-
Those are tent caterpillars, the particular species depends on your location. They defoliate the tree. Best way to get rid of them is to smoosh with your gloved hands. If you can’t reach and haven’t pruned that branch yet, it might be worth pruning to get to them. There may be some sprays, though I do not know how helpful those are.
I think, in general, any caterpillar on a fruit tree is a pest. Let me know if I am forgetting about a beneficial species.
You reminded me I saw a web of them on one of my apples last week… but forgot to deal with it. Will now, thanks for the reminder!
If they’re on a branch that’s not too big, I tend to prune it off and dunk the whole thing in a bucket of water. The caterpillars soon perish. But sometimes that’s not possible, so I just do the best I can pulling the whole nest away from the tree before drowning them.
I don’t think they’re a huge threat, but if you let it go, their population will eventually explode.
With regard to Josh’s thinking that, “in general, any caterpillar on a fruit tree is a pest” it might be useful to think of the situation in a more nuanced way. I tend to agree with the statement, especially with regard to the potential defoliation of younger trees, but there are various benefits from a holistic management standpoint to having organisms that are a pest at some stage in their life cycle present. For example, they are a food source for birds or they may later become a pollinator.
That said, there are established tent caterpillar populations in the native vegetation surrounding my farm and I, like Josh and Craig, take the preventative precaution of removing caterpillar webs from my fruit trees.
That’s a helpful addition to the conversation. Should’ve mentioned…
I don’t foresee ever eradicating them, and I don’t feel compelled to do so. We live among a stand of hardwoods and pines that host a healthy population of these caterpillars. So there’s plenty for whatever feeds on them. I just think it’s good hygiene to keep them from setting up so numerously in the orchard as well.
Having said, maybe instead of drowning the web, I’ll see if our chickens like them!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.