The spongy moth (formerly called gypsy moth) is among North America's most destructive invasive forest pests. Infestations have caused significant agricultural, ecological, and economical losses. In the eastern U.S., this pest defoliates an average of 700,000 acres each year and causes more than $200 million in annual damages.

Spongy moths are not established in Kentucky, but are in the surrounding states of Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana. The Kentucky Office of the State Entomologist monitors for this pest annually to be able to respond to potential invasions and keep this caterpillar out of the state for as long as possible.

To extend the reach of their monitoring program, the Office of the State Entomologist created a Citizen Science project. They reached out to Extension Offices across the state and asked for volunteers to post traps for the spongy moth. Traps were sent to the Offices in Spring and Agents distributed them to local volunteers.

In Madison County, the Horticulture Agent worked with the Master Gardener group, a local boy troop and several individuals on the project. After distributing the traps, she worked with volunteers on how to assembly them and how to use Survey123 to mark their locations.

In late summer the traps were checked. Using the Survey123 program, they reported the status of the traps. If there were any suspicious looking insects captured, traps were sent to the Office of the State Entomologist. In all, three of the 527 traps the Citizen Scientists placed across the state captured a spongy moth. In the overall monitoring programming, 87 traps caught this insect. While this number reflects the migration of the insect, it did not show establishment.

According to Carl Harper from the Office of the State Entomologist: “They (citizen scientists) are doing a service for the state of Kentucky by helping to mitigate the movement of this pest. It is also a great outreach tool to let folks know what an invasive is and can do. Invasives have a big financial impact when established. From treatments (if needed), to regulatory paperwork, export restrictions, and the like. Each action drives up the cost of the commodity the invasive affects. In the case of spongy moth, oak trees are one of its favorite trees. This would affect the logging industry and all aspects related to it.” 

Kentucky participates in several programs to monitor for invasive pests. They are funded by federal partners like USDA-APHIS-PPQ and the US Forest Service. However these programs do not fully fund our state’s needs. It has been calculated that the work of the Citizen Scientists can be conservatively estimated to be worth $45,000 - $50,000.