Hey, there! Log in / Register
Annual moth frenzy well under way
By adamg on Tue, 11/19/2013 - 8:04am
Almost anybody who's had a porch lit after dark the past couple of days has gotten to see our annual infestation of male winter moths (for, as you recall, the female winter moths don't fly and just calmly wait their light-mad suitors).
The state is conducting a winter-moth survey to try to gauge the extent of these invasive pests.
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
The worst
Can we get some of the flies which wiped these pests out in Nova Scotia down here?
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly
So we get the flies, who are also not native ... and then some problems with them happen and then ...
No, because... science
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907163917.htm
"A great advantage of C. albicans is that it is highly specialized to prey on winter moths, so it does not spread to other species. Further, its numbers decline once it gains control, the entomologist points out. It is not attracted to humans or our homes and buildings, so the only impact people will notice is the decline in tree damage."
This isn't introducing rabbits to Australia, etc...
Careful there
Science only tells us what we ask. It doesn't tell us what we don't ask.
There are many many examples of "but science KNOWS it is okay", where we have belatedly found out that there are impacts that were not assessed because certain key factors weren't present in the previous environment or were not considered in the assessments.
I make my living from science and research for public policy and I have seen many cases of "unintended consequences" from unmeasured things that nobody could have guessed were important. Like heart disease driving mortality from air pollution was a major surprise. Like all the post-controlled trial reports of drug hazards that arise when drugs are prescribed to the general public and not carefully selected test populations. Like policy interventions based on science intended to reduce climate forcing emissions resulting in worse air pollution on the ground. Etc.
I understand all that
...but in this case, the parasites have been used in Nova Scotia for several cycles with good results. This isn't some wild, untested theory.
Isn't not trying to eradicate the winter moths just a case of accepting known, bad consequences instead of risking possible unknown issues, especially considering that the initial data from Canada is very positive.
I'd like to see more information
Nova Scotia is considerably further north - will our milder climate matter? Cooler climate can keep certain species in check, but warmer climate may permit them to become invasive.
Fairly specialized for winter moths - insofar as we know. We have some different species that are native to MA and not to NS - there needs to be some information on that.
In other words, there are differences that need to be accounted for. Nova Scotia is several hundred miles north of Massachusetts, not adjacent, not "just like". It is a simple set of questions to investigate, but it should be investigated.
But, hey, I think I'll run this by my watershed policy committee to see what people think.
More importantly
what, if any, harm are the moths doing (apart from minor inconvenience to some).
Darling, since you're on a
Darling, since you're on a computer somewhere, please feel to Google "winter moth damage" and educate yourself.
What do you THINK the harm winter moths cause just MIGHT be? You know - trees --> leaves and flower buds--> ???
Interesting
All snark aside, I'd be interested in knowing if there are well grounded objections to this policy from ecologists, etc... in the region.
They look like deer flies to
They look like deer flies to me, and I got plenty of them, as well as the moths.
Last night
they weren't too bad. Nice warm day, let the garage window open a bit to feed the spiders. Hey, if they'd rather be in here chasing fluorescent bulbs than outside chasing nice unlit female moths, that's their loss. Maybe we can eradicate them with a bunch of those rechargeable solar patio lights.
Or we could just nuke them from space. It's the only way to be sure.
First Winter Moth Sighting This Year
It was dead, in tatters, on the countertop next to the coffee maker.
Above it, a pawprint in grey smudge on the wall. Below it, the step stool I had used to get into the upper cabinets.
As usual, Winter Moths are hours of feline entertainment.
Hypocrisy
Don't you know that house cats are one of the most destructive introduced species in the country? And to think that you objected to the flies...
So are rats and and some mice
They arrived in the same manner, on the same ships.
But rats and mice are highly endangered inside my house at least.
Besides, had I not adopted my cat and supported the shelter (which also runs TNR programs for ferals = many fewer kittens), she might still be both making kittens and dining on wildlife.
Being that she is A Housecat now (in her mind), I'm amazed that she was arsed to whack-a-moth. Hunting is just so ... so ... stray.
Obligatory Links to Rescue and Population Control Organizations:
http://www.charlesriveralleycats.org/
http://mrfrs.org/
That's why we try to keep
That's why we try to keep their claws trimmed.
we are
story from May
My God, those things are
My God, those things are nasty and scary looking. I think I'll just keep my winter moths.
Super
I recall far fewer caterpillars last spring which I guess lines up with this move. I thought this was just the beginning of the moths swarming my back porch, but maybe this small amount we have now is it.