What’s Up with the Frantic Moths Everywhere in New York

I made a joke this weekend to a friend that it was like Mother Nature said "Cue the moths". I walked out of my house Saturday morning and was literally swarmed by Spongy Moths. They seemed frantic flying everywhere and seldom landing on anything.

I am sure I don't have to say much more, the reason being that it appears these crazy flying bugs are everywhere you go right now in the Hudosn Valley. We had the heat wave which turned into a moth storm.

What Happened to All the Caterpillars

Just last week the caterpillars were everywhere pooping on everything and now they have vanished and in their place or should I say transformation we now have the Spongy Moths. They are a real nuisance if you attempt to spend any time outside.

I was trying to figure out why they seems to be flying all over the place. In broad daylight, they are colliding around like night moths at a porch light. I decided I would do some digging and here is what I found out.

See Also: Will the Leaves Eaten By Spongy Moth Caterpillars Grow Back This Year

Fortunately, I didn't have to dig too far for some reliable information. The Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (Cornell CAL) put out a great information sheet that explains the Spong Moths' behavior.

According to what Cornel CALs shared online it is the Male Moths that are doing all the frantic flying. The adult male Spongy Moth emerges during the day in the hope of finding a mate. They go on to say that the female Spongy Moth has wings but doesn't fly. They instead hang out on the trees waiting for male Spongy Moths to find them and hook up.

This is the last phase of the Spongy Caterpillar / Moth invasion. Their goal right now it to leave egg sacks on all the trees they have infested in hopes of a new invasion next year.

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