Minn. gypsy moth capture rose in 2009

St. Paul, Minn. (AP)

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Gypsy moth
The gypsy moth was introduced to North America in an effort to create a silk industry. Moth populations exploded because it has no natural predators. Officials are spreading a fungus which kills the insect in hopes of slowing it's spread.
Courtesy Purdue University

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture caught more than twice the number of gypsy moths this year over last year, nearly all in the northeastern part of the state.

While efforts to eradicate gypsy months in Twin Cities area seem to have succeeded, officials say several years of spraying apparently failed to keep the moth from taking hold in northeastern Minnesota. Their traps caught nearly 28,000 of the destructive pests this year.

Gypsy moth caterpillars can defoliate large sections of forest.

MDA Plant Protection Division Director Geir Friisoe says the reason for the increase remains unclear. He says it could be a combination of natural spread and people accidentally moving infested materials.

Nearly all the moths were caught in St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties.

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