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

Caterpillars don't lay eggs. The adult moth or butterfly does, these
eggs then hatch into caterpillars, which change into crysalises, which
then hatch into moths or butterflies.
Frankly, if I see a caterpillar on my apple tree I am interested in it
and look it up in a book to find out which moth (usually) it will turn
into eventually.
I would avoid killing at any cost, but then that is just me!

In article , pelmar
writes
Much to my horror I discoverd cobweb like "sacs" of caterpillars and
their small black eggs in my apple tree.

Not eggs, faeces.

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Those I have seen were called "web worms". They show up in fruit and nut
trees. These did damage to the tree and I was advised to get rid of them.
After spraying, they started dropping out of the web, very dead.

If you are going to spray, wait until late evening or early morning, or the
majority will be out of the web and into your tree some where eating the
tree.

Dwayne



"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

Kay Easton wrote in message ...
In article , pelmar
writes
Much to my horror I discoverd cobweb like "sacs" of caterpillars and
their small black eggs in my apple tree.

Not eggs, faeces.

Correct, but caterpillar faeces have their own word "frass".

These sound like brown tail moth or something similar.
--
Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
National Nature Reserve

On Sat, 07 Jun 2003 02:16:58 +0200, pelmar
wrote:

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.

I saw this in two different hedgerows recently, both on blackthorn,
and took some photos, but don't know how to upload them. The bushes
looked as if covered with net curtain from a distance. Close up I
could see the 1cm long caterpillars.
My book says: Brown tail tussock moth. Serious defoliator of
hedgerows. It is the detachable hairs of the caterpillars which can
cause a rash in senstive people. They do well because they have a
wide taste in leaves including orchard trees.
It says that in 1782 there was a plague of them in SE England
threatening the fruit crop. Poor Londoners were paid a shilling a
bushel for the caterpillars "tents" which were burnt by the
chuchwardens and special prayers were said.
However I'm mystified by the fact that it says that the caterpillars
hatch at the end of August and seek safety in these "tents" spun
around leaves and twigs.

Pam in Bristol

"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