Nick sent me photos of a tree in Abbey Meadow, near the children’s play area, that has been stripped of its leaves by caterpillars. It is the only tree that has been attacked.
Silken sheets are visible between twigs, with many caterpillars living inside. They leave their protective tents to feed and return afterward.
The trees trunks are also surrounded in silk. Here is one caterpillar outside the silk, and inside — near the trunk — a pupa within its cocoon.
These are probably Spindle Ermine Moth caterpillars. The tree should recover eventually. They attacked a tree outside the Crown and Thistle in Bridge Street a few years ago and the caterpillars came in through guests’ bedroom windows. Unfortunately the tree was felled because of this.
Two days ago traces of the “muslin” covering the ground at the base of the tree as in the photograph extended several metres towards a neighbouring tree.
I was reminded of a severely infested tree I saw in a the Netherlands a few years ago. Strings of caterpillars hung from a number of branches (like Christmas decorations) and swayed about in the breeze. Some had therefore been able to make contact with adjacent branches of other trees.
We had this pest a few years ago. We tried to remove the cob web which proved impossible.We then desided decided to cut down the tree
The infestation has now definitely spread to two neighbouring trees – many small caterpillars on their trunks, but as yet little sign of muslin shroud nor of bare twigs.
The original tree had small caterpillars hanging from silken threads, and others congregating under branches. However I did not see any that were of the size in Nick’s photos.
Thankfully there now seem to be no caterpillers on any of the trees, though the remains of their secretions still adorn several branches. It is exciting to see small new leaves appearing on twigs at the end of some branches which were stripped by the infestation only three weeks ago.