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After Delay In Hatching, Winter Moth Caterpillars Ready To Damage New England Plants

BOSTON (CBS) – Trees are springing back to life as the weather turns warmer.

But if you look closely at the leaves, you may notice tiny holes in them.

"You really start to notice that the leaves are being eaten, then there's stuff falling off the trees, and that there's something living off the trees that's doing it," homeowner Abby Brogan told WBZ-TV.

The winter moth caterpillar is what's living on the leaves. They started showing up in the greater Boston area about twelve years ago.

"Each year they go further and further into metro west. What they do is defoliate the leaves of the trees. and absolutely decimate the populations. Their favorite species are maples, oak trees, cherry trees, crab apple trees," said Eric Taylor, Manager at Lynch Plant Healthcare.

Adult moths emerge from the ground in November and are active in winter months of December and January.

That's when the adults lay eggs.

Winter Moth Caterpillar
Winter moth caterpillars destroy plants. (WBZ=TV)

The caterpillars hatch and start snacking on buds and leaves in spring.

This year the cold, harsh winter did not help us out.  The caterpillars were only delayed in hatching, especially since March was colder than normal.

The caterpillars are smaller than a finger nail now.  Once you can see them grow to about an inch, it's too late.

"If you're not treating them by the first week of June as the absolute latest, all the damage has already been done. The trees are defoliated by that point," says Taylor.

Brogan caught on and began treating her trees at this time for the last four years.

There are two treatments each year, and the next one will be in a couple of weeks.  The effective treatments impressed homeowners as they saw how many caterpillars fell out of the trees.

"We had no idea how bad it was until we saw it actually go into effect. But then after that, each year has been better and we've seen less damage because we've treated every year," said Brogan.

"Once we learned more about the process and exactly what they use and discovered that it is just a natural fungus they find in soil that they spray into trees.  It's not a chemical; it's a naturally occurring thing, than made us much more willing to spray the trees."

If you have any reservations about treatment or company who treats, contact a certified arborist with the company.

For more information visit the Massachusetts Arborists Association website.

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