Rhode Island Feeds

In this second part of her guest post on bird feeding, University of Rhode Island Master Gardener Program Coordinator, Rosanne Sherry, explains what we should plant to attract birds, and which plants we should stay away from. And yes, I, Dirtynailz, took the photos.

Birds like this female cardinal like branches they can perch on.

Appetizing choices

Along with the typical feeding station fare explained in Part One of this post, shrubs and trees in the home landscape will supplement the birds menu. Trees that furnish fall and winter berries include the dogwood, Sargent  crabapple, hawthorns, cherry, holly, red cedar, hackberry, mountain ash and mulberry. Blue, red and white spruce and white pine offer food and shelter.

Many native and cultivated shrubs will also attract birds during the fall and winter.  American cranberry (viburnum family), elderberry, blueberry, chokeberry, sumac, winterberry or holly family, cotoneaster, northern bayberry, blackberry, privet, rosa rugosa, snowberry and Amur honeysuckle are good choices. Evergreens like Japanese yews, pines, junipers and hemlocks give winter shelter. Vines such as Boston ivy and Virginia creeper supply fruit through the winter as well. Some plants may be difficult to find in retail nurseries.

A white breasted nuthatch

Problems in Paradise

Unfortunately, some plants commonly on bird landscaping lists are also considered exotic invasives that are crowding out native plants all across RI. Plants that should be controlled or eliminated from your yard include autumn and Russian olive, Japanese barberry, Norway maple, Tartarian honeysuckle, bittersweet and burning bush.

Japanese barberry and burning bush are crowding out endangered species in the woods of URI’s W. Alton Jones campus in West Greenwich. Bittersweet grows so rampant that in a few short years it can completely engulf a tree. Norway maples are crowding out the native red and swamp maples and shading lower story trees and shrubs. Plant police are already in evidence in states like Florida and California. They will actually fine a homeowner if certain invasive plants are found in the yard.

White-throated, song and house sparrows swarm a seed block.

The Canadian and Carolina Hemlocks, both native to New England, are suffering from an insect called the hemlock woolly adelgid. This critter has been attacking native stands of hemlocks from the Virginias northward. It is prevalent throughout RI. Ironically, birds are considered a prime carrier of the insect to the trees. Hemlocks are ideal bird plants. They provide food, nesting and cover for a wide range of migrant and resident birds throughout the year. Cardinals love their loose evergreen boughs to build their nests. I’ve had succeeding families of robins, catbirds, mockingbirds, cardinals, mourning doves and blue jays all in the same season in my old hedge. I removed the hedge. It was like killing an old friend. It did not have the adelgid, but it was severely stressed after several years and a good candidate for the adelgid.

But don’t let these problems deter you from attracting birds to your yard. Just be aware of them as you plan your gardens for the birds.

This rumpled fledgling mourning dove spent some time on the hood of our car.

Don’t forget to provide water for the birds all year round. Bird baths, small ponds and streams will keep birds nearby. Birds are one of the gardener’s best friends. Cultivate their friendship and you will be rewarded.

Bird Watching in Cyberspace

Bird watching rivals gardening as America’s #1 hobby. So, what does a computer savvy birdwatcher do when not out in the field? Go online looking for more information about birds. A short trip on the superhighway with some search engines, a birder can find a few good stops to share their birding experiences. The following is a brief list from a recent trip in cyberspace.

Websites

1. http://birder.com/

2. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/

3. http://www.virtualbirder.com/vbirder/

4. http://www.allaboutbirds.org

I think most gardeners have an interest in birds, and a great many of us feed them. I hope you enjoy this two part post on what to feed and what to plant for wild birds. It is written by my  friend  and University of Rhode Island Master Gardener program Coordinator, Rosanne Sherry. Rosanne also happens to be an avid and experienced birder, so I am thrilled that she found the time to write for my little blog. The photos were taken by moi – Dirtynailz.

Obviously not taken this snowless winter!

A fast growing winter pastime is wild bird feeding. Statistics from USFW Survey in 2006 show that 67 million people watch birds as recreation. US bird watchers spent over $45 billion (travel, bird feed, feeders and birding optics) on this activity during 2006.

It’s a relaxing hobby for young and old living in the city or in the country. Looking out a frosty window in January at colorful finches and perky chickadees at your own bird cafeteria is just plain fun. Any day could bring an unusual visitor. The most exciting visitor I had was a sparrow hawk the day after the Blizzard of ‘78. Stormy weather frequently blows in different birds.

