Worms on tree - Ask Extension
Discovered these creatures this morning on our Copper Beech tree. Two clusters of these worms and they have been busy eating all the leaves on other ...
Knowledgebase
Worms on tree #848089
Asked August 31, 2023, 2:36 PM EDT
Discovered these creatures this morning on our Copper Beech tree. Two clusters of these worms and they have been busy eating all the leaves on other branches.
Harford County Maryland
Expert Response
These appear to be caterpillars of a Datana moth, of which about seven species occur in Maryland as native insects and whose caterpillars look very similar between them. Fortunately, late-season leaf feeding like this does not harm the tree and can be ignored. Birds, predatory insects, and other wildlife will consume many of them over time.
If too bothersome, you can knock them out of the tree with a broom or by shaking the twigs they populate; while some might crawl back up the trunk, they will be much more vulnerable to attack by ants and predatory ground beetles, birds, and other animals before they get back into position to feed, and it also delays their development by robbing them of feeding time. You can also knock them into a shallow pan of soapy water to drown them, or toss them into the edge of a field or woods to meet their fate if you don't want to directly kill them. No pesticide, even an organic one, is necessary.
Miri
If too bothersome, you can knock them out of the tree with a broom or by shaking the twigs they populate; while some might crawl back up the trunk, they will be much more vulnerable to attack by ants and predatory ground beetles, birds, and other animals before they get back into position to feed, and it also delays their development by robbing them of feeding time. You can also knock them into a shallow pan of soapy water to drown them, or toss them into the edge of a field or woods to meet their fate if you don't want to directly kill them. No pesticide, even an organic one, is necessary.
Miri
