Late Summer Worms

In a nasty, disgusting display of nature, a sign of late summer has appeared not only in our trees but in trees everywhere. The WebWorm has made it's presence known. They're known to thrive in 88 known varieties of trees - apparently none that we were familiar with when living out west. Fortunately these grotesque webs don't damage the trees - they're just nasty to look at. From the world wide web we learn the following: Adults of the overwintering generation emerge during May or occasionally in late April. Egg laying occurs in late May and early June. Each female can lay 400 to 500 eggs in masses on the undersides of leaves. The egg masses are covered with white hairs from the abdomen. Larvae begin hatching in early June and immediately begin to spin the web in which they feed. The web is extended as the larvae grow. The larvae mature and leave the trees to pupate in late July. First generation adults emerge during August and second generation larvae are present from late August into early October. Second generation pupae are the overwintering stage. There are two generations per year. That's just down right nasty.