Hamilton stops using the name ‘gypsy moth’

Concern over cultural sensitivity as officials plot demise of invader

Hamilton officials have stopped using the term “gypsy moth” because of its racial connotations toward the Romani people.

Instead, said Cynthia Graham, acting director of environmental services, staff are encouraging people to use the Latin name Lymantria dispar dispar or LDD to describe the moth that has been causing a periodic menace to trees and people across the province, including Hamilton. The term will be removed from all of the city’s documents, communications and bylaws. Replacing the name is part of the city’s commitment to culture and diversity priorities, say staff.

“We are supporting the name change to avoid using a term that could be considered racist against Romani peoples,” said Graham, during the public works committee meeting on Monday.

City staff have been attempting to educate the public about the name change over the last several months. The Ontario government has also adopted the name change of the moth.

Few councillors suggested the name change may confuse the public.

Meanwhile, staff are proposing to secure the only qualified vendor that operates in southern Ontario, Zimmer Air Service, to apply the biological agent Btk over the urban and suburban areas of Hamilton starting in 2022. Graham said staff will report back to councillors with the results of their negotiations with the company.

Hamilton had about 2,550 hectares of city and private land sprayed in 2018-19 at a cost of about $2.5 million. It has also sprayed in 2008 and 2018.

Graham said the city hired a consultant to conduct an egg mass count of the LDD this fall, but the results have not been provided to the city yet. The count results will direct staff to determine if spraying is required in the 2022-23 season. Any areas with egg mass counts over 2,500 per hectare are expected to be declared a public nuisance.

Staff and councillors agreed the moth devastated parts of the city’s tree canopy. Glanbrook was one of the most severely affected parts of the city this year, with reports of people getting rashes from the numerous caterpillars dropping from trees in their backyards.

“Hamilton was decimated by the moth infestation last year,” said Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, who represents Ancaster.

Coun. Maria Pearson, representing Stoney Creek, agreed that the city saw swaths of natural areas defoliated because of the pest.

“We need to do whatever we can to hopefully preserve the trees,” she said.

Trees that the moths inhabit predominantely include oak, birch and aspen in the north; various hardwoods such as sugar maple and American beech; and softwoods such as eastern white pine, balsam fir and Colorado blue spruce in southern Ontario.

The moth, which has few natural predators, was introduced to North America in 1869, and it was first discovered in Canada on Wolfe Island, Ont., in 1969. The moth has migrated across the country, defoliating trees and urban forests, and impacting Hamilton in 2007, 2017 and 2021. According to an Ontario government website, there are outbreaks every decade, although the 2020 outbreak caused nearly 590,000 hectares of defoliation, compared to 47,000 hectares in 2019.

The pests have been known to coat a tree trunk to such an extent that a broom is needed to remove them. The moths’ eggs are known to live in the winter on the bark of trees.