The Virginia Department of Forestry has received dozens of calls from homeowners around the Middle Peninsula concerned about sudden defoliation on their local hardwood trees, according to a release from the department, which is based in Charlottesville.
DOF staff have surveyed the area and confirmed at least three outbreaks of the variable oakleaf caterpillar, the release said. Common throughout eastern North America, this native caterpillar is an expected late-summer defoliator in Virginia but is usually present in lower numbers. Occasionally, as has happened this year, variable oakleaf caterpillars will “outbreak,” characterized by a population spike in a local area. This can result in severe defoliation across a community, town or county.
The last known outbreak in the Middle Peninsula was recorded in 2017, DOF said. The caterpillars prefer white oak species but will attack a variety of hardwoods. Young larvae skeletonize, or strip, the leaf, leaving behind the veins. Older larvae d...