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The Gypsy Moth in Virginia
F. William Ravlin and Kenneth
J. Stein
The first gypsy moth was found in Virginia in Shenandoah National
Park (Albemarle county) in 1969, probably transported on a visitor's vehicle.
That area was treated with insecticide and the population was apparently eradicated.
Isolated infestations continue to be identified and treated by the Virginia
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services gypsy moth control program.
The natural
spread of gypsy moths did not reach northern Virginia until about 1980.
Since then the gypsy moth has continued to move south and west and now covers
approximately two-thirds of Virginia.
Movement of the Gypsy Moth in Virginia
Defoliation due to the gypsy moth in the United States regularly approaches two million acres. In Virginia defoliation began in 1984 with 374 acres. In 1992 almost 800,000 acres were defoliated and the gypsy moth could defoliate over a million acres during a single growing season by the year 2000. By 2010 virtually every county in Virginia will experience some level of gypsy moth impact.
