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TENT CATERPILLARS DENUDING TREES!

© Barbara M. Martin

Please note: Thank you for visiting my Cottage Garden topic and reading my columns, published here from February 1997 through spring 2003! This Cottage Garden column was written by Barbara M. Martin and is Copyrighted by Barbara M. Martin. It may not be altered or copied or published elsewhere in whole or in part without specific permission from the author. I regret I am no longer actively editing or contributing to this suite101.com topic as of mid-2003. Happy Gardening!

WHAZZATT!!??

If it's spring, those evil looking things are probably Eastern Tent Caterpillars - Malacosoma americanum.

Relax. If there is a "tent" or web, it is NOT the dreaded gypsy moth. And the eastern tent caterpillars probably will not kill your tree.

Eastern tent caterpillars appear early in the spring on ornamental crabapple trees along with other apples, wild cherry, and occasionally hawthorn, maple, cherry, peach, pear and plum trees. The caterpillars spin silky webs or tents and munch away on new foliage with the incursion lasting from about April to June.

The munching phase of their life cycle is rather brief. When their time is almost up, the now big and fat caterpillars plop to the ground and crawl all around -- on sidewalks, cars, buildings, you name it -- on their way to making a coccoon somewhere. Very disgusting experience if one happens to fall on your head and become entangled in your hair, but basically harmless.

As ugly as the webs are and as hungry as the pests seem, once the caterpillars are gone and the damage stops, all but the most stressed of trees will grow new leaves or refoliate, so not to worry on that score. However, if the infestation is truly heavy and unsightly or in a prominent tree, you might want to control it.

Control is straightforward and simple but it needs to begin early. By the time you see big tents and severe damage, the eastern tent caterpillar season is nearly over and most of the damage is already done. There isn't much point in taking action when the critters are mature and nearly ready to leave the tree!

If the problem was severe last year, in late winter check the twigs of about pencil size for the dark egg masses or, here's another sample egg mass and remove them by scraping gently. Do this before the trees leaf out so that you can see the egg masses.

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