2016 December 29

 

   Viewers may have seen the Saanich News, December 28, page A3, where it is reported that this spring there is going to be spraying again of Btk for the supposed presence of

Lymantria dispar (Lep.: Erebidae – Lymantriinae).   [This is so much easier to spell than the English name.  Is it Gypsy or Gipsy?]

 

  These spraying operations for this mythical moth are always initiated by the same official.  Just the same individual every time.  As far as I know the only place where the Gypsy Moth occurs is in the labs at the Pacific Forestry Centre on Burnside Road.

 

  The supposed infestation (and where the spraying is to occur) is Elk Lake.

 

  I believe the spraying for Gypsy Moth is done for political purposes – The U.S. won’t buy our lumber because we haven’t sprayed for Gypsy Moth.  Therefore we must spray for Gypsy Moth, whether it is present or not.

 

  In the past, the Forestry Center has asked members of the public to report infestations of Gypsy Moth   Doubtless they get lots of reports – from people who wouldn’t know the difference between a Gypsy Moth, a lackey moth ( Malacosoma – “tent caterpillar”), a Fall Webworm, or a hole in the ground.

 

  The egg masses (which overwinter) should be easy to spot, since they are laid en masse and are covered with a conspicuous layer of yellow silk and scales.  The caterpillars, too, are conspicuous, because they are gregarious and aposomatic.  If there is truly an infestation, they would be hard to miss.  In past years I have searched and searched in the very areas where there was supposed to be an “infestation”.   The caterpillars feed upon almost any broadleaved tree or shrub.

 

  While one can accept that Btk poses little or no hazard to human health, I take great exception to the statement in the Saanich News that Btk is a natural substance present in soil that does not harm OTHER INSECTS  [my emphasis]  and that it affects only Gypsy Moth caterpillars.   It is in fact equally fatal to any caterpillars that eat leaves. This statement that it doe s not affect other insects is completely false.

 

Jeremy Tatum