Environment
Gypsy moth population plummets, study says
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Capital News Service
By YANJIE WANG
LANSING — Eating leaves of hardwood trees, the gypsy moth is known as the most devastating insect in the United States. But a recent report about major forest insect and disease conditions by the U.S. Forest Service said the population of gypsy moths decreased dramatically in Michigan last year. According to the report in 2011, 1,047 acres of forest were affected by gypsy moths, an exotic pest from Asia, while 941,981 acres in the state were affected in 2010. Brenda Owen, executive director of the Michigan Association of Timbermen in Newberry, said a lower population contributes to a healthier forest. She also said without efforts to reduce the population, the forest product industry would also be hurt.