31 August 2011

The Hungry, Hungry KILLER Catepillars

Well, the tent catepillars are killing all of our madrone trees. Last year there were only a few "tents" on some trees; this year, there is an epidemic of them.
We can't do anything aobut this because the webs are so strong, nothing penetrates them. Birds can't even get inside to the catepillars. Every week, more and more of the trees are encased. They even wrap around the trunks of the trees.
I noticed that these webs even stay from one year to the next, just shriveled from the weather.
Very sad. These are my favorite trees.





2 comments:

Norma said...

How awful. I have never seen caterpillars this thick.
How wide spread is this? Can't any agency spray them from the air? I know it's too dry to burn them out.
So very sad for all of you who love these trees. Mom

Sandee said...

Every Madrone across the valley has these webs. They are now hitting the pear trees and rose bushes! Nothing can penetrate the webs so sprays won't work. Due to GLOBAL WARMING, we have not had a hard freeze in a couple of years and that is what has caused the high populationof these insects.