It's been a very bad year for Gypsy Moths, and in some places, the defoliation is almost of March proportions. But a couple of weeks ago, both the Entomophaga maimaiga fungus and the Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus began kicking in, and in short order, the lethal combination reached plague proportions and curbed the runaway population boom. It was chilling, albeit a satisfying chill, and the tree trunks were soon full of dead and dying caterpillars, either head down, as a result of EM infection, or in a Vee, the middle of the point oriented upward, the two arms facing down, from NPV. Alas, as in most epidemics, there were survivors, and on a walk through the Bell Cedar, I noticed the start of Lymantria dispar pupation season, with the cursed caterpillars shedding their furry skins, often knitting leaves loosely together for protection, and crafting dark cocoons in which to transform into adult moths. With a week or so, the woods will be awash in dirty snowflakes: the males out in search of the largely flightless females. I can only hope that their numbers will be few... and that the trees will be able to put forth a new crop of leaves.