MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Tent caterpillars are infesting trees and bushes around Vermont this spring.
The mix of a warm spring following a cold winter has spurred a rise in the number of forest tent and eastern tent caterpillars. The closely related species are defoliators and are native to the state.
“We’re really seeing them heavily in some specific locations,” said Ginger Anderson of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. “Rutland County has a lot, but Bennington, Windsor and Washington counties are being hit, too.”
According to the state, eastern tent caterpillars are generally 2 inches long with black and white stripes on their backs. The insects spin silky tents, often in the crotches of cherry, apple and flowering crab trees.
Forest tent caterpillars have a green-blue hue and have key-hole shaped spots down their backs. Forest tent caterpillars feed on a variety of trees, but are a particular pest to sugar maple, oak and cherry.
“We’re telling folks with woodlots or sugarbushes who notice these things on their tree to get in touch with the county forester before performing any major forest activity like cutting or thinning,” Anderson said.
Healthy trees inflicted with the pests usually put out new leaves by mid-July, but the new leaves can be smaller and lighter than the original ones devoured by the caterpillars.
“These things can kind of be cyclical,” Anderson said. “We may be looking at another outbreak next year.”
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