I have a hawthorn hedge at the front of my house. This is kept well trimmed. Today I noticed a trail of brown web type substance, at the end I found some orange in colour caterpillars. Where the web was it looked like the hedge was dead, this may just be because the leaves had been eaten. Does anyone know what this is and how to treat it, will it kill my hedge or will it recover next year? It’s not a wide area but like a snake trail across the hedge.

"Mad Phil" wrote in message
...

I have a hawthorn hedge at the front of my house. This is kept well
trimmed. Today I noticed a trail of brown web type substance, at the
end I found some orange in colour caterpillars. Where the web was it
looked like the hedge was dead, this may just be because the leaves had
been eaten. Does anyone know what this is and how to treat it, will it
kill my hedge or will it recover next year? It's not a wide area but
like a snake trail across the hedge.

--
Mad Phil

We really need a photograph, but google on 'processionary caterpillars' and
see if you can id it. Some of them can be rather nasty.

Spider

Mad Phil writes

I have a hawthorn hedge at the front of my house. This is kept well
trimmed. Today I noticed a trail of brown web type substance, at the
end I found some orange in colour caterpillars. Where the web was it
looked like the hedge was dead, this may just be because the leaves had
been eaten. Does anyone know what this is and how to treat it, will it
kill my hedge or will it recover next year? It’s not a wide area but
like a snake trail across the hedge.


Hawthorn is robust with a strong will to live. Don't worry about next
year.

There are at least 15 species of moth whose caterpillars feed on
hawthorn. Whether you want to do anything about them depends on how
large they are - if they're any size (say an inch long) then they'll
have done most of their feeding for this year and will be ready to
pupate, so you might as well leave them.

If it were me I'd leave them anyway, but if they're still very tiny, you
might like to snip off the leaves were they are and carry them across to
another hawthorn bush that you're not worried about
--
Kay

It will be one of the processionary moths. Can't tell which without a picture. The problem with these is that appear in huge numbers and defoliate the plants - which can kill them. If you do not want to use chemicals, try a pressure washer and blast them off.