Apple Abundance

 

Apple tree bearing well, August 2020

A look up into the branches of apple trees on Halibut Point this summer confirmed that most had recovered well from the recent devastation by Gypsy Moth caterpillars.

Defoliation, July 2018

Two years ago, at the peak of the local infestation, fruit were sparse and could not be sustained after the trees lost their initial set of leaves. In 2019 we held our breath for concern that successive years of defoliation would kill the trees outright. "Miraculously" the pests did not return. The trees began recovering strength but produced no apples. Some of the damaged oak trees did not fare so well.

Gypsy Moth caterpillars at work, June 2018

Spring drought conditions in recent years had limited the effectiveness of a soil borne fungus imported from Japan as a targeted pesticide, Entomophaga maimaiga, which has helped keep Gypsy Moth populations in check since the last large outbreaks of the 1980s. 

Nashville Warbler in apple blossoms, May 2020

Favorable spring rains the last two years have proliferated the fungus, leading to Gypsy Moth suppression and bountiful flower production by the apple trees.

Northern Parula warbler, May 2020

Migrating warblers glean other species of caterpillars feeding on the apple tree's unfurling leaves and blossoms.

Eastern Yellowjacket, Vespula maculifrons

Toward the end of this summer sugary, mature apples dropped to the ground where they have given late-season sustenance to a variety of insects.

Common Green Bottle Fly, Lucilia sericata

The banquet for insects has been helped by Park mowing tractors that chop and mash the litter into apple sauce.

Parasitic Wasp, Disogmus sp., one-eighth inch long

Tiny wasps, hovering and flitting like fruit flies, form little clouds over the mash. A congregation of winged creatures take advantage of the bounty.

American Hover Fly, Eupeodes americanus

Bald-faced Hornet, Dolichovespula maculata

An ant, a Root Maggot Fly, and two Spotted-winged Vinegar Flies