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Invasive
Animals
The Winter Moth
 The
Northern Winter Moth (Operophtera
fagata) has been epidemic on south Vancouver Island in Greater
Victoria and at several locations north to Sidney.
It is a severe defoliator of broad-leaved plants, notably Garry
oak, fruit trees and ornamental trees and shrubs.
The
native Bruce spanworm (Operophtera
bruceata), which is practically identical to the winter moth in
appearance and habits, has been replaces in importance by the winter
moth on south Vancouver Island.
Adult
winter moths may be found from late October to the end of January.
Both sexes are drab-grey or grey-brown, without distinctive
markings.
 The
females are flightless and crawl over the ground and climb up the tree
trunks. Eggs are laid
singly or in small clusters under lichens or in crevices on any part of
the tree. They are pale green at first, gradually changing to bright
orange, hatching from late March until about min-April.
The young larvae frequently drop from the twigs on silken threads
and are borne a considerable distance on air currents.
Larvae commonly known as inch-worms or loopers feed on the
swelling buds of host trees and on foliage, flowers and developing fruit
until about the first week in June.
What
you can do:
Trunk
banding:
Applications
of “Tanglefoot” bands around tree trunks have been used for years to
prevent the flightless females from climbing up to lay eggs. This method is most affective against winter moths on
isolated trees.
Sticky
bands are useful mainly against the winter moth and Bruce spanworm.
 Apply
the sticky material during mid to late October in a 10 to 15 cm (5 to 6
inch) band around the trunk. The
material can be painted on 25 to 30 cm wide (10 to 12 inch) plastic
strips (6 mil thick) attached to the trees to avoid possible damage on
smooth-barked trees. Plug
the bark crevices with caulking compound, fiberglass insulation or other
suitable material to prevent moths from crawling under the bands.
Some monitoring of the bands is
needed as they can become covered by debris or with large numbers of
moths so that females may cross without being trapped.
Eastern
Gray Squirrel
 The
eastern gray squirrel
(Sciurus carolinensis)
is a medium-sized squirrel with mainly gray upperparts and pale gray
undersides. It has a bushy, flattened tail and the backs of its ears are
lighter coloured. The
commonly seen black squirrel is in reality the same species in its black
form.
The eastern gray squirrel has
actually two distinct forms: most adults are dusty gray overall, with
pale underside and a silvery, flattened tail; occasionally a solid ebony
black form of this squirrel is encountered.
In Canada, they gray form often has cinnamon highlights on the
head, back and tail. Some
local populations, such as one in Calgary, are almost entirely black.
The
original distribution of the gray squirrel ranged only over the eastern
USA to just west of the Mississippi and north to Canada.
They are now present in Eastern USA, England, Ireland, Northern
Italy, South Africa, and Western Canada.
It is thought that they first appeared in the English countryside
between 1876 and 1929 having been accidentally released from the London
Zoo. They gray
squirrel squirrel quickly adapted to the native forests of the
countryside in England, Ireland and Italy.
The gray squirrel is larger and more aggressive than its cousin,
the Red, which is about half the size of the Grey at 250 to 400 grams.
Taking advantage of its size by foraging in the trees as well as
on the ground, the gray squirrel out competes the smaller red, who stay
in the trees to avoid predation.
Grey squirrels are generalist feeders, while the Red Squirrel
prefers conifer forests.
The mainstay of their diet is nuts
and seeds, which they cache just under the surface of the soil.
Their caches of nuts are security for winter and stormy days;
fresh corn crops, flowers, fruits, mushrooms, bird eggs, nestlings and
frogs are all relished when they are available.
 These
squirrels live in trees year-round, either in cavities
(often old woodpecker holes) or nests they build out of leaves.
These squirrels have been known to actually fight pileated
woodpeckers for their homes – and win! Nests are usually high up in tree crotches and can be hard to
see in the summer, because they are made with green leaves and are
hidden by foliage. They are easy to see in the winter, when the nest
leaves have turned brown and tree leaves fall to the ground.
Eastern
Gray Squirrels have two litters
each year. The first is in the spring, the second in late summer. Two or
three young are in each litter. The second litter spends the winter with
their mother and they usually live to be about five years old.
The
most importantpredators
of Eastern Gray Squirrels are hawks, owls, Red Fox, Raccoons, and
snakes. (Info from Squirrels
of the West by Tamara Hartson and the Hinterland How’s Who web site.
http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?pid=1&cid=8&id=89
What
you can do:
Removal
of any diet source is a must: bird feeders are notorious for attracting
squirrels but good squirrel proof models are available at wild bird
stores.
Gutter guards and covering down spouts will reduce the amount of
squirrels seeking nesting sites in your roof.
There are no poison baits on the market that squirrels will eat.
Live trapping squirrels is a recommended method of removal either
done by a professional or do it yourself. |
