Nation: Bugs vs. Man, Beasts and Crops

This summer the pests are the worst in years

The small brown moths darkened the skies in Maine's mountain country in early July, cutting visibility at times to less than 300 yds. Motorists who left the windows of parked cars open near Presque Isle had to beat away the insects to get back behind the wheel. Since then, the moths have dropped eggs in massive quantities, and tiny quarter-inch-long spruce budworms are now eating their way through 150 million acres of forests in Maine and southeastern Canada. Evergreen spruce and fir trees stand brown...

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