Gypsy Moth (Female)

Description:

Females have white wings, a tan body, and approximately a two-inch wingspan. They cannot fly. Females simply crawl to a spot near where they pupated, and wait for a male to find them to mate. After mating, female gypsy moths lay a mass of eggs. Each egg mass can hold over a hundred eggs.

Habitat:

Everywhere - these moths are literally everywhere in this area of Rhode Island. You can't go outside, day or night, without seeing them. These particular moths are laying eggs on a tree in my mother's yard, which is located in a semi-rural area in Coventry, RI. Gypsy moth caterpillars, which are an invasive species, are wreaking havoc and causing incredible amounts of tree carnage in western Rhode Island this year. It's estimated that approximately 3/4 of RI's forest canopy has been affected, making this the worst outbreak in at least 15 years. A single caterpillar can eat a square foot of leaf matter in one day - they prefer hardwoods, but will also eat conifers, many of which will not recover.

Notes:

Here's a link for my spotting of the gypsy moth caterpillars from last month: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/323... (There are some other red eggs on the tree (under the moths), which look like Winter Moth eggs. In addition to Gypsy Moths, Winter Moths caused a lot of damage to the trees in this area this year as well.)