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Status Update on Winter Moth in New England
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Joe Elkinton University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA USA. Status Update on Winter Moth in New England. Discovery of winter moth in E. Massachusetts. 2003. Persistent outbreaks of spring-feeding geometrids have occurred in eastern Mass in the late 1990s - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Status Update on Winter Moth in New England
Status Update on Winter Moth in New England
Joe Elkinton
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA USA
• Persistent outbreaks of spring-feeding geometrids have occurred in eastern Mass in the late 1990s
• Large male flight at Xmas 2002 suggested something new: possibly winter moth Operophtera brumata, native to Europe.
2003
Discovery of winter moth in E. Massachusetts
Boston
Cape Cod
June 5, 2006
Widespread defoliation of many deciduous tree species: oaks, maplesFailure of the blueberry crop
Defoliation by winter mothIn 2011
Map courtesy ofKen Gooch and MassDept. of Conservation andRecreation
A
Elkinton et al. 2010 . Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 103:135-145.
Oak mortality on Martha’s Vineyard
Collection and importation of Cyzenis albicans
Winter moths have been established in N. America twice before
Nova Scotia before 1950
Pacific NW in 1970s
In both cases WM populations were permanently controlled by introducing two parasitoids from
Europe • Cyzenis albicans
• Agrypon flaveolatum
Photos thanks to Nicholas Conder
Nova Scotia: Percent defoliation and parasitism following release (Embree 1966)
First parasitoid release
The best place to collect winter moth parasitoids is Victoria, British Columbia
Imre Otvos
The bio-control project mostly due to the heroic efforts of Jeff Boettner
Jeff Boettner
In the last few years I have hired my own winter moth collecting
crew on Vancouver Island
Winter moth parasite rearing in British Columbia in 2011: 130 five gal. buckets in motel = 62,800 pupae shipped to Quarantine.
Last year (2010) we had the first clear evidence for establishment (recovery a
year or more after release) of C. albicans at three of six release sites
• We hope this follows the same trajectory as Nova Scotia
First parasitoid release
Flies Released 2005- 2010
Flies Released 2011
Flies Recovered 2010
Flies Recovered 2011
Cyzenis albicansRelease and Recovery Sites 2005-2011
Defoliation 2011
Summary of biological control effort
We have now established Cyzenis albicans at 5 of 6 earlier release sites
In 2011 we released spread 7000 flies out over 9 new release sites
We have not yet seen the big increase in % parasitism that we are expecting. We believe it is just a matter of time
