- [Instructor] This is Mark Isselhardt, Maple Specialist
with University of Vermont Extension.
And this is another "Vermont Maple Minute".
Maple trees managed for sap production
remain part of a forest ecosystem.
Forest ecosystems are complex communities
of plants, animals, and microbes,
all interacting with their physical environment and climate.
Forests are especially competitive environments for trees
that must attempt to maximize exposure
to light, water and nutrients in order to survive.
One of the threats faced by maples growing in a sugarbush
is from insects who feed on leaves.
One of the insects that feeds on maple
is called the saddled prominent.
This insect feeds on leaves during its caterpillar stage.
Like many insects,
the populations of saddled prominent rise and fall each year
with some years reaching severe or outbreak levels.
The younger, reddish caterpillars
have a distinctive, dark, antler-like horn,
whereas older caterpillars are smooth
and have a distinctive saddle-shaped marking on its back.
Most maples can withstand defoliation
caused by saddled prominent.
The trees that have been defoliated repeatedly
are those with predisposing stresses,
are more at risk to decline or mortality.
According to the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks
and Recreation, early August is a good time
to look for the saddled prominent in sugarbushes.
The caterpillars feed through the first
or second week of August, and then make their presence known
as they crawl or drop to the ground and pupate.
While there have not been widespread observations
of saddled prominent recently,
there have been a few sightings.
This is not especially surprising giving
that this insect has a history
of appearing following outbreaks of forest tent caterpillar,
similar to the one Vermont saw recently.
This is Mark Isselhardt, Maple Specialist
with University of Vermont Extension.
And this has been another "Vermont Maple Minute".