Inchworms are one of the few creepy-crawlies I let skulk across my bare skin. Who doesn’t delight in the ridiculous arching of the worm’s body, followed by the exaggerated, full-body lunge forward as it makes its way across a leaf, your picnic table, or your bare arm? Its cuteness makes it skin-crawling-approved.
But the inchworm larvae of the bruce spanworm moth loses major points when it defoliates hardwood leaves with its minute chompers. Bruce spanworm moths were in abundance in Vermont last fall, and the state is looking for populations of larvae to study this summer. Let us know if you see any of the spanworm’s lacy defoliation in your woods.
Along these lines, the State of Vermont recently released a forest health update, which focused on forest insects and disease observations.
The report states that mid-slope maples in the Green Mountains suffered “scattered, heavy frost damage,” with defoliation in the upper crown at 100 percent. Ash, oak, apple, lilac, and sycamore have, in places, also suffered frost injury. A fan of the lilac – with my own “wonderblue” lilac in the front yard – I’ve yet to see any that appear to be suffering the effects of frost in Windsor County. How have your trees fared?
Exotic beetles have shown up in “good numbers,” the report says, with the European snout beetle having been observed on both maples and yellow birch. You can see the work of this beetle in the feeding notches left along the outer edge of hardwood leaves. The viburnum leaf beetle damage is noted as “heavy” in various areas of the state. (See our forthcoming Autumn 2012 issue for more information on the VLB.)
While exotic beetles rarely hit my day-to-day radar screen, I do tend to notice one insect in particular without fail. Usually in June, my neck, the skin behind my ears, and my hairline have a healthy smattering of welts, thanks to the annoying black fly: an insect whose summer reign in the Northeast is one of the area’s only flaws. This year, however, my skin is relatively welt-free, despite daily forays into the woods and sweaty hours spent kneeling in my garden.
I’d like to chalk the absence of these blood-suckers to the ruby-throated hummingbird family who frequents my yard, but according to the report, we owe Irene and other 2011 flooding events for this reprieve (although I’m sure my hummers have nabbed a few). Stay tuned for an abundant return of the pesky flies in 2013, as many water courses were reshaped as a result of the tropical storm, leading to an increase in rock surfaces (upon which black flies lay their eggs).
On a more pleasant note, has anyone else been noticing wildflowers looking more bountiful than last year? I’ve never seen ragged robin in such dense stretches along 91, or hawkweed, celandine, and buttercups in such thick yellow blankets along the highway medians and dirt roads.
What are you seeing out there?
Discussion *