Drought in 2021 made way for a spongy moth outbreak in southern Wisconsin
6/10/2022 5:06:11 AM
CATEGORIES:
Plants & Wildlife
Relief, Response & Restrictions
Society & Public Health
Tourism & Recreation
AFFECTED AREAS:
Columbia County, WI
Dodge County, WI
Rock County, WI
Janesville, WI
Sauk County, WI
Walworth County, WI
Start Date: 5/1/2021
- End Date: 6/10/2022
A spongy moth outbreak was underway in Janesville, threatening the 100-year-old oak trees in Lustig Park. Spongy moth caterpillars will feed on the tree leaves this summer.
Spongy moth caterpillars also have a histamine in their hairs that can cause people to break out in a painful poison ivy-like rash.
Drought in 2021 gave the spongy moth an advantage in its egg-laying cycle, leading to a boom in moth larvae in 2022 because the drought stressed predators that feed on the insects that live in the trees.
Walworth and Rock counties and a few counties north of Madison have all seen more spongy moths this year.
GazetteXtra (Janesville, Wis.), June 10, 2022
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