Webs With Little Worms – What Makes It?

Q: What makes the webs that have little worms in them on trees right now?

A: You’re seeing the distinctive webs of fall webworm. They begin to appear in early July on pecan, oak, and other landscape trees. This caterpillar is a native of North America. The caterpillars may defoliate a branch or two but they rarely threaten the life of a tree. They drop to the ground in September to pupate and will emerge next spring as a brown moth.

If you want to do something, wrap the webbing onto the end of a long pole to expose the worms to predators and the elements. Hornets, wasps and yellowjackets are major predators of webworms. They will eat most of them in a nest if you pull away the webs.