The female is white with tan stripes across the wings and small V shaped brown marking. The male is mottled brown. The insects injure plants by eating the leaves. The preferred hosts are apple, linden or basswood, hawthorn, oaks, poplar and willow. Plants rarely attacked are ash, balsam fir, butternut, black walnut, catalpa, red cedar, dogwood, holly, locust, sycamore and yellow poplar.
Control is difficult since the insects are so numerous.
The insects are often spread when egg masses are laid on cars or trucks and then carried some distance. Spraying may protect individual plants but it will have to be done each year. Repeated defoliation will kill the favored hosts. Pesticides labeled for gypsy moth are methoxychlor, Sevin, Orthene, or Bacillus thuringiensis. Visuals associated with this text.