None here yet.

Claire (speaking very softly, hoping they won't come back)

We saw them yesterday here, north of Boston - the wingless (females?) crawling up the side of my house. I hate them! It is supposed to get really cold tonite, hope they all freeze!

I saw one in my house this afternoon. It must have come in when someone opened the front door, it was just inside the door on the wall. Drats!

pm2

Plenty here all over the house windows and doors, the ones that get in the cats take care of:) Are these guys beneficial in their adult stage or not.

I saw my first one just last night...

I've seen them since Monday this week here in Newton....

Yuck.

rich manure: Winter moths are not beneficial in any stage, although the caterpillars are much more destructive than the adult moths.

Winter Moth Identification and Management

One thing that's not clear to me is whether all the moths we see in late November and December are winter moths or fall cankerworm moths. (Or maybe even Bruce spanworm moths).

The UMass Extension says there are mixed populations of winter moths and fall cankerworm moths in Massachusetts.

Disclaimer: all I know came from Google.

The fall cankerworm moths appear about the same time and look very similar. The larvae also defoliate trees. The main difference is that the fall cankerworm moths have natural predators here, whereas the winter moth does not - except for a parasitic fly that has been introduced in the past few years.

The result is that the fall cankerworm moth outbreaks will cycle - a couple bad years followed by good years as the natural predators take control.

The winter moth outbreaks just get worse - people are now holding their breath waiting and hoping that the introduced fly population will build up and start controlling the winter moths.

Sorry for the long-winded post, but I really am uncertain as to which moths are which.

.....................................................................................................................
When I started this reply I decided to turn on the porch lights (it's dark out now) and see if I could flush out any moths. I just looked out and there were two moths fluttering around the lighted area.

I managed to catch them both in a plastic container and brought them inside to try to identify them. While I was trying to get them to open their wings, one of them escaped - he's probably joining the field cricket that's living in my house plants.

I peered at the second one, and I'm pretty sure it's a fall cankerworm moth - it has a light patch on the wing. So probably no winter moths here yet.

Claire

From the Winter Moth Identification and Management site:

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Fig_13.jpg: A male winter moth adult moth. Note the fringe on the bottom edge of the wings and the black "hash-marks" that form the broken band that go across the wings near the tip. Compare this to the adult male Bruce Spanworm in Fig_14

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Fig_14.jpg: A male Bruce Spanworm (Operophtera bruceata). Note the faint wavy band running across the front wings near the bottom edge. Not only is this species a very close relative of winter moth, the males of both species are remarkably similar. Compare to Fig_13 which depicts the male winter moth adult. (Photograph courtesy of Dick Cooper)

{{gwi:1097013}}
Fig_15.jpg: The adult male fall cankerworm is very similar to the winter moth male. However, note the faint light-colored patch on the leading edge of each front wing. This is a very important characteristic separating the two species. ( Compare with Fig_13). (Robert Childs)

Claire

They're here too, on the Cape, and I also don't which type we have yet. Those are great photos, thanks, Claire!

I noticed the first ones tonight. And there are a lot of them, probably the most I have seen.

The next UMass Landscape Message is due next Friday (Dec. 7). I expect some sort of update then. At least I hope so.

Last years December Update had a lot of information.

UMass Landscape Message December 8, 2006

Claire

Good point about the two types of moths. They are now out in my part of SE Mass. I can usually tell how bad they are as I drive around at night and the moths appear in the headlights. A few years ago, the numbers were huge. But now, I don't see nearly as many, although they are out and about.

I have seen a couple of moths but nothing like previous years. I just went outside and saw none. Last year the side of my house would be covered. I do hope it means they are in decline around here but fear it is just because the warm fall. Our town just announced that they were extending yard waste pick up which is good because the leaves are still not all out of the trees. Supporting my hope that they are in decline here, last spring the larva were noticibly less destructive than the previous year. My fingers are crossed.

It warmed up (relatively) and rained after a long cold dry spell - prime weather for winter moths. I turned the porch lights on for a while last night to try to lure moths, but none appeared.

However, this morning I noticed blue jays, cardinals, and sparrows all picking at the lawn under the oak tree in the back yard. They had been ignoring this area for months, except for fly-bys. I don't put bird seed there.

Last year this picking at the lawn coincided with the appearance of moths, so the birds may have been getting the moths as they emerged from the ground.

I'll leave the light on for them again for a while tonight (good Lord, that sounds like welcoming home the prodigal moth ....)

Claire

Yep... at least one moth fluttering around the lights on the same side of the house where I saw the birds picking at the lawn.

Claire

They're here...lots of 'em last night while I was out driving - almost looked like snow flurries in spots.

Dang critters were all over my backyard yesterday when I went out to the compost bins. I hate that munching sound in the spring.

Does anyone know what the status of winter moths is in the west of Boston suburbs? I'm part of a community group in Lexington, MA. In the past we've gotten together to get better rates on spraying for winter moths. This year people haven't seen as many of them so there have been questions about needing to spray.

Even though their numbers are down,I would keep spraying with Bt in the spring just to be on the safe side--until the "all clear" signal is given by the state entomologists. Even though spraying is $$$$, those bloody things can do SO MUCH damage, it is worth it.

Thanks Rockman. Sorry it took me so long to get back.

The latestUMass Landscape Message March 6, 2008 says

"Winter Moth - Flight of the adult moths in late 2007 was, initially, quite noticeable; but the incidence of earlier than normal snowfall may have reduced the numbers emerging from the soil. If so, this event may result in lower numbers of caterpillars in some areas this coming spring. However, the eggs of winter moth are difficult to detect. Starting around early to mid April, carefully inspect the interior of buds on susceptible host plants for the activity of this pest. Dr. Elkinton and his research lab continue to rear the parasitic fly, Cyzenis albicans, for release this coming spring in MA. Last year, they were able to recover some winter moth larvae on Cape Cod that had been parasitized by flies from their earlier releases."

It's promising that they're finding moth larvae that have been parasitized. Hopefully the population of parasitic flies will increase enough to kill most of the little monsters.

Claire