Four trees infected with the invasive insect were removed on District Road, the first time the city has had to remove trees because of damage caused by the bright green beetle.
Meanwhile, in Portland, a special 100-year-old pin oak, known as the Candelabra Tree and familiar to thousands of drivers who pass it in Deering Oaks Park each day, is recovering after the caterpillars ate a number of its buds earlier in the spring. We did a web count in January, and we were really surprised at the numbers, said Jeff Tarling, Portland s arborist.
While at least one third of the tree was missing leaves at the beginning of spring, it has since almost fully recovered, despite dry conditions that inhibited a fungus that curtails the moths from growing. It s probably 80-90% back, you can see the crown s pretty thin, Tarling said in an interview below the tree with NECN and NBC10 Boston Friday.