Favored trees and shrubs
The gypsy moth can eat leaves from most trees and shrubs in North America.
It does, however, prefer some species to others and there are a few trees it
won’t touch even when starving. Remember that gypsy moth larvae feed in
May and June. If you notice trees being defoliated at other times of the year,
something else is feeding on them.
| Favorite foods |
Acceptable meals |
Won’t touch |
oak
aspen
willow
apple and crabapple
tamarack
white birch
witch hazel
mountain ash
basswood
linden
pine (older caterpillars)
spruce (older caterpillars) |
maple
walnut
chestnut
hickory
cherry
hemlock
elm
hackberry
black and yellow birch
beech
cottonwood
box elder
ironwood |
green, white, and black ash
balsam fir
locust
scotch pine
red cedar
tulip poplar
catalpa
sycamore
dogwood |
|
