dekprizm: You may be seeing winter moth caterpillars. The UMass Extension Landscape Message April 20, 2012 is just out and has these recommendations: "For infested plants with opened or opening buds, a spray of Bacillus thuringiensis Kurstaki (B.t.K.) can be quite effective. However, B.t. needs to be ingested by the caterpillars to be effective and if the foliage is not yet near to being fully expanded, then wait for that to happen. Otherwise, the new foliage material that appears over the next several days, after spraying B.t., will not be covered with B.t. thus allowing the caterpillars more leaf surface to damage before ingesting the pesticide. An application of a product that contains Spinosad as the active ingredient should provide excellent results at this time or in the coming weeks during the caterpillar feeding stage. Many pyrethroid insecticides are labeled for caterpillars as well. Avoid spraying apples and crabapples with Spinosad or pyrethroid products if they are in bloom. Pyrethroids can be very harsh on pollinators, such as bees. Spinosad products are toxic to bees at the time of application but this threat diminishes significantly 24 hours after application." It sounds like B.t. is the safest, if your conditions are right. If you have to use Spinosad or pyrethroids, then it's important to apply the product very early or very late in the day when bees, etc. are not active. I'm just repeating what I'm reading here - I haven't used any of these products (I haven't had serious infestations here). I'm sure others here with more experience will respond. Claire

Landscape Message: Apr 17, 2015 "The Landscape Message will be updated weekly April through June. The next message will be available on April 24. To receive immediate notification when the next Landscape Message update is posted, be sure to join our e-mail list." .......................................................................................................................................................... "For home gardeners and garden retailers - Check out home garden resources. UMass Extension also has a Twitter feed that provides timely, daily gardening tips, sunrise and sunset times to home gardeners, see https://twitter.com/UMassGardenClip" .......................................................................................................................................................... Claire

Landscape Message: Apr 10, 2020 UMass Extension's Landscape Message is an educational newsletter intended to inform and guide Massachusetts Green Industry professionals in the management of our collective landscape. Detailed reports from scouts and Extension specialists on growing conditions, pest activity, and cultural practices for the management of woody ornamentals, trees, and turf are regular features. The following issue has been updated to provide timely management information and the latest regional news and environmental data. The Landscape Message will be updated weekly in April. The next message will be posted on April 17. To receive immediate notification when the next Landscape Message update is posted, be sure to join our e-mail list. ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Deer Tick/Blacklegged Tick: Check out the archived FREE TickTalk with TickReport webinars available here:https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/education-events/webinars . The next live webinar will be held on May 13, 2020 with Dr. Stephen Rich of the UMass Laboratory of Medical Zoology. Previous webinars including information about deer ticks and associated diseases, ticks and personal protection, and updates from the Laboratory of Medical Zoology are archived at the link above. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

I posted this northeast drought map in the main post but only the really hard-core readers will get that far, so I'll post it again in a separate comment: