gypsy moth (photos can be seen below) is one of the most well-known pest that causes considerable damage to deciduous and coniferous trees.The name of this species was too great a difference between males and females.If the female has a massive fat belly, and her wingspan reaches 75 mm, the male differs thin belly, and its wingspan of only 45 mm.Male gypsy moth has wings are brownish-gray in color with dark stripes broken.The female wings dirty-white with a black zigzag lines.
gypsy moth caterpillar is colored yellowish with dark patterned marble.On the cylindrical body is a pretty big head with brown stripes.Just released the young caterpillars are black and covered with hairs.Adults reach a length of 40 to 80 cm., The gypsy moth pupa - mumieobraznaya, dark brown, up to 30 mm.
In warm areas butterflies emerge from late July to August in colder areas - a month later.The first years are beginning to males.Females begin to fly a few days later, even though they are heavy, and prefer not to fly and sit on a tree bark.Males fly alive, especially in the evening, in search of females that they are attracted to pheromones.Fertilized females on the bark of deciduous trees lay their eggs.One gypsy moth reserves from 250 to 500 eggs.Sami butterfly will live no more than two weeks, but the eggs spend the winter, and when the temperature rises to +10 ºC (usually it happens in April), there will be small caterpillars.
first few days, they live together and do not eat anything.But then sprawled across the crown and young leaves gnaw small holes, where they feed mainly during the daytime.Older individuals also eat the leaves their characteristic way, it is very often the remnants of leaves lying on the ground.Time intensive power they have to for the night, although the outbreak, they can eat the leaves and in the afternoon.If the caterpillars little food, they proceed to the tissues of immature shoots, buds or flowers.After power supply occurs during pupation.This occurs in the first half of July, but in the southern regions - by the end of June.Approximately 15 days pupal stage lasts.
gypsy moth - a rather polyphagous pest.More than 300 species of plants can damage the tracks.They are harmful to almost all hardwood and are not party to such representatives of conifers like fir, pine and larch.Very fond of shrubs and fruit trees, cultivated cereals, strawberries, sedge, cranberries and cranberry.Especially viable and fertile offspring obtained by gypsy moth caterpillars feed on the leaves if the poplar, oak and fruit trees.
In Russia, the gypsy moth is common in almost all European part.Also, it is found in the Far East, Altai, the Urals and the Caucasus, Siberia, Central Asia and North Kazakhstan.In the XIX century it was imported from Europe in Massachusetts (US territory) and by 1952 had spread across the country, and there acquired the status of one of the most dangerous pests.
