Experts with the University of Kentucky (UK) report that Eastern tent caterpillars are now wandering in the area, and population levels are among the highest they’ve seen since the 2001, when mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) hit Central Kentucky particularly hard.

“The Eastern tent caterpillar populations are dramatically up this year–the highest I’ve seen since the MRLS crisis. The larvae are full size, many trees are totally defoliated and I’ve seen very large numbers of caterpillars moving along fence rails and wandering out many meters into pastures adjacent to the cherry trees we are using to conduct Eastern tent caterpillar trials,” said Dan Potter, PhD, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture professor of entomology. read more…