Over the last two years, millions of moths took to the skies above the cold waters of Atlantic Canada, flying a treacherous journey across the Gulf of St. Lawrence from sunset until dawn.
Flying downwind from Quebec to Newfoundland and Labrador, the moths were in the final stage of the life cycle of the eastern spruce budworm, an insect that slowly kills conifers by eating their foliage until the trees can no longer carry out photosynthesis.
Since 2018, the budworm population has gone from trace amounts in Canada’s easternmost province, to severe damage in some locations, the result of migratory moths travelling huge distances across open water and then laying eggs when they land.