| Bohnet Photography, Seattle WA |
| All photos copyright © Dwight Bohnet |
| WSDA Gypsy Moth Detection Program 2009 |
| Have you seen these little green boxes hanging on trees around Whatcom County? They were placed there by a Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Gypsy Moth Trapper, our state's front line troops in "the fight against the gypsy moth", to quote a WSDA handout. It appears the gypsy moth, a non-native invasive species, will stop at almost nothing to occupy and devastate the forests of North America. Already established in 19 states in the Northeastern United States it now seeks a permanent home in the Pacific Northwest. |
| An actual trap deployed in Whatcom County. |
| An actual gypsy moth trapped in Whatcom County in 2007. |
| The traps contain a pheromone lure to attract the male gypsy moth with the scent of a female. Inside, the trap is coated with a sticky substance. The moth arrives with high expectations, but a nasty surprise awaits him behind the green door. He gets hopelessly stuck and extremely frustrated. This really ticks them off. The moth, at right, was still alive when he was discovered and he was spittin' mad! I was glad he was stuck fast. Don't laugh. This is serious business! |
| The trap at right was placed in a Bellingham park in June. It was severely damaged by some sort of explosive device in early July. Two similar events took place in 2008, one on Cornwall Street in Bellingham and one in a residential area of Birch Bay. I believe it is no understatement when the WSDA calls this "the war against gypsy moth". This is, indeed, serious business! |
| This year the Gypsy Moth Trapper is expected to construct, deploy, monitor and take down 900 traps. The construction and deployment phase lasts 6 weeks from early June to late July. The monitor phase takes place until the end of August, with the take down scheduled for 3 weeks in September. It is all timed around the predicted flying time of the male gypsy moth which lasts about 2 weeks, starting in late July and ending in September, depending on latitude: earlier south, later north. |
| An actual trap factory in Whatcom County |
| Being a Gypsy Moth Trapper is a big job and a big responsibility. Whatcom County is on our northern frontier along the border with Canada. This year 945 traps were deployed in Whatcom County alone in our effort to detect, delimit, and destroy any invading gypsy moths. To get a feel for what a Gypsy Moth Trapper does and for what 945 traps look like, click on the link below: |