Gypsy moth catepillar?

tj

oh great, something else to worry about, first they eat all the maples now the spruces? so, ken what is the remedy for this pest?

here is a pic of the offenders ... proper ID please ...

here i just picked a bunch off ... but that became boring ... so i will probably properly dilute some chems into a quart spray bottle from the dollar store... and spot spray them ...

someone thinking a bit clearer would have taken pix of damage ... but that is for another day ...

being pungens.. i will find a leather work glove for my left hand .. and gently lift branches and spray them ... not really necessary to spray the whole plant ... besides it will discolor the blue waxy coating ...

can anyone answer why they would attack the plant 4 feet from the front door.. crimminey ...

ken

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Western spruce budworm that came to your garden via post.

Dax

They look like armyworms Ken.

Frank

here is the damage ....

ken
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"... and 2 parallel lines of red spots..."

Can't tell from the pix. Do they look like

tj

nasty suckers. Man oh man i hope i never see anything like this.

If they are gypsy moths, they'll wreak havoc on your oaks!

Keep them in Adrian.

Frank

Sure looks like gypsy moths to me. Whaas is right that they go for oaks....first. They take out big swaths when they pass through here.

The only thing that works against them is Bacillus thuringiensis or BT (readily available) which is a natural bacteria that sickens them and kills them. Germ warfare, but it is the only effective way to save oak trees. They would only resort to conifers if they have exhausted their prefered trees which are oak, followed by maples followed by any other leafed tree.

Jon

Ken, they don't look like gypsies to me, but it's hard to tell. When I lived in New England I went through two devastating infestations of the nasties, about 10 years apart. When the larvae get about three quarters grown, they are able to eat conifer needles. Their favorite is Picea, closely followed by Tsuga, and then the rest if they are starving. I've seen full grown norways and blues completely defoliated and killed. They have the nasty habit of moving to a tree and going to the top and eating their way down. Candles on pines are not usually expanded enough for the larvae to eat so the old needles are eaten. The tree will survive but in a weakened state. A second attack the following year will usually kill the tree. A major infestation will make a summer landscape look like midwinter, and makes the current cicada infestation look like a Sunday picnic.

They are currently about 2 counties away from me now. Originally the TN Forestry Dpt. had predicted the moth would arrive in Mid-Tenn around 2020-2025, and I figured I would be dead by that time but I guess not LOL.

Sevin will kill young larvae, and DDT or Parathion will kill mature ones, along with every other living thing that might happen to get sprayed (I'm being sarcastic).

Pray they don't make it to Michigan!

wow, that is scary stuff- I never knew this could happen to spruces- I know the sawfly love my mungo pines, but to have something like this totally destroy full grown norways is unbelievable. I'm in new england I hope I never come across something like this. so has it been determined the proper name for these critters?

i have a few conifers and havent seen anything like this.
I hope your tree will be fine.
i have several bird's nests around the house. maybe they have been nibling at these pests....
keep us posted!

thetman, I left CT 26 years ago and haven't looked back LOL. Back then, scientists were trying to find natural predators to control the moths. I THINK there is a virus in the northeast now that is preventing huge infestations but I haven't kept up. At one time it was said that the moths would change the forests of CT from oak-hickory to maple-birch, but I don't believe that has happened. I do know that oak wilt became very prevalent in some locations due to the stress on the oaks. The very worse that I ever saw was the larvae so numerous that every green leaf on every tree was consumed and they were eating grass in lawns.

rob40, birds will eat gypsies when small, but most can't tackle a 2 inch hairy caterpillar. Besides, in a large infestation there are just too many for the birds to make a difference.

kenptn, I'm sure you don't miss the winter storms, I know I wouldn't. I know the winter moths are notorious for eating maples and such around here in mid spring ( they did this year) but eating conifers is just plain scary if it ever got out of hand-couldn't imagine. so far pine weevil is the only thing I worry about on my norway spruces. it seems that it always something with growing trees. soon the Japanese beetles will be out-can't wait!

If those are gypsy moths you might want to contact the local extension office.

Frank

Here in zone 5a, NY state, some years ago the new bright blue growth of my Picea pungens 'Glauca Globosa' was attacked by little green caterpillars. Then caterpillars similar to those shown above were eating the new candles of my Pinus sylvestris 'Glauca Nana'. Both of those infestations I terminated with spraying a common garden insecticide I had on hand. Which reminds me to give the landscape a dousing with an insecticide. Azaleas and hostas need it too. Bernd

What do you mean by give the landscape a dousing with an insecticide? Do you have infestations in your plants?

Ken, listen to Frank.

Best Regards,

Dax

"thetman, I left CT 26 years ago and haven't looked back LOL. Back then, scientists were trying to find natural predators to control the moths. I THINK there is a virus in the northeast now that is preventing huge infestations but I haven't kept up."
Gypsy moths are just as bad (or worse). The virus is BT which is naturally occuring but needs to be sprayed to control the moths. Normally conifers are safe.

The last couple of springs have seen outbreaks of inch worms which seem to have become just as bad as gypsy moths! This year maples, oaks and cherries were completely stripped of leaves.

When a couple of my blue spruce had new growth, the inch worms had been munching under the "cone" type covering (I know I will be informed of the correct name). Picking them off stopped that.

yes my sunset maples and some blood goods were hit kinda hard by the little worms this year, I did walk around and check out my spruces (all variates) didn't see any worms (thankfully) the only ones I saw were the sawfly larvae on the mungos- which occur every year- I just spray them early on before they do damage. I used some bayer on the norways this year- last year the pine weevil got to alot of them. Its getting to the point ( after several hundred trees) that its almost impossible to keep on top of these problems. I mean one week your admiring the new growth on your trees- the next week before you know it there is significant damage done.

hey ken, any updates on getting an identification?

the only id i have.. is that they are dead ...

used a leather work glove on my left hand .. pungens are mean chuckers ...

chem glove on right..

started with 1/4 bottle of pyrethrum left over ... felt like i was giving it a hairdo.. lifting every large branch.. checking.. spraying ...

gave it a few days..

then proceeded to use 1/4 bottle of spray malation ... then went hunting again.. and finished off st mary ...

then did a walk about as suggested above.. and found girards dwarf ... which is a look alike to st mary.. but perhaps one inch greater growth rate per year ... and used up the malation ...

neither sprayer was very good.. i will have to find a quart bottle of my own.. and see what witches brew i can concoct.. according to labels.. and finish up the job ... mixing up a gallon or two.. is just so much overkill .... and i would bet a buck.. you can kill most things at half strength ....

need to check back on that GD .. the squeeters were attacking ... and i ran back to the house screaming like a girl ... lol ...

what is bizarre.. on the walkabout.. i saw no sawfly .. which is extraordinary ....

but i seem to have quite a bit of pine tip borers ...

lose a plague.. gain a plague .. lol .. whats that all about ....

ken

They were Gypsy Moth catepillars. Bt should do them in if caught early enough. Do you usually get sawflies this late Ken? My sawfly season has come and gone.

tj