Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Tent caterpillars

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: tanis grif <tanisgrif@yahoo.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Tent caterpillars
  • Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 18:15:20 -0700 (PDT)

Do you mean "web worms"? In WI (at least) we try to call them "fall web
worms" even
tho they first show up in July. I think there are a couple species or more,
I see
some in apples starting now, and I assume another species in black walnut a
bit
later. "Tent caterpillars" is what we call the May species.

I could try to find latin names, if anyone wants them.

I saw the spring kind's climbing habit this year. I had missed a couple early
tents. I like to catch them when they first hatch-- small tents & tiny
caterpillars
are not too icky to squish. These were bigger tents, bigger caterpillars. I
brushed them out w/ a stick, and crushed the caters which I saw crawling on
the
branch. I forgot to put away the ladder til next day-- top of ladder was
populated
w/ caters apparently waiting for new leaves to grow.



--- "Lon J. Rombough" wrote:

> Found something interesting about tent caterpillars, which are showing
> up now. Conventional treatment is to spray or burn the nests.
> Actually, if you cut the nest out and leave it a good distance (like
> 100 feet or more) from a shrub or tree, out in the open, the
> caterpillars are usually destroyed by ants, birds, and other predators
> in short order. The nest is their protection and when it's left in the
> open, they have to eventually try to leave to find a new tree. When
> they do, the individual caterpillars are exposed and vulnerable to all
> sorts of insect eaters, including other insects. They don't feed on
> grass, so if they are too far from a food source, they can also starve
> trying to crawl to another host.
> -Lon Rombough
> Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at
> http://www.bunchgrapes.com Winner of the Garden Writers Association
> "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.> __

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page