This week I went for a walk in one of my favourite places, the Mount Royal Cemetery. This time of year it usually is full of flowers and fruit like crabapples setting on. But, to my great dismay, great swaths of the trees were completely denuded of leaves.
The culprit is the Gypsy Moth caterpillar. We saw them all over the pavement, and jogging friends have said they've been covered with them after running through stretches where the beasts are munching away.
Dreadful things, but, I'm told, not quite the disaster that they appear to be. Most of the trees will survive, many will leaf out again, and this kind of infestation cyclical. Not quite the 17 year cycle of the cicada, but nevertheless something that comes around every 5 to 10 years.
The fact that we're in a very dry spell won't help the trees' recovery. Rain last night was encouraging, but the jury is still out. So is my desire to go walking in the cemetery--just too disturbing to see, perhaps.
2 comments:
Figures 2021 would be the year they come out to reck havok. At least its not murder hornets. Still they are pain in the ass while hiking.
Here in the Ottawa Valley I watch as the newest crabapple, bought from a local hospice program, is unfurling new leaves and no doubt, waving good-bye to this challenging season.
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