BIRDING NEWS
From top clockwise: Female Looper Moth, Stellar Blue Jay, Male Looper Moth. Photos by Rob Alexander
Hemlock Looper Moth outbreak at the Flats BY ROB ALEXANDER
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here were two species in this moth outbreak on the North Shore and at the Conservation Area at Maplewood Flats: the Hemlock Looper Moth and less plentiful, the Phantom Hemlock Looper Moth! The likely reason for the outbreak is that there have been a few hotter than normal summers in a row, along with drought conditions, which stresses trees. Summer 2019 there was plenty of moisture, which the stressed trees
put out much new green growth and that’s what the Hemlock Looper Moth caterpillar feeds on. Hemlock Looper Moth are serious defoliators, so hopefully our forests will be OK. Another species that population seemed to grow is the Steller’s Jay. This summer and autumn I have never seen so many Steller’s Jay before! They were probably feeding on the Hemlock Looper Moth caterpillars,
which were plentiful and led to an increase in the population. At Maplewood Flats, I saw twenty at one time, each flying to a tree in a leap frog fashion, then the next one would fly, and the first one would fly to the closest tree, then the third Steller’s Jay would fly to the first tree, jumping from tree to tree to tree! Rob Alexander is a member of WBT and regularly contributes to Wingspan.
WINGSPAN FALL/WINTER 2019
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