Amazing!!! I couldn't resist...I came home Monday and looked across the street and i saw all these nests in my neighbors tree that towers the house in her backyard..I was so amazed that I went over trying to get a good picture of the tree. I got no answer on Monday but went back yesterday and she was glad to let me go in her backyard to take this picture...she said that the catepillars are really bad!!! So here is some of what I saw!! And no, I could not identify the tree. All I know is that it's not pecan....lol. ( photo / image / picture from hummerbum's Garden )
Tent caterpillars. Many, many years ago I remember my father burning them out of a tree with a torch on a long pole. I, not one for using spray pesticides, did find one nest a few years ago. The occupants did not live long. Jerry
I think they are pretty neat how they make those nests in the trees. They mostly do that on oaks from what I have seen. I had one of these nests in my yard last year and they ate my entire oak tree which wasn't very old, just small. Once they ate all the leaves, they moved on and the tree grew more leaves and is still alive today.
Yes I remember seeing them also, especially in pecan trees in SC. But I've never seen that many in one tree and the shear sight of how large they are.
Webworms, tent caterpillars, they like Hackberry and Pecan trees here. Never have seen them on any of the oaks around but I don't think they are tree specific they usually give all types of trees their undivided attention. If you don't want to burn them or spray them, take a really long stick and break the web apart. That allows Wasps to reach the caterpillars and feast on them.
We have Tent moths here too. Thankfully they've never built their web nests in any of my trees - so far. We don't have Pecans or Hackberries but they do seem to like some of the larger shrubs that grow around our village.
I found a nest last year and dropped it into a bucket of water. A few days later I emptied the bucket on the garden, and a couple of days after that a big honeysuckle plant was as dead as dead can be.
We get them on the pecan trees... and they do a lot of damage. I spotted the first nests the other day... and since it was a low branch, I just it off put in the the garbage.
Ok I am going to gross someone out with this picture. I couldn't resist. While I did my walk this morning, i went under a pecan tree that had the nests low enough for me to take really good pics of the catepillars in it.... 7-19-12 ( photo / image / picture from hummerbum's Garden )
