You’ve probably seen these little caterpillars that accumulate by the hundreds on trees. The forest caterpillar is causing a lot of havoc this year on deciduous trees, but these insects are now attacking blueberry and haskap fields.
The forest caterpillar spreads with astonishing speed in the blueberry fields. At the Saint-Augustin cooperative blueberry farm in Lac-Saint-Jean, it has become a real scourge.
“It started last year. We saw a little at the start of the season, but this year it has practically doubled, there are really a lot of them,” explained Mathieu Lavoie, manager at the Saint-Augustin cooperative blueberry farm.
It was the nearby hardwood trees that attracted them.
“They all ate the deciduous trees this year probably because there are a lot of them lacking food. After that they descend to the ground and enter our blueberry fields to continue feeding. Poplars, jobs there is no longer a leaf. This is why they are returned to our fields,” he stressed.
They multiply visibly
Mathieu Lavoie estimates the number of caterpillars at around 26 per square foot. Although the entire 1700 acres of blueberry crops will not be affected, losses will be considerable, to the tune of 20%.
“It takes away photosynthesis from the plant so since there are no more leaves, the blueberry falls to the ground. We can see it in the fields, there is no longer a cornflower on the plants where the caterpillars have passed. It also entered our fields in vegetation for the following year,” noted Mr. Lavoie.
How to get rid of it?
Although they are voracious and difficult to eliminate, possible solutions are being considered to limit their spread.
“There might be insecticides. Our agronomists are looking at this. There might be a plan to irradiate the deciduous trees on the edge of the blueberry fields and replant them with red pine to remove the insect’s first food source,” he mused.
“The infestation is on the verge of stopping, it will turn into butterflies, but what we have lost, we will lose. It is especially on the outskirts where there are deciduous trees. The rest of the field, everything will be correct,” concluded the manager.
Although the current season is not likely to be compromised despite the damage, producers already fear the return of the forest caterpillar next year.
