Last year’s dry spring, coupled with a stretch of dry weather this year, has helped to fuel the resurgence of the spongy moth caterpillar, a furry nuisance blamed for defoliating an estimated 9 million acres from Maine to Maryland in 1981
This spring we’ve had reports that populations of the native forest tent caterpillar (FTC)
are building in Windham, Windsor, Franklin, Lamoille, Orleans, and Rutland Counties. The
window of concern is May and June when the FTC larvae are actively feeding. Although caterpillar
development seems ahead of normal this year, there should be several more weeks
before they...
The forest at Great Smoky Mountains National Park is sick, infected by invasive bugs and plants. Matt Moore, Kaleb Lique Naitove and Emily Baird of the National Park Service are some of the field medics trying to keep it alive.
Springfield, Vt. — An invasive pest with a nasty habit of killing trees has established a toehold in the Upper Valley, and could bring devastation to the area’s forests in coming years, wildlife officials say.
Infection is hard to detect at first. It takes up to three years for the serious symptoms to show, but when they do, it doesn’t take long.
Ash trees became common in Vermont after Dutch elm disease decimated elm populations across the state, starting in the 1960s or so.
Now, ash trees are at risk.
The problem is the emerald ash borer, an insect native to eastern Asia...
