In Irkutsk Region, due to a meadow moth infestation, a state of emergency has been declared in eight districts. The pest threatens hundreds of hectares of cabbage, beets, sunflowers and other crops. Specialists warn that warm humid weather triggered a mass flight of moths, and a second wave may spread in July. Why this dangerous pest is so hard to predict and what measures help fight it, in the report.

The phenomenon is predictable, but it is difficult to guess exactly when to expect an invasion of the meadow moth. Because of this insect, a state of emergency has been introduced in eight districts of the Irkutsk Region. Hundreds of hectares of cabbage, beets, and sunflowers are under threat of destruction.
The meadow moth is classified among emergency situations on a par with fires and floods, so a state of emergency has already been declared in eight districts of the region, says Galina Fyodorova, chief agronomist of the plant protection department of the branch of the Federal State Institution "Rosselkhoztsentr" for the Irkutsk Region.
In 1982, overnight these insects ate up to 50 hectares of corn, and only a lattice remained of the sunflower, Viktor Samoylov said.
The mass appearance of the meadow moth on the region's agricultural lands occurs periodically. The last outbreak was observed from 1979 to 1983. In 1982, more than 300 thousand hectares of crops were treated against the meadow moth — and, as agrarians say, the moth "went into depression." This year, a strong flight of meadow moth butterflies is observed in almost all districts of the region. According to specialists, the appearance of the moth was triggered by warm, humid weather.
In the first period of life, the light-green caterpillars are practically invisible; their length is from one and a half millimeters, and they are located on the inner surface of the leaves. An adult caterpillar changes color to gray-green, almost black, and its length reaches 2.5 mm. For egg-laying, meadow moth butterflies may even choose weeds — lamb's quarters, wormwood. Then they fly over to vegetable crops: root vegetables, rapeseed, legumes, sunflower, corn. In the absence of vegetable crops, the caterpillar can damage grain crops and any other plants.

Meadow moth larvae destroy plants of 35 families — among them corn, cabbage, and sunflower. For the public, a biological agent — BTD (bitoxibacillin) — is recommended for combating the meadow moth. But they cannot be gotten rid of with chemicals alone.
The weather also helped fight the meadow moth. The snow that unexpectedly fell in June froze the larvae. But specialists from Rosselkhoztsentr say it is too early to relax. In July, a second wave of the pest's spread is possible.