{"id":3112,"date":"2015-09-09T07:00:38","date_gmt":"2015-09-09T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=3112"},"modified":"2015-09-09T07:20:43","modified_gmt":"2015-09-09T11:20:43","slug":"whats-with-all-the-webs-in-the-trees-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/whats-with-all-the-webs-in-the-trees-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Those aren’t early Halloween decorations in the trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ratings]<\/strong><\/p>\n

They\u2019re a harbinger of fall and not a welcome one, but those webs you see consuming the tips of branches at roadside or in your yard are, fortunately, not cause for major concern even if they do seem to be more prevalent in some areas this year.<\/p>\n

Steven Mann, a certified arborist and owner of SJM Arboricultural Consulting, gets calls about these nests from concerned property owners in late summer and early fall asking what\u2019s eating their trees and what they can do about it.<\/p>\n

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The nests are built by a native insect, fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea<\/em>). Natural population fluctuations can make them more noticeable, but the nests cause only seasonal, aesthetic damage that most trees will be able to recover from.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom time to time, conditions are good for them to propagate. We did see them earlier this year \u2013 they don\u2019t usually show up until September but there have been tents as early as the first or second week of August,\u201d says Mann. \u201cThis summer\u2019s high temperatures have sped up incubation of the eggs and they\u2019ve hatched earlier than they do normally.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a concerned tree lover to do? The common advice of arborists is: nothing.<\/p>\n

Pruning would remove more foliage than the insect would remove. If people can bear with the look of it, it\u2019s best to leave them.Arborist Steven Mann, SJM Arboricultural Consulting<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fall webworm is a type of tiger moth. Its caterpillar is sometimes confused with the eastern tent caterpillar which spins its nests in late spring and early summer in the forks of branches, rather than at their tips like their fall cousins. This timing bodes well for trees, even in years when there are many nests. Fall webworm has the misfortune of being a late season insect, explains Mann. Their populations can be controlled by cool nights and sometimes frost, in addition to natural predators.<\/p>\n

The caterpillars use their nest as a shelter and feeding is often confined to that habitat \u2013 they don\u2019t leave often and when they do they tend to retreat fairly quickly. That behaviour doesn\u2019t cause massive defoliation, unlike gypsy moths which are an invasive species that feeds on the entire canopy of a tree.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if a tree has heavy nesting, it doesn\u2019t lose a ton of foliage and it loses it toward the end of the season when the leaves turn fall colours and drop off anyhow,\u201d says Mann. \u201cThe impact is pretty minor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those features \u2013 late-season nesting and contained defoliation \u2013 make intervention largely unnecessary. However, some property owners can be tempted to prune their trees as a control measure, a move Mann cautions against.<\/p>\n

\u201cPruning would remove more foliage than the insect would remove. If people can bear with the look of it, it\u2019s best to leave them. They\u2019ll moult into an adult, fly away and lay eggs elsewhere. You may not get them back the next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good when people are concerned \u2013 it shows that they care about trees and want to help them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of larger concern this fall is overall tree vigor. Dry summers are stressful for trees and watchful property owners may see signs of it in the coming month. \u201cYou might see deciduous trees turning fall colours earlier than normal this year \u2013 that\u2019s a sign of stress \u2013 and the colours won\u2019t linger as long.\u201d So you could see an early, pronounced, and short-lived fall show this season.<\/p>\n

Coniferous trees aren\u2019t immune to the stress of a dry summer either. The moniker \u2018evergreen\u2019 is a bit misleading \u2013 conifers don\u2019t keep their needles forever. They have a natural cycle of shedding or dropping their needles, but with a dry summer that needle drop can be heavier \u2013 expect to see your hemlocks and white pines lose more than usual this year. Natural needle drop occurs with inner needles, though \u2013 if you\u2019re seeing needles at the tips dying, it\u2019s time to call an arborist. Sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

Visible signs of damage to your trees are often the result of something that actually occurred much earlier. It can be frustrating for arborists but most of us don\u2019t have the training to notice smaller signs that there\u2019s a problem. So when you first notice an issue, make the call. \u201cIt\u2019s good when people are concerned \u2013 it shows that they care about trees and want to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are you concerned about with your trees?<\/p>\n\n\t\t