If you see winter moths this November or December, we’d like to hear from you using the survey below. The information you provide will be used to assess the distribution of this invasive pest in our state.
Reports are starting to come in that winter moths are flying once again in Massachusetts. Winter moth (Operophtera brumata) [...]
UMass Amherst is reporting that Extension entomologist Joe Elkinton now has evidence that the biocontrol for the invasive winter moth has finally taken hold in Massachusetts. For the past 6 years, Elkinton’s lab has been rearing and releasing a parasitic fly, Cyzenis albicans, that attacks the invasive winter moth (Operophtera brumata). Research shows that fly [...]
UMass Extension is predicting an increase in damage caused by winter moth caterpillars this spring. As reported in this article in the Brockton Enterprise, Deborah Swanson, Extension educator for Plymouth County, is expecting defoliation of trees by winter moth caterpillars to be significant in southeastern Massachusetts. This is based on data from UMass indicating that [...]
Male winter moth
Female winter moth
Throughout Eastern Massachusetts, residents are reporting seeing small brown moths flying around at night, flocking to porch lights and other light sources. There are a few different species that are in this fall/winter burst of activity, with the most numerous appropriately named “winter moth.” Winter moths (Operophtera brumata) are a European [...]
If you’ve noticed an onslaught of little green caterpillars devouring the leaves on your trees, you are not alone – winter moth caterpillar season has kicked into high gear. We are receiving many reports from our report-a-pest form of this pest attacking trees, particularly in the eastern and southeastern part of the state. Many of [...]
Male winter moth
Female winter moth
With nighttime temperatures about to rise above freezing again over the next few days, expect to see even more winter moths hovering around your porch lights. Entomologists are saying that winter moth populations are on the rebound this year, with populations larger than we’ve seen for a while. The insects you’ll [...]
If you are in Wellesley, MA tomorrow, keep your eyes peeled for swarms of tiny but powerful (and beneficial!) flies. A team of researchers at UMass Amherst, led by Joe Elkinton, is set to release 1,000 parasitic flies (Cyzenis albicans) in Wellesley in an effort to combat the winter moth caterpillars (Operophtera brumata) currently defoliating [...]
Last week I headed out to UMass Amherst to meet with some of the people in Cooperative Extension that participate in the Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project. While there, I got a tour of the Elkinton Lab, where they are working on a few different biological control projects that target insect pests. One of those [...]
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