Eastern Tent Caterpillars and Webworms

[heavyhitterokra]

Today, while walking to my garden, I spotted this Eastern Tent Caterpillar egg mass and clipped it from my peach tree before it could hatch.  

If left on the tree, this thing is loaded with hundreds of tiny, tiny, Tent Caterpillar Larvae.  By looking for these egg masses this time of year and destroying them, you can nip your Tent Caterpillar problem in the bud.  When you find one of these, just flick a lighter flame under the egg mass and cook them in place.  Never throw them in the trash or discard them on the lawn without first destroying the eggs inside or they will just hatch out in another location. 

The eastern tent caterpillar overwinters as an egg, within an egg mass of 150 to 400 eggs. These masses are covered with a shiny, black varnish-like material and encircle branches that are about pencil-size or smaller in diameter.


This is what a fresh Tent Caterpillar egg mass looks like.  (It has not been tampered with yet) as in burning with a lighter.  They are already this color before being destroyed.

This is how Tent Caterpillars over winter.  If you find these egg masses on your trees in winter, be sure to take time to remove them and to destroy them before discarding.

[heavyhitterokra]

I don't have a photo of Fall Webworms, they are not the same thing as Tent Caterpillars, but here is a description:

Fall Webworms, Hyphantria cunea
Hosts: The fall webworm has been recorded on at least 88 species of shade, fruit, and ornamental trees in the United States. The preferred hosts vary from one area to another. In Oklahoma, persimmon and pecan are most commonly infested and black walnut and hickory are also common hosts. Sycamore, birch, and redbud are often attacked in years of heavy infestations. Infestations on cottonwood, American elm, and bald cypress have been reported a few times.

Symptoms: Damage is caused by the larvae feeding on the leaves. They rarely are heavy enough to defoliate trees except for young pecans and persimmons. On most forest and shade trees, the insect is detrimental mainly to the beauty of the host and is thus more of a nuisance than a threat to the health of the tree. Actual damage can occur on pecan as defoliation affects tree vigor, yield, and nut quality. The earlier the defoliation, the more harmful the damage.

Life Cycle: Adults of the overwintering generation emerge during May or occasionally in late April. Egg laying occurs in late May and early June. Each female can lay 400 to 500 eggs in masses on the undersides of leaves. The egg masses are covered with white hairs from the abdomen. Larvae begin hatching in early June and immediately begin to spin the web in which they feed. The web is extended as the larvae grow. The larvae mature and leave the trees to pupate in late July. First generation adults emerge during August and second generation larvae are present from late August into early October. Second generation pupae are the overwintering stage. There are two generations per year.

Description: The adult moths are almost pure white and have a wing-spread of about 1 1/4 inches. Some specimens have the front wings more or less heavily marked with small black spots. Larvae may be pale yellow, yellowish green, greenish, or orange but most have two rows of black spots down the back. The head may be red or black. The body is rather sparsely covered with long white hairs. They are found in webs on the host tree.

Control: Please contact your local county extension office for current information.

[Deleted]

Yeah, I've started using the handy propane torch on those egg sacs. I have a different kind, but process is the same. They are everywhere.