Deep freeze may reduce some insect populations, Dill tells Press Herald
The Portland Press Herald reported the recent cold temperatures in Maine could tamp down insect populations that threaten backyard landscapes and woodlands, according to entomologists and tree experts. Jim Dill, a pest management specialist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, said the devastating winter moth and hemlock woolly adelgid — and possibly the browntail moth and spruce budworm — may be especially susceptible to subzero temperatures. Unfortunately, Dill said, ticks, mosquitoes and fleas likely won’t be affected because they’re either hitching a ride on warm-blooded creatures, dormant in ice-covered swamps and ponds, or hidden in topsoil beneath the snow, where decomposing leaf litter can push temperatures above freezing. “Insects above ground or in trees could be affected,” he said. “This cold isn’t doing anything to insects that overwinter in the ground. The snow’s going to insulate them.” The Associated Press cited the Press Herald article and Dill in a similar report. U.S. News & World Report carried the AP story.