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During the spring months, the Pennsylvania Game Commission plans to spray over 38,000 acres of state game land to reduce the damage done by the spongy moth to protect wildlife habitat.
Spraying will begin as soon as leaf-out occurs and spongy moth egg masses hatch. No spraying will be scheduled the mornings of youth turkey season (April 26) or on the opening day of spring gobbler season (May 3).
Oak trees -- which are the main target of spongy moths -- provide acorns, the best and most reliable wildlife food. A loss of acorns can have extremely detrimental impacts on wildlife populations, ranging from chipmunks, squirrels and all the way up to deer and bear.
Mast foods are probably the most important food produced in nature and, without a doubt, acorns top the list. Acorns, which are the fruit of oaks, are critical to all types of wildlife, from the bear that will put on 30 pounds of weight in a 30-day period, to the little white-footed mouse that will store away acorns for winter.
Oak trees fall into two general groups: red oaks and white oaks. The oak group can be identified by studying the leaves. The red oak leaves have sharp points (or bristles) on the end of their lobes, while the white oak leaves lack the sharp points and have rounded lobes.
Trees in the red oak group take two growing seasons to produce a mature acorn, while the white oak group produces a fully grown acorn in one growing season.
During the month of October, when looking closely at the red oaks, tiny immature acorns are visible on last year's twigs. Groups of two to five acorns appear on little stacks attached where the leaves join the twig.
These acorns will not mature until the following fall. Occasionally, red oaks will miss one or more years due to a frost that killed the flowers, a drought occurring or insects putting stress on the tree.
However, white oak flowers that bloom in the spring will bear acorns during the following fall. White oak acorns fall quickly to the ground and send down a tap root from the acorn point. According to Jim Finley of the Penn State College of Agricultural Science Cooperative Extension Service, the reason is that this allows their nutrients to move underground. This is important because white oaks produce acorns that are lower in bitter tannic acid, and although slightly less nutritious than red oaks, they are preferred over the red oak acorns by wildlife. So, by germinating in the fall, this allows some acorns to escape the hordes of wildlife that feed on them.
Acorns from the red oak species spend the winter lying on the ground, often hidden under the leaves of the tree from which they fell. The red oak acorns are generally more nutritious than those of the white oaks, which have more tannic acid.
Once the white oak acorns are eaten, wildlife will then go after the red oak acorns.
Acorns are not only rich in carbohydrates, but they are also soft and easy to chew. The gray squirrel will start to collect acorns before they fall off the tree. A squirrel will climb a tree and chew the branches off, allowing them to fall to the ground. Then, the squirrel collects the acorns on the ground and buries them to be used later during the cold winter months.
While an acorn is still on the tree, a weevil could bore a hole in the shell and deposit an egg. Some moths will lay eggs on the outside of the acorn's shell, and after these eggs hatch, the larva chews through the shell and into the acorn's embryo. If the squirrel finds an acorn with larva inside, the acorn will be discarded; however, animals such as bear, deer and mice, which aren't so fussy, will eat the acorn, larva and all.
If an acorn containing a larva is missed, the larva eventually bores its way out. Mold and fungi begin to break down the acorn, and the shell becomes riddled with holes.
Then, centipedes and ants set up residence inside the acorn shell, and finally, the shell collapses. Earthworms turn the pieces of shell into humus, which helps the tree grow.
In one study in which 15,000 acorns were tracked, 83% were eaten by animals, 6% were attacked by insects, 10% were naturally imperfect and less than 1% sprouted. Of those that sprouted, half died as seedlings. It is almost a miracle that we have any oak trees in the woods when adding the fact that young oak trees do not start producing acorns until at least ten years of age.
However, nature has provided a solution, with oak trees living up to 400 years. An oak tree can take up to a century to reach its full maturity. Perhaps you have heard that oak trees are known as the Methuselah's of the east.
An ancient motto of the Benedictine Monks was "Parvis e gland bus quercus," meaning "Tall oaks from little acorns grow."
Another important fact to know about the oaks is that they are struck by lightning more frequently than any other tree in the forest.
Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.