News Release 9-4-2002 |
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GYPSY MOTH CATERPILLARS DEFOLIATE 132,197 ACRES OF FORESTLAND IN WEST VIRGINIA Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass has announced that approximately 132,000 acres of forestland were defoliated by the gypsy moth in West Virginia during May and June 2002, less than one fifth the amount of defoliation recorded in 2001 (603,627 acres). Cool, moist conditions during the first three weeks of May were ideal for the development of the gypsy moth fungus and the gypsy moth virus was also observed to be having an impact in outbreak populations. These naturally occurring insect pathogens are the primary reason for the gypsy moth population decline in untreated areas. Commissioner Douglass said that 74,584 acres were treated in the
generally infested areas of the state under the Cooperative State-County-Landowner
(CSCL) Gypsy Moth Suppression Program this year. Another 196,400
acres qualified for treatment, but landowners either chose not to
participate or the land managers chose not to take any action. Listed
belowis a breakdown of acres defoliated by county.
According to S. Clark Haynes, Assistant Director in the Plant Industries Division, the hardest hit areas were in Hampshire, Pendleton, Hardy, Mineral and Grant Counties. For more information on the CSCL Gypsy Moth Treatment Program, contact WVDA Plant Industries Division Director Dr. Charles C. Coffman or S. Clark Haynes at 304/558-2212, or Butch Sayers, New Creek Gypsy Moth Program Manager at 304/788-1066. |
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