CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine (AP) Cape Elizabeth’s tree warden has announced that the town will not band trees against the invasive winter moth this winter to measure the progress of the release of parasitoid flies by the Maine Forest Service.

The Portland Press Herald reports that in recent years, Cape Elizabeth’s trees have been among the hardest hit by the moth, losing 300 acres of oak trees to winter moth caterpillars that decimate tree foliage.

To prevent defoliation, property owners have banded or wrapped tree trunks with barriers to prevent female moths from climbing the tree to lay eggs on branches.

Cape Elizabeth’s tree warden says he feels it’s time to take an “observational year.”