Actually, this is odd, so I just wanted to share it with Lele and others. After breakfast and some housework, I decided to take a break and check e-mail and other on-line stuff. I just happened to glance over at the tower and saw hundreds of tiny black specks. I thought it was odd and wondered what kind of strange "dust" I had accumulated here. Upon closer scrutiny, the specks were all moving! I thought they were just tiny gnats at first, maybe entangled in a cobweb. No, I saw the fuzzy outline of what was an egg mass. This apparently was laid recently by one of the small moths that frequently get inside at night.
They just hatched today, and now I have a tiny net of silk and hundreds of tiny hatchlingsabout 3/32" long. No wonder they look like dust! I'm just glad this moth laid her eggs here and not in my yard. One less webworm colony to fret over. LOL!
Here in central Oklahoma, webworms are really bad......especially on pecan and mulberry. Due to the aerial dispersion of larvae, truly effective control or eradication really takes an entire community effort. Unfortunately, that will not happen any time soon. I won't normally destroy caterpillar, but webworms and any tent caterpillars are fair game.
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Webworms on my desk........EEEEEK!!!
Replies (1)
oh my! are you sure they are "bad" caterpillars? Many use silk to get around (including io's), but I am sure you know your local leps 
I have not forgotten the io's and you. None have spun up yet and I have had minimal loss - ocassionally find one dying or dead in the bottom of the sleeve but it is usually one who is still in only 2nd or 3rd instar.
lele
>>Actually, this is odd, so I just wanted to share it with Lele and others. After breakfast and some housework, I decided to take a break and check e-mail and other on-line stuff. I just happened to glance over at the tower and saw hundreds of tiny black specks. I thought it was odd and wondered what kind of strange "dust" I had accumulated here. Upon closer scrutiny, the specks were all moving! I thought they were just tiny gnats at first, maybe entangled in a cobweb. No, I saw the fuzzy outline of what was an egg mass. This apparently was laid recently by one of the small moths that frequently get inside at night.
>> They just hatched today, and now I have a tiny net of silk and hundreds of tiny hatchlingsabout 3/32" long. No wonder they look like dust! I'm just glad this moth laid her eggs here and not in my yard. One less webworm colony to fret over. LOL!
>> Here in central Oklahoma, webworms are really bad......especially on pecan and mulberry. Due to the aerial dispersion of larvae, truly effective control or eradication really takes an entire community effort. Unfortunately, that will not happen any time soon. I won't normally destroy caterpillar, but webworms and any tent caterpillars are fair game.
