Department seeks public help in locating destructive insect

December 8, 2014

For more information contact: Charlene Donahue at: 207-287-2431

When moths fly with snow, let the Maine Forest Service know

AUGUSTA ? If you are seeing moth flights this time of year in Maine, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry?s Maine Forest Service would like to know how many, what size, when and where through a simple online survey. Public assistance is being sought to help combat the destructive winter moth (Operophthera brumata) by better understanding the locations and sizes of the populations in Maine.

?The total economic impact of Maine?s forest industry is $8 billion with direct and indirect employment of 38,789 workers,? said Governor Paul R. LePage. ?Fighting invasive insects like the winter moth is important to help protect that sector of our economy; in this case, hardwood trees and agricultural crops such as apples and blueberries. Public involvement will help professionals combat and minimize the destructive potential of this and other invasive species.?

Commissioner Walt Whitcomb stressed that the public can help by filling out a simple online survey set by the Department to report winter moth sightings. ?Reports from the public are critical to getting the bigger picture of this insect?s distribution,? said Whitcomb. ?A healthy forest is key to Maine?s forest economy. Having citizen involvement in monitoring invasive pests is important to the future of rural Maine.?

The survey can be accessed online at: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/wintermothsurvey Reports of moth flights can also be made by phone at (207) 287-2431.

Forest Entomologist Charlene Donahue stressed that December is an important time to look for the winter moth. ?December may seem like an odd time to set up traps for a defoliating forest pest. However, the moth flies when it is dark?this time of year many of us are still out and about after dark. Even if we aren?t, we may cast a glance at our windows and notice if there are several or more small tan moths trying to get to our indoor lights. Staff has spent part of the first week of December setting up traps along the coast and inland in southern Maine. Towns in the study region are cooperating by allowing traps to be hung on municipal property. Additionally two homeowners in the most heavily infested areas have volunteered their services to make nightly counts of the moths trapped in their yards.?

The winter moth was introduced into North America from Europe in the early part of the last century. It was first seen in Nova Scotia in the 1930s and then in the Pacific Northwest (British Columbia, Oregon and Washington) in the 1970?s. Winter moth showed up in eastern Massachusetts in the early 2000?s and has since spread westward in MA, into Rhode Island and now coastal Maine from Kittery to Bar Harbor. It was first reported in Maine in significant numbers in December 2011.

The larvae (caterpillars) of winter moth defoliate deciduous trees and shrubs such as oaks, maples, apples and blueberries, in early spring. Heavy defoliation for several consecutive years leads to branch dieback and tree mortality. Winter moth defoliation has contributed to tens of thousands of acres of oak mortality in Massachusetts.

Winter moth defoliation was first recorded in Maine in 2012. 2014 was the third year that the insect has defoliated significant areas of forest and backyard trees in Maine. Aerial survey picked up moderate to heavy defoliation in the Cumberland County towns of Cape Elizabeth, Portland (Peaks Island) and Harpswell, with just under 1900 acres mapped. On the ground, light to heavy defoliation could be seen in scattered locations from Kittery to Rockland.

Adults are active from late November to January whenever the temperature is above freezing. Males are small, light brown to tan moths. They are attracted to lights and a chemical released by the females. Adult females are small and gray. They have reduced wings and are flightless. Females are most commonly found crawling at the base of trees.

So if you see moths flying in December, let the Maine Forest Service know.