FALL WEBWORMS
HAVE RETURNED
Dr. Robert S. Hansen
Bradford County
Extension Forester
The fall webworm is again
busily constructing its ugly nest
in forest and shade trees in our
area. The fall webworm is a
widely distributed defoliating
pest of shade trees and shrubs
and appears from late summer
through early fall. They are par
ticularly fond of nut trees such as
black walnut and hickory but
they will feed on a variety of spe
cies.
The webworm constructs its
nest over the end of the branch
and only feeds on leaves within
the web. The large conspicuous
web is filled with caterpillars,
dead, partially-eaten leaves, and
fecal droppings. The remains of
these nests may persist through
winter.
The fall webworm overwinters
as brown pupae in a cocoon that
is concealed in trash, ground lit
ter, cracks and crevices, or in the
soil. Adult moths first appear in
early June but may continue to
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appear in small numbers during
most of the summer. Moths vary
considerably in color from pure
white to white with black spots;
their wingspread is about
I'A-inches. Females deposit their
light yellow eggs in hair-covered
masses of several hundred eggs,
usually on the undersurface of
the leaves.
Young larvae hatch in approx
imately seven days. They imme
diately begin to spin a silken web
over the foliage on which they
feed. As they grow, they enlarge
the web to enclose more and
more foliage. These webs some
times encompass two-three-feet
of the infested branch. The lar
vae are gregarious and feed to
gether until the last molt, after
which they feed independent of
each other. Larvae mature in
about six weeks.
Young larvae are pale yellow
with two rows of black marks
along their bodies. When fully
grown, they are covered with
whitish hairs that spring from
black and orange warts. The lar
vae vary as to the depth of color
ing and markings, but are
usually greenish with a broad,
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dusky stripe along the back and
a yellow stripe along the side.
Full-grown larvae leave the web
and pupate on or in the soil, or in
crevices around buildings or
fence posts. There are one or two
generations per year, depending
on the geographical location.
Fall webworm larvae skeleto
nize and consume leaves under
the protection of a tent-like web
that they enlarge as they grow
and require additional food.
Since tree leaves are in the pro
cess of “shutting down” their
processes this time of year, web
worms may defoliate a tree occa
sionally, but rarely kill it. On
shade trees, the webs usually
occur on an occasional branch.
They may not injure the tree ap
preciably but they reduce its or
namental value.
Natural enemies of various
kinds help to control this insect.
Birds, insect predators, and in
sect parasites attack the fall web
worm larvae. Predators and in
sect parasites may destroy
clusters of eggs. It is also possible
to reduce their numbers by me
chanical control. When the tent
ed branches are within reach,
they can be snipped off and de
stroyed. This is practical if the
tents have not become too large
and the tree’s shape is not threat
ened by this method.
Bt is effective if applied when
the webs are small. Other chemi
cal control measures can be used
throughout the webworm season,
but they are most effective when
the webs are small. The entire
tree need not be sprayed, but
webs and surrounding foliage
should be thoroughly covered.
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 23, 2000-A27
Cambria Fair Releases
Veal, Other Results
Kelly Myers, South Fork, is pictured with her grand
champion veal at the Cambria County Fair. Reserve went
to Krystal Heinlein. Absent are the owners of the grand
champion goat, Karen McMullen, who attends Penn State
and Clairissa Myers, who had reserve market goat.
GAY BROWNLEE
Somerset Co. Correspondent
EBENSBURG (Cambria Co.)
Following are results from the recent
Cambria County Fair.
CAMBRIA COUNTY FAIR
VEAL SHOW RESULTS
Class 1: 1. Hope Farabaugh. 2. Hope
Farabaugh
Class 2: 1. Joy Farabaugh. 2 Chad Far
abaugh.
Class 3 1. Leah Christ. 2. Joy Fara
baugh.
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Lightweight champion 1. Leah Christ 2
Hope Farabaugh.
Class 4’ 1. Chad Farabaugh
Class 5. 1. Steven Hoffman. 2 Beth
Chnst
Class 6' 1. Krystal Hemlem 2 Nicole
Farabaugh.
Middleweight champion 1 Krystal Hem
lem. 2. Nicole Farabaugh
Class 7; 1 Nicole Farabaugh 2 Krystal
Hemlem.
Class 8' 1. Kelly Myers
Class 9:1. Kelly Myers
Heavyweight champion 1. Kelly Myers
2. Kelly Myers.
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