What Is the Gypsy Moth?
Gypsy moth is the most important insect pest of forest and shade trees in the eastern United States. The larval or caterpillar stage frequently strips entire trees and even forests of their leaves over wide areas. Severe defoliation can weaken trees, leaving them more susceptible to other stresses, such as drought, disease, and some other, lethal-insect pests such as borers. Trees that are already weakened may be killed. Gypsy moth can feed on leaves of more than 300 species of trees and shrubs. Favorites include oaks, aspens, birches, lindens, sweetgum, crabapples, hawthorns, mountain ash, and willows. A few trees are resistant, including honeylocust, red maple, silver maple, green ash, white ash, dogwood, and tulip tree. Evergreen trees are generally resistant, but blue spruce and white pine are susceptible to defoliation, especially by larger gypsy moth caterpillars. Gypsy moth caterpillars can also be a significant nuisance when populations are high. They have a tendency to aggrega
