The following is information on Eastern Tent Caterpillar, and insect pest you should be watching for in the landscape.
Our cool spring means that larvae are emerging from egg masses now (13-160 [59 peak] GDD ) and 50 migrating to tree branch forks to form tents. Caterpillars lay a trail of webbing down as they make their way to young leaves to feed. Eastern tent caterpillars are black with tan-colored hairs, irregular blue markings, a white stripe with a yellowish-tan stripe on either side down their back. They prefer to feed on wild cherry, but also readily eat crabapple, ornamental apple, plum, peach, and occasionally birch or ash. Caterpillars feed from 2-598 GDD or while Cornus florida is in full bloom before they mature 50 and leave the tree to search for a suitable location to pupate. The adults emerge in two to four weeks, mate, and females lay eggs in gray foam-like masses with about 150 350 eggs in a mass. Eastern tent caterpillars egg masses are usually laid on twigs or small branches and there is only one generation per year. A number of natural enemies such as assassin bugs, parasitoids, and birds help keep the insect under control. Pruning out egg masses and destroying the eggs in the fall or late winter before egg hatch is an effective cultural method to control eastern tent caterpillar. Some compounds used to control eastern tent caterpillar include: insecticidal soap, B. thuringiensis (Dipel), spinosad (Conserve), chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn), or pyrethroid products such as bifenthrin. Apply when the larvae are small to increase efficacy and cover both the foliage and the tent.
Information from Brian Kunkel, Ornamental IPM Specialist, UD.
Showing posts with label eastern tent caterpillar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eastern tent caterpillar. Show all posts
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday, April 11, 2008
Greenhouse and Landscape - Current Disease and Insect Issues
The following are some current pest issues in greenhouse crops and landscapes in Delaware and the nearby region.
Sclerotinia is being found in bedding plants in greenhouses. It has been seen on on lobelia and petunia. Please be on the look-out for this, as it may be a supplier issue. Plants can die quickly and have sclerotia at the base. A chlorotic ringspot virus is being found on angelonia (a chlorotic ringspot), and bacterial black leaf spot is being found on celosia.
In the landscape, Juniper webworm has been found, Eastern tent caterpillars are actively feeding and White pine sheath mites should be active. Diagnostic lab samples have been mostly overwintering insects (scales).
Sclerotinia is being found in bedding plants in greenhouses. It has been seen on on lobelia and petunia. Please be on the look-out for this, as it may be a supplier issue. Plants can die quickly and have sclerotia at the base. A chlorotic ringspot virus is being found on angelonia (a chlorotic ringspot), and bacterial black leaf spot is being found on celosia.
In the landscape, Juniper webworm has been found, Eastern tent caterpillars are actively feeding and White pine sheath mites should be active. Diagnostic lab samples have been mostly overwintering insects (scales).
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Landscape - Forsythia is in Bloom, That Means Tent Caterpillars are Hatching
The following is a short article on tent caterpillar hatching from the University of Maryland
Forsythia blooming… Eastern Tent Caterpillar hatching
Newly hatched eastern tent caterpillars (ETC) eggs are being found hatching on cherry. Interestingly, the plants haven’t started to leave out yet. The tiny caterpillars seemed to be “hanging out” at the buds just waiting for food.
Monitoring: The beginning of bloom on forsythia is a plant phenological indicator that the overwintering eggs of ETC will start hatching.
Control: It is still a little early to apply control measures for two reasons. Most controls for caterpillars have to be ingested. Therefore, you should wait until the host plants (many Rosaceous plants) have leaved out. Second, not all caterpillars have hatched out yet.
Eastern Tent Caterpillar Egg Masses. Photo by A. Steven Munson, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org
Forsythia blooming… Eastern Tent Caterpillar hatching
Newly hatched eastern tent caterpillars (ETC) eggs are being found hatching on cherry. Interestingly, the plants haven’t started to leave out yet. The tiny caterpillars seemed to be “hanging out” at the buds just waiting for food.
Monitoring: The beginning of bloom on forsythia is a plant phenological indicator that the overwintering eggs of ETC will start hatching.
Control: It is still a little early to apply control measures for two reasons. Most controls for caterpillars have to be ingested. Therefore, you should wait until the host plants (many Rosaceous plants) have leaved out. Second, not all caterpillars have hatched out yet.
Eastern Tent Caterpillar Egg Masses. Photo by A. Steven Munson, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Landscape - Tent Caterpillar Season Coming Up
Tent caterpillar season is fast approaching. The following is some information on this pest from the Kentucky Pest News.
Eastern tent caterpillar (ETC) egg hatch should be complete by early April. Small ETCs move to feed on expanding leaves and build tents at branch and limb forks. Initial growth of the caterpillars will be slow but during the latter part of April caterpillars in limb nests will begin to move to main trunk branch angles and join in a smaller number of larger tents on individual trees. This aggregation behavior can be used to advantage in managing the insect by physically destroying or treating accessible aggregations. Caterpillars will leave defoliated trees in search of food on which to complete development. When full grown, they will wander to find a pupation site. In either case, successful control of dispersing caterpillars is difficult.
Foliar sprays for caterpillar control can be made during this time period, as well. Spray residues of products based on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) must be eaten by small caterpillars to be effective; there is no contact effect. Consequently, applications should be made to as much of the canopy as is feasible, especially the foliage around active nests. Direct application to nests will not provide any control. Bt residues on foliage can be broken down by sunlight in 3 to 4 days so it is important to assess control and re-treat if necessary. Effectiveness of Bt decreases as caterpillar size increases.
Foliar sprays with products such as bifenthrin (Talstar) or carbaryl (Sevin) have both stomach and contact activity so they can be effective when sprayed on to foliage or tents. The residual life of carbaryl is about a week; that of bifenthrin is at least 2 to 3 weeks. Another option is to inject trees with either bidrin (Inject-A-Cide "B" or 2% Abacide. Regardless of the treatment used, it is important to re-visit the sites in about 5 days to assess caterpillar activity.
Adapted from an article by Lee Townsend in the April 2, 2007 edition of the Kentucky Pest News from the University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture.
Eastern tent caterpillar (ETC) egg hatch should be complete by early April. Small ETCs move to feed on expanding leaves and build tents at branch and limb forks. Initial growth of the caterpillars will be slow but during the latter part of April caterpillars in limb nests will begin to move to main trunk branch angles and join in a smaller number of larger tents on individual trees. This aggregation behavior can be used to advantage in managing the insect by physically destroying or treating accessible aggregations. Caterpillars will leave defoliated trees in search of food on which to complete development. When full grown, they will wander to find a pupation site. In either case, successful control of dispersing caterpillars is difficult.
Foliar sprays for caterpillar control can be made during this time period, as well. Spray residues of products based on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) must be eaten by small caterpillars to be effective; there is no contact effect. Consequently, applications should be made to as much of the canopy as is feasible, especially the foliage around active nests. Direct application to nests will not provide any control. Bt residues on foliage can be broken down by sunlight in 3 to 4 days so it is important to assess control and re-treat if necessary. Effectiveness of Bt decreases as caterpillar size increases.
Foliar sprays with products such as bifenthrin (Talstar) or carbaryl (Sevin) have both stomach and contact activity so they can be effective when sprayed on to foliage or tents. The residual life of carbaryl is about a week; that of bifenthrin is at least 2 to 3 weeks. Another option is to inject trees with either bidrin (Inject-A-Cide "B" or 2% Abacide. Regardless of the treatment used, it is important to re-visit the sites in about 5 days to assess caterpillar activity.
Adapted from an article by Lee Townsend in the April 2, 2007 edition of the Kentucky Pest News from the University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture.
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