Flying Pesticides

Birds have more than just an aesthetic purpose in the garden. Birds might also be called “winged pesticides”. Swallows and purple martins eat as many as 2,000 mosquitoes a day. Woodpeckers dig out over wintering insects and eggs. Orioles love caterpillars, flies and weevils. Nuthatches eat beetles, moths, caterpillars, ants and wasps. Some of these birds fly south with the first freezes of fall, but some remain. These birds are known as “residents”.

A female house finch on a squirrel proof feeder

What’s on the menu at the feeders?

Many backyard gardeners also feed birds in the winter. There’s a debate about whether feeding all year long makes the birds dependent on humans but I tend to follow the birds. I start up my feeding station in mid to late October. I thoroughly wash all the feeders with a bleach/water solution to prevent the spread of disease among the birds. I put out a variety of foods. The more diversity in the menu, the more species you’ll get.

I have suet. I like the cakes but look for a case of cakes that might average less than $1 a cake. I keep them in a cool spot in the basement and one or two cakes in the fridge. This will attract woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches and titmice especially.

A black capped chickadee digs in

Next is thistle, also known as nyjer. This is not the weedy thistle of the roadside. You do need a special feeder that has vertical slits so the birds have to carefully extract the seed. It’s a little expensive for a 5 or 8 pound bag but well worth it. I usually use about 10 pounds a season. Not every bird eats thistle but the winter finches, Purple, House and Goldfinches and redpolls definitely will be attracted. There are the sock feeders but frankly it’s a waste as hungry squirrels or other critters will quickly rip it apart. A tube feeder will last you many years. Make the investment in sturdy feeders like the Droll Yankee tube feeders.

A few years ago I read that goldfinches are late season nesters in our region and will readily come to thistle that is out in August when the chicks are fledging. So I started putting out just the thistle in August and now it brings them in every summer. Then as the season wanes they find my Echinacea that I let go to seed.

A house sparrow enjoying a mixed seed cake

Sunflower seeds are definitely a staple to the backyard feeding station. There are two kinds, striped and black oil. The latter actually has more fat in it thus making it actually more nutritious for the birds. Remember that birds need to add on fat in the fall and winter for migration and survival. The downside of sunflower seeds is they are messy. The birds pick out a seed and break it open dropping the hull and eating the kernel. The hulls have a somewhat allopathic quality as plants in the immediate area under the feeder may totally die off. It’s not a concern for me though as my feeders are placed on a small patio and in a small area in the garden. If the mess or the potential die off of plants worries you then look for the no-mess type of sunflower. No hulls!! They are simply the chipped up kernels. This bag however, will be the most expensive on the shelf. The discount stores rarely have this. I switch to this sometimes in June to encourage the birds to bring the kids to the feeders!! And keep the yard cleaner when guests visit.

Cardinals are favorite backyard visitors in RI. They love sunflower seed.

Corn is another staple in mixes as well as singly. Whole and cracked corn are available. I suggest the cracked corn for the birds and whole corn for squirrels and larger birds like turkey, jays or even quail in summer. I get a bag or two of cracked corn as it’s frequently the cheapest. I use it to stretch the other mixes and extra couple of weeks. I get 2-3 bags of corn cobs for the squirrels.

A male goldfinch in breeding plumage.

The mixed seed selections are a variety of seeds based on percentages of each. The more expensive mixes usually have a higher percentage of sunflowers. The cheapest seed mixes frequently have the worst seed!! Read the ingredient list carefully. If you see milo, wheat, oranges, canary seed, rape seed, sorghum or even rice in the list then avoid it at all costs. Nobody eats that stuff!! You are paying for junk. The seed you want to see listed is sunflower of either type, corn, peanut hearts, millet and maybe safflower. Thistle rarely is in these mixes because it’s so small and more expensive.

A few years ago I fell for a deal at a local feed and grain store $5.99 for a 20 pound bag of seed!! I should have read the label!! It was loaded with the junk!! I brought it to work and even the union birds wouldn’t eat it!!! I may pay about $14 dollars now for a 20# bag, but every seed is eaten by someone!! I keep track of how much seed I’m using every year. It varies, like this winter, but I was spending at least $300 each winter on the best seed from the top stores. But with the economy and seed (these are commodities on Wall Street) prices going in opposite directions I needed to find a better value. I now buy only Blue Seal seed and last year I bought more bags and cut my bird seed bill in half!! I get the thistle and suet cakes at Tractor Supply. Check local feed and grain stores for the Blue Seal brands. You won’t find it in the high end or discount stores.

