The war against the Gypsy Moth

Breadcrumbs

THE WAR AGAINST THE GYPSY MOTH IN THE USA

http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/fea308.html Extension link to study of the attempts to control the Gypsy Moth plague in the U.S.A.

Read the text and try to answer the following questions.

For the first two questions, read the section about the biology of the moth at the end of the article.

  1. Why is the Gypsy Moth considered to be a pest in forestry?
  2. How did it get into the U.S. from Europe?
  3. What were the reasons for the failure of the first attempts to get rid of the Gypsy Moth in Massachusetts at the end of the 19thcentury?
  4. Why the U.S. Federal government become involved in 1905?
  5. What sort of treatment did they try and why was funding again cut off in 1911?
  6. Which chemical was discovered in the 1940’s and used in the 1950’s against the Gypsy Moth?
  7. Why was the use of this chemical abandoned?
  8. What is used now to treat against Gypsy Moths? Why is this better than the chemical in Q.6?