The Gypsy Moth continues its spread, extending into Virginia, North Carolina and Michigan, with isolated pockets in the Pacific Coast states. The Gypsy Moth has special methods of dispersal. The young larvae have hairs with small air pockets that create buoyancy, allowing them to travel great distances when the wind is strong. They have been found as high as 2,000 feet in the air, and are known to travel five miles a day by this method. Adult females commonly pupate and deposit egg masses on motor vehicles, especially trucks and recreational vehicles that are parked near or under trees.
Females lay eggs on the trunks of trees, each egg mass including several hundred eggs.
May. The young caterpillars are black and hairy, later becoming mottled gray with tufts of bristlelike hairs, and blue and red spots on the back. There is one generation per year. Gypsy Moths have preference for oaks, but they will attack the foliage of most trees and shrubs. Adults differ in appearance, males being brown with a fine, darker brown pattern on the wings. Females are nearly white, with a few dark markings on the wings.