Coming next: planting for birds.

I spent a few hours at the Cape and Islands Orchid Society annual orchid show in Hyannis, on Cape Cod, MA. This was by far the biggest show I had ever attended, and I was blown away by the beauty and the diversity of the orchids on display and for sale. The theme of this year’s show was “Orchid Vessels.” The plants were shown in and with various containers.

This is THE orchid show in New England, and it was crowded. We even had to wait for someone to vacate a parking spot before we could park and go inside.

The Ocean State Orchid Society exhibit

The display in the photo above was designed by the orchid club I belong to – the Ocean State Orchid Society. It was beautifully executed and elicited many oohs and ahs. I did not contribute any of my own plants to this effort because I do not have anything in show-worthy bloom these days.

This is a masdevallia – one of my favorites.

The display pictured below was designed by J &L orchids, a Connecticut grower. It was very thoughtfully put together and showcased many unusual species. I am particularly fond of strong red and orange blooms, especially when they are contrasted with vibrant green moss and weathered driftwood.

The J&L display

If you must know, yes, I did purchase a few plants. I have a penchant for miniatures, and there was a great selection for sale. Miniatures are great, because they will usually fit comfortably on a windowsill. They’re also so darned cute.

I will conclude with a shot of a spectacular cymbidium. Wow.

The two fly traps before installation

At least I think they did…

I’m talking about the “Cluster Buster” traps I bought to combat an infestation of cluster flies. I bought two – at a hefty $25  each – (but I was desperate!) and put one in the kitchen window and the other in the living room window.

Before you stick it on the window, you have to shake the powder inside so it levels out. The flies enter the opening in the top of the trap and suffocate in the finely-ground eggshells inside.

A trap, installed

I stuck each one in the window and waited. I was kind of hoping to see the flies jumping in, one after another, but it didn’t work that way. The next day, I still had several of the loathsome creatures buzzing around, and try as I might, I couldn’t see inside the traps to determine whether some had gone in.

Fast forward to three days later, and the flies were gone. I still don’t know whether they met their demises in the traps or whether they just went away or died (although I haven’t found any of their bodies on the floor.) The traps will work for up to two years, so I’ll see if I get more flies next year and if so, if the traps do their jobs.

So there you have it: another daring experiment comes to a close – this one a success, I hope.

That snow I showed you in my last post? Gone. All of it. It didn’t stand a chance when the temperatures rose to about 50F.The only remaining sign we even had snow is a sheen of moisture lingering on the flagstones.

I miss how it brightened up the landscape, and I’m sick of this weird unseasonal weather, even if it permits the survival of sage and thyme in the vegetable garden. Unheard of! (at least for me)

I realize that this post is a self indulgent rant, but I can’t help it. Sorry.

Our first snow arrived early this morning and it kept snowing until mid-afternoon. We probably got about eight inches. Not much, I know, but enough to blanket the gardens and brighten the view.

I took a walk to look at how a simple event such as a snowfall can transform things – even sleeping perennials.

Here’s a salvia perovskia looking rather pretty.

And check out this coreopsis in my neighbor’s garden. It’s zagreb, I believe.

This is a scotch broom, looking very pine-ish.

Clematis Viticella “Polish Spirit” is contrasting well with its white arbor trellis.

And this perennial aster is enjoying its new snow blanket.

They say we’ll get rain in a couple of days that will wash all this away. I wish it would stick around for a while.

The Newport Bridge in all its glory

We crossed the “Pell Bridge” to Newport this afternoon. Actually, nobody in RI ever calls it the Pell bridge. It’s the Newport Bridge to everyone but the map makers – and some poor, confused tourists, I suppose.

It was a clear and beautiful day here on the coast – but cold. Definitely hat,  glove and warmest coat weather. We have been hearing about a snowy owl that’s been hanging out on the rocks at the Sachuest Wildlife Refuge since the holidays.

This is not an unheard of occurrence. When competition for prey in their Arctic home  gets too tough , they’ll “irrupt” or come down to new habitats in search of food. They’ll spend most of the winter here, then fly back way, way up north (think Arctic Circle) to breed.

Birders checking out the owl

We bundled up and hit the trail that winds along the ocean. There were some interesting ducks, including eiders, common goldeneyes and harlequins. Here’s a shot of a male eider on a rock where he is trying to pry off mussels. These are very large ducks that spend winters here every year.

Eider drake and hens foraging on a rock. The drake is black and white.

We finally located the spot where everyone was watching the owl. There was spotting scope there for our viewing pleasure, and it’s a good thing, because the owl was hunkered down among the rocks quite a distance from the shore. I tried my best, but all I could get was a pathetic, little white dot which cannot possibly reflect the total coolness of this bird. Sorry.

On the way back to the car, we noticed that we were being watched by a herd of deer. They were spending a lazy afternoon lying in the grass, catching what was left of the afternoon sun.

Check out these beautiful rocks. People fish from them and sometimes they fall off and drown. They do make wonderful picnic spots, though.

The big pile of catalogs in the photo consists of those received in 2011. I do love getting them, but there are so many, and often two or more of each! We live in a small house and the only way to keep from being buried alive by “stuff” is to stay on top of things.

I decided it was time to recycle the old catalogs and put this year’s editions in the magazine holder that I keep for that purpose. Some of the 2011s are awfully pretty (the Baker catalog is an example) but I just can’t think of a reason to keep them with the 2012 versions ready to take their place.

This is the roster for 2012, neatly stored in the magazine holder.  Now all I have to do is make the time to peruse and order. My recycling bin is going to be very heavy this week.

It started with one, and now they are everywhere. They are cluster flies, or pollenia rudis. They are members of the blowfly family – those really gross flies that lay their eggs on food – but cluster flies don’t do that. They’re just here, in our house, spending  a cozy winter.

I’m not saying we are inundated with these things, but there are enough of them that I see them on the windows and hear them as they rather slowly buzz around. They first entered our lives about a month and a half ago. Being the laissez-faire kind of person I am, I tried to ignore them for a while, until my baser instincts suddenly kicked in, and I chased them around the house with a rolled up newspaper, flailing wildly and knocking things off the windowsills. I did manage to kill some, and then one day, there weren’t any. I figured their unwelcome visit had ended. But last week, I heard that familiar buzzing, and there they were. Several of the loathsome creatures were taking up residence again.

My research tells me that these flies should be controlled outdoors BEFORE they come inside. They apparently lay they eggs on earthworms, and the flies hatch and try to come in through even the tiniest of crevices before the weather turns cold.

I looked up control measures and almost all of them involve chemicals – either applied outside where you think they might be entering or inside where they are making their  little fly-homes. But there’s also a trap called “Cluster Buster” which is filled with very finely ground eggshell particles that the flies sink into like quicksand. Each trap can apparently hold up to 1,000 flies and work for two to four years.

Gonna git me one of them fly traps!!!!!…even if they are nearly $25 each. Actually, I bought two, one for the living room and another for the kitchen where they seem to like hanging out on the sliding patio doors.  I will let you know if they solve my disgusting little problem.

A macaw at the Foster Parrots bird sanctuary in Hopkinton, RI

Here’s Elderberry with some thoughts on Bird Day:

Did you know…January 5 was National Bird Day! Why do we need a national Day for birds? Well, if you are a bird fancier it is a no brainer and doesn’t need an explanation, but you can read the reasons on the website at: http://www.nationalbirdday.com/index.php

This is more than a celebration of birds.  It is your opportunity to get involved with educating the public about the many things that affect birds and are harmful to them.  You can find out about issues that affect captive birds. Learn about things you can do to make your bird happy which is so very important to these non-domesticated residents of our homes.  And, one of the best things you can learn is how to make your windows more bird friendly – as many as 1 billion birds are killed annually by colliding into windows!

So check it out…participate…and love your feathered friends!

Please look carefully at the above photo and tell me if you see any flowers. No? That’s because THERE AREN’T ANY! I know that you get what you pay for, but I still balk at paying $30 for a top quality amaryllis bulb. And no one ever buys me one as a gift either…..but that’s another post.

So last year I trotted off to our local discount store (Ocean State Job Lot – we Rhode Islanders love that place) and thinking I was being so darned smart, I bought three bulbs for $5 each and planted them together thinking they would produce a lovely holiday display. They were a huge disappointment, bearing no flowers at all. I should have known by the sizes of the bulbs. They were the lowest quality available – so small and with few roots.

This year, conveniently forgetting my experience of Christmas past, I went back and  did the same thing all over again – 3 bulbs, one planter etc. They’re doing a bit better than last year’s but come on – one bulb (the one on the left)  has not produced a flower stalk at all and the others are puny-looking.

I think I have finally learned my lesson.

What  a New Year’s day we had here on the RI coast! Blue sky, warm temperatures and a soft breeze with no edge to it whatsoever – in January! After taking down the Christmas tree and making some turkey soup, I took myself down to the beach again, figuring quite a few people would have the same idea.

I was right. There were a few people walking on the sand, and there were some cute dogs, like this 3-month-old puppy named “Hugo.” He wasn’t too sure about going in the water, but he was definitely into his stick.

Someone had left these Christmas decorations on the sand.

The sea was calm and the waves just sort of slipped in gently without a lot of commotion.

It was so balmy that people were sitting outside at the local seafood restaurant eating oysters from the salt pond next door. Yum.

This is kind of how I felt today. Happy New Year, everybody.

I walked to the nearest beach the other morning. It was windy and mild. I met a mockingbird, foraging for berries.

One of our neighbors had done something rather charming with Canada goose holiday decorations.

Not everything I saw was pleasant. I came across a dead yellow rumped warbler on the side of the road , and laid its body gently in the bushes.

And when I reached the beach,  a dead black backed gull was lying in the deserted parking lot.

It was a typical winter day here on the Rhode Island coast. Still no snow…and blustery.

I thought I would treat you to something beautiful for Christmas, so I took a trip to my favorite nursery to see what creative things they were doing for the holidays. As usual, I left with a couple of new ornaments for the tree, and several photos. Feast your eyes on the snowy scene in the header. It’s constructed in an old baby’s crib and it changes with the seasons.

How about this display of white birch, white phalaenopsis, red poinsettias and green topiary?

This shed is charming. I love the small lighted tree just inside.

There were several decorated trees. I loved this one with all the animal ornaments. I bought a dachshund and a piglet.

To my readers, wherever you are in the world, I wish you the happiest of holidays. Thanks for another great year.

Please pray for snow.

The trees that nobody wanted

So is it just me, or do you find it a little bit sad just before Christmas to see all the trees that were never sold? It seems kind of wrong that they were raised to be one glorious thing for a few glorious weeks, and now they’ll end up as mulch without ever having fulfilled their destinies.

It’s not as if it’s like it was when I was a girl and trees varied – a lot. There were the bushy ones and the scrawny ones, and almost every tree had a “bad side” that you would put against the wall. Trees were not as bushy back then either, and because they weren’t sprayed, if you were very lucky, your tree would contain a bird’s nest. Now trees are uniformly bushy, and the only variations are species and size. I don’t think you could find a scrawny one if you tried.

I spoke to the owner of one of our local nurseries and he told me he had ordered more than 3,000 trees from New Hampshire this year. He also said that despite cheery media reports about booming live tree sales, his sales were down this year and had been declining steadily for the past several years.

I wandered around and looked at the trees that would never see an ornament or lights. There were so many of them. One was being loaded onto someone’s SUV, but the rest would remain unsold – some of them still in their original wrappers.

That is sad, isn’t it?

Blight on boxwood leaves Photo: University of Connecticut

Just as many of us are gathering boxwood to make lovely Christmas decorations there is news of a new blight that has infected boxwoods in neighboring Connecticut. It is caused by the fungus Cylindrocladium buxicola, which hails from the UK.

No one knows how it entered the U.S., but it has been found in North Carolina, Virginia, and now, landscapes and garden centers in Connecticut.

The fungus infects boxwood leaves, producing brown spots. The leaves then turn brown and drop. It also infects the plants’ stems, leaving black lesions. The blight does not affect the roots, and infected plants can survive, if they are not repeatedly defoliated.

An infected plant. photo: Perdue University

Boxwood blight spreads quickly, especially when it’s warm and damp. The spores are carried by rain and wind over short distances, but the disease is carried far and wide when infected plants which appear healthy are transported.

Control measures include meticulous sanitation around the plants, frequent inspections, making sure there’s enough space between plants, fungicides, and avoiding overhead watering.

If you find infected plants, pull them immediately, and here in Rhode Island, bring a sample to the University of Rhode Island’s plant clinic for a diagnosis. For more details on this blight, go to this University of Connecticut website.

And please be careful with the boxwoods you use for your holiday decorations. You don’t want to accidentally spread this disease or introduce it into your own landscape!

I am at my desk, looking out over the lawn to the salt pond. It’s mid-December, and the grass is still  green. The sage and thyme in my vegetable garden are very much alive, because until a couple of days ago, it was warm – in the 60sF. The birds and squirrels are coming to the feeders, but not with the purpose they have when it’s wintry and cold.

There are good things and bad things about this warm early winter:

First the good:

We’re saving on heating oil, we don’t have to pay the guy to plow our driveway, I can dash out with the dog and not have to worry about pulling on my snow boots, and many of the plants in the garden, like the aforementioned herbs, are still alive and providing their  fresh-tasting goodness to my cooking. Oh yes, and there are no puddles of melting snow on the kitchen floor.

sage and thyme, still just fine

And now the bad:

It’s going to be Christmas soon, and it should be white, not brown, green and gray.  We are skiers, and we’re wondering whether this might be one of “those” winters – the tragic, snowless kind. My dog has no snow to stick her nose into and snuffle up whatever scent is lurking down there. There’s is no blanket of whiteness to insulate and protect the gardens from that desiccating wind.

It just doesn’t feel right.

photo: Sannse

Since I seem to be in a “squirrely” frame of mind these days, let’s pause for a moment to consider the great squirrel migrations. Yes, like the mighty bison, gray squirrels did indeed migrate in huge numbers, across rivers (they are strong swimmers) and through fields, apparently eating everything in their paths.

The earliest records of these phenomena are in the mid-1700s. They apparently took place following “mast years” when the trees produced bumper crops of acorns and the animals reproduced accordingly, having two litters instead of one. If acorn production was low the following year, squirrels by the hundreds of thousands moved elsewhere looking for food. People shot them and even scooped them up from  boats as they tried to swim across rivers. Back in those days, people ate squirrels, you know….many still do. Did you know that the gray squirrel is the “official wild game animal” of Kentucky?

The last recorded migration was in the the fall of 1998, but I think we  experienced one this fall. There was a record low acorn production, and in September, we began seeing hundreds of squirrels dead on our roads. Were they on the move looking for food? Was this a remnant of great migrations past? I think maybe it was.

Photo: David Iliff

For the past couple of months, people in New England have been talking about acorns – or the near total  lack of them. There just aren’t any, and what is surprising is how many animals are affected.

Last fall, there was what is referred to as a “mast year,” which means the trees put out a huge crop of seeds. The average oak tree in the northeast produced about 250 pounds of acorns. This year, each tree produced only about half a pound! Hiking in the woods, we usually have to be careful not to slide on the ball bearing-like acorns that fall onto the trails. Not so this year. In fact, I haven’t seen a single acorn on any of my hikes.

In September, we began seeing the bodies of dead gray squirrels on our roads. I mean  lots of squirrel bodies. For a few weeks, it was as if they were just walking out into the roads and waiting to be hit. It was hard to swerve around them. The theory is that they reproduced like mad during the previous mast year, but with starvation looming in this lean year, many of them just died. The entire lemming-like scenario is just plain weird and I have yet to find an explanation for it.

It’s not just squirrels who will miss the acorns. Ground nesting bird and field mouse populations are likely to crash. The deer ticks that feed on the mice may also be more aggressive in biting humans.

No one knows why seed production varies so much from one year to the next. What is  known is that such fluctuations are normal, even crashes like this one – the worst in 20 years.

Winter moth

Almost two years ago, I wrote about how a horrible insect, the winter moth, Operophtera brumata, was devastating our trees. This is the time of year we see them fluttering around. It’s mating season, so they are on the move. The moths you see are males, which are attracted to females  waiting  at the bases of trees to mate. The eggs spend the winter in the trees’ leaf buds and the larvae start devouring new leaves when they emerge in the spring. They can easily defoliate large trees, which will eventually die if this happens repeatedly because they can’t make food.

Cyzensis albicans. photo: James K. Lindsey

Enter Cyzenis albicans, a parasitic fly with a prediliction for winter moths which has successfully kept them under control in Europe. The fly lays eggs on the leaves the moth larvae eat, and the eggs hatch inside the caterpillars and kill them as the the fly larvae chew their way out. Newborn flies emerge from the bodies of the dead caterpillars, and fly off to start the cycle anew.

While the fly is known to be an effective control, it has its work cut out for it because of the severity of the winter moth infestation. Hopefully after a couple of years of intensive, gorging parasitism, the fly will emerge victorious and winter moths will no longer be a scourge of our New England trees. Lets keep our fingers crossed.