![]() In comparison, 1985, the worst previous outbreak, topped out at 350,000 hectares of defoliation. He said this year's final tally won't be out until August, and right now, we're on track to see a similar amount of defoliation and "another record-breaking year or close to a record-breaking year."ĭuration 2:37 Alistair MacKenzie with Ontario Parks says he's not too worried about the LDD moth caterpillars ravaging one of the province's rarest ecosystems. "You're looking at the size of Prince Edward Island, basically, that was defoliated last year," said Dutkiewicz. The current outbreak in Ontario started in 2019, and the next year, the moth caterpillars defoliated more than 580,000 hectares - a record. Numbers rise in years when weather conditions are good, then decline due to fungal or viral infections that spread through the population. Previous outbreaks have happened in 1985, 19. ![]() These moth outbreaks are cyclical, leading to an outbreak or infestation every decade or so and lasting one to three years. "These trees, some of them will start to die back in the next few years as a result of being defoliated." How bad is this year's outbreak? Harrison-Off said the stress that puts on the trees and the energy that requires, especially if climate conditions such as drought are also stressful, makes it harder for them to defend against pathogens. But some tree species, such as oak, have a harder time regenerating foliage. When there's an outbreak, they can completely strip trees bare of leaves, as they've done to the oak trees in Toronto's High Park.Īs of mid-June, the caterpillars had nearly completely stripped oak trees of their leaves in Toronto's High Park. And while they're eaten by some birds and mammals, none of them consume enough to really put a dent in the population. They also feed for a period of the year about twice as long as many native caterpillars, said Joel Harrison-Off, a forest health-care inspector with the City of Toronto. These moth caterpillars have voracious appetites and eat a wide range of food, including oak, birch, poplar, willow and maple, unlike many other caterpillars that are pickier eaters. The current population explosion is mostly in southern Ontario, although Quebec reports outbreaks in the Montérégie region and near Montreal (Boucherville, L'Île-Perrot, parc national du Mont-Saint-Bruno), as well as in the Outaouais region, along with smaller populations in the Mauricie region and near Quebec City. Marie, Ont., a conservation organization focused on preventing, detecting, responding to and controlling invasive species in Canada. They first reached southern Canada in 1969, according to David Dutkiewicz, entomology technician at the Invasive Species Centre, a non-profit organization based in Sault Ste. They escaped and became an invasive species near Boston in the 1860s by astronomer and amateur entomologist Étienne Trouvelot, who wanted to test their potential for manufacturing silk. They're native to Europe and Asia, but were introduced to the U.S. (Emily Chung/CBC) Where are they found?Īt this point, they're found throughout much of southern Canada. Female LDD moths are white and can't fly. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |