. Asian gypsy moth was first recognized in North America around the port of Vancouver in British Columbia Canada in 1991. The Asian gypsy moth was introduced later for the first time to Oregon and Washington in the year 1991. They were brought about by ships from Russia infested with Asian gypsy moth eggs and were blown by the offshore wind to the shore line. Scientists believe that the docked ships with those eggs blown to the shore hatched into larvae. However, human activities like spraying to control insects like mosquitoes, ensured that the moth was eradicated. Trapping was another contributing factor towards eradication of the moth. Several infestation as well as eradication have taken place ever since this eradication. For instance, there was an Asian gypsy moth infestation at Sunny point, North Caroline, which was brought about by infested cargo containers from Germany. In November 1997 the North Carolina infestation was declared eradicated. In that very same year Asian gypsy moth was again detected in Seattle. (Aphis 2003). In most cases the Asian gypsy moth is a pest of hard wood trees, but it also feeds on the coniferous trees. Currently the moth is being eradicated again in California and Oregon. Up to date the moth is not yet existing in Rhode Island. (CAPS 2008)
The identifying features of an Asian gypsy moth. The adult males have brownish wings. Males’ wings have a wingspan of about One And a half inches of length. Females on the other hand have larger wings than the females. The females’ wings are of wingspan of about three and half inches or even more. This is twice the size of the male wings. The larvae have six pairs of brown spots and five pairs of black spots. Morphologically the European gypsy moth and the Asia gypsy moth are the same. Larvae of this moth feed on over 500 species of herbs and trees. This in turn weakens vegetation eventually killing them. Droppings of these caterpillars their strands and presence of the dead moths can become a health nuisance. From Animal and Plant Health inspection Service desk, the concluded that the Asian gypsy moth has a enormous potential for colonization in the North American Forest. (APHIS 2003)
Comparison between the Asian Gypsy moth and the European gypsy moth
The Asian gypsy moth found in southeastern side of Canada and the northeastern side of Unites States is similar to the European gypsy moth. Just like the European gypsy moth, the Asian gypsy moth tends to cause the same amount of destruction on the forest vegetation and shrubs where they inhabit. The two moths have the same life cycle of egg larva pupae adult. The European gypsy moth prefers oak tree for food while the Asian gypsy moth prefers the coniferous and the hard trees in general. The Asian gypsy moth has a broader range of host of about 500 trees and shrubs unlike the European gypsy moth of around 250 tree species. The female Asian gypsy moth can fly while the female European gypsy moth cannot fly. In fact the female Asian gypsy moth can fly to cover distances of up to 20 miles making it probable to infest and spread in the entire United States. A sharp contrast arises when the European gypsy moth has taken over 130 years to conquer the Northeast. On average the European gypsy consumes about 4 million acres of vegetation per year causing millions of dollars to go into waste but if the Asian gypsy moth was to be established the destruction could be extensive and of a relatively higher magnitude. (APHIS 2003)
Images of Asian gypsy moth
Adult Aisan gypsy moth (CAPS 2008)
the larva of Asian gypsy moth (CAPS 2008)
Work cited
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management/Division of Agriculture. Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS 2008). Asian Gypsy moth.
APHIS factsheet. Plant protection and Quarantine. April 2003. Asian gypsy moth.
Resh, Vincent H, and Ring T. Cardé. Encyclopedia of Insects. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Academic Press, 2009. Print.
Sansinenea, Estibaliz. Bacillus Thuringiensis Biotechnology. Dordrecht: Springer, 2012. Print.
