<html><head></head><body><div class="yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:courier new, courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span><p class="ydpd6daa7d8MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: red; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> What I have
been learning in the last week or so is that the apparent chaotic egg laying
and the coating on top of the egg masses, with subsequent color changing and
cracks developing may in part be the SLF camouflaging the egg masses from the
egg predators which it experienced in Asia. When I looked at the local trees
and the egg masses, there are a lot of similarities between the egg masses,
lichen, cankers and similar on the bark of trees. However, this is not Asia, so
I cannot say exactly what the Asian vegetation looks like.</span></p>
<p class="ydpd6daa7d8MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: red; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> An issue I
came across today was that gypsy moth habitat and SLF habitat overlap and their
eggs may be laid on the same trees. The only difference I see is that SLF is
confined to the edge of forests, hedgerows and other ecotone areas since this
is where its primary foods are located. The gypsy moth lays eggs on trees
wherever it finds them, including the deep forest, the edge of forests,
hedgerows and trees in cities. Gypsy moth egg masses are light brown foam while
SLF egg masses are smooth, going from dirty white to light tan in a few days
(?) after laying. I am not sure if gypsy moths and SLF feed on some of the same
plants. The timing of the egg laying is different. Gypsy moths tend to lay eggs
mid to late summer. SLF egg laying appears to be late summer to a killer
freeze. The timing may be based on the preferred foods of each. Gypsy moth
larvae feed mostly on the leaves of deciduous hardwoods, which come into leaf late
winter to mid-spring. This is much earlier in the year than <i>Ailanthus</i>, which
comes into leaf in the late spring, one of the last trees to do so. Emergence
of the immature stage for both may also be related to their food sources and
feeding method. Gypsy moth larvae feed by chewing and digesting leaves. This is
very different than the SLF nymphs and adults drilling into a plant and sucking
the sap. I am not sure how much ahead of bud break and leafing out sap runs in <i>Ailanthus</i>
or how much after leaf drop it continues.</span></p>
<p class="ydpd6daa7d8MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: red; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> One last
observation I made today is that I found SLF eggs only on grey birch trees in
and surrounding the stand of Ailanthus trees. No egg masses were found on <i>Ailanthus</i>
trees where I had seen SLF earlier in the fall. Reviewing the photos from
earlier today, there were generally one to three egg masses on each white birch
where the eggs masses were found. As usual there was no apparent order in the
scattering of the egg masses within the white birch stand. This needs more time
walking to see of this is generally true in other areas.</span></p>
<p class="ydpd6daa7d8MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: red; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> A general
ongoing observation is that I have seldom seen SLF egg masses much higher than 4 or
5 feet off the ground. The one obvious exception is on domesticated silver
maple.</span></p></span><span><p class="ydpd6eff291MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: red; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">I sincerely wish this SLF project were a tame one
like the American Chestnut research I have been doing, with a definitive start
and end to the field season. Now that leaf drop has happened the darkened trees
SLF fed on are more obvious and it is easier to see egg masses. This is taking
on the feel of continual year-round research.</span></p></span> Richard Gardner</div></div></body></html>