Helicopters spray protection against the spongy moth
CHICAGO (CBS) -- If you were woken up by a low-flying helicopter Tuesday morning, hopefully you can rest easy knowing it was for the good of the trees.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture is working to prevent the spread of an invasive species. CBS 2's Noel Brennan introduces us to the spongy moth.
At Oakhurst Forest Preserve in Aurora, the trees wear a hidden layer of protection. A canopy is shielded from the spongy moth.
"There's going to be nothing out there that anybody would be able to notice. It's an invasive species. It's been around, like I mentioned, well over a century."
Scott Schirmer with the Illinois Department of Agriculture knows the insect inside and out.
"Spongy moth, the caterpillars, feed on the foliage or the leaves of the trees and as they strip that tree of its foliage, it interferes with the tree's ability to photosynthesize and create or produce energy, then also translocate and move water and nutrients up and down," Schirmer said.
He adds "as they get defoliated, they become stressed out, and they may die from a disease or an insect attack."
Spongy moths have big appetites. The Morton Arboretum said a single caterpillar can eat up to 11 square-feet of leaves from early May through June.
"Caterpillars are basically, they're born to eat," Schirmer said. "So, it would spread rampantly without human intervention, and so that's where we come into play."
The Illinois Department of Agriculture hires pilots to spray a pesticide called BTK from helicopters. The pesticide is harmelss to humans, but targets and kills spongy moth caterpillars.
"Right now, we're looking at caterpillars out there that are probably about the size of your eyelash. They're very small," said Schirmer.
Helicopters typically spray in different areas each year.
"All the spray operations and responses are direct results of data we've collected from the previous year," he said.
Trees get two treatments, one week apart, and Schirmer said the shield works.
"We usually can say that area is going to be good for about a decade," Schirmer said. "And that's all that they do is they eat and they grow and they eat and they grow."
Hidden protection – from a hungry pest.
The Illinois Department. of Agriculture plans to spray again next Tuesday in Aurora, Lemont and the St. Charles area. Galena can also expect helicopter spraying this Thursday.
