks above the egg-laying.
If more than two oviposites are found on each tree, they begin treatment with biological products or insecticides. Such treatments are carried out during the start of the migration of caterpillars into tree crowns. Treating egg-laying with a viral drug called Virin-ENZH helps a lot. And until the buds bloom, trees can be treated with Oleocubrite or Nitrafen.
Alternatively, you can also plant trees on the site, from which the gypsy moth tries to stay away: derain, robinia (pseudo-acacia), ash, gray or black walnut, walnut and pseudo-planan maple.
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