"pelmar" wrote in message
...
Much to my horror I discoverd cobweb like "sacs" of caterpillars and
their small black eggs in my apple tree. I live in Denmark but have only
come across the phenomenom in my childhood in the UK. I remember one
summer in the mid 80's that a warning came on the news about sacs of
caterpillars that could cause an allergic reaction if touched. They hung
in sacs on trees and I remember we had a tree like thsi ion our front
garden.
The question is how do I get rid of them as they seem to be slowly
eating away at both the leaves and the small fruits on my apple tree?
P
I have just found these on my Bramley - webs with little black dots in
(first thought they were spiders but then realised they were caterpillars
surrounded by web based crap ).
The caterpillars themselves are quite small and thin at the moment and the
damage to the tree is localised, although a few leaves have been shredded..
Are the Tussock Moths of any significant benefit (given that both adults and
larval forms seem to be potetially dangerous to touch) or are they 'weeds'
of the animal kingdom?
http://www.pestcontrolportal.com/Pes...wnTailMoth.asp refers.
http://www.exosect.com/solutions/products/exosex.asp gives a fascinating
control method, unfortunately not suitable for small infestations (WOMAN!!!!
Geroof, I'm a bloke!!!!! WOOOOOMMMMMAAAAAAANNN!!!! etc.).
If you search within
http://www.whatsthiscaterpillar.co.uk/plates.htm for
Euproctis chrysorrhoea you will find a picture of one - which quite frankly
does not look like the ones I saw the other day (home web currently empty -
presumably out to lunch). The ones I saw were pale and not obviously hairy -
more like grubs you find inside apples.
Best picture of ours I have so far is
http://www.chelsworth-lodge.nildram....r/DSC00082.JPG which
just shows the webs.
So - unless the hairiness developes later on these may not be the BrownTail
thingies - will try and check late evening to see if the owners are back at
home base.
Should I zap them anyway to prevent the infestation spreading, or are they
relatively harmless?
TIA
Dave R