What caterpillar is this?

[Peeps]

These little buggers are all over my apple and crabs. Never seen them this thick in the past. Tomorrow we will see how they like Imidan

 

[marlin]

Looks like spongy moth caterpillar. Imidan will work.

 

[Tree Spud]

AKA tent caterpillar. You should find the webbed area which is filled with caterpillars and eggs and spray at dusk or dark. If you spray during the day they will have moved to the branches. I use insecticide with Sevin spray malathion. You can buy concentrate for a backpack sprayer if doing the tree.

 

[marlin]

I’m not seeing the white stripe is why I said spongy moth. The Photo is not the best for identification.

 

[Peeps]

I sprayed them this morning. I didn’t see any of the tent caterpillars silk nests in the trees. When I started spraying these guys would drop on a silk string a couple feet below the tree and hang there.

 

[marlin]

I sprayed them this morning. I didn’t see any of the tent caterpillars silk nests in the trees. When I started spraying these guys would drop on a silk string a couple feet below the tree and hang there.

Spongy moth caterpillars will do that to disperse their eggs. It’s called ballooning.

 

[Luongo43]

I had caterpillars eat all the leaves off my apple trees. Will my trees die or is there a chance they will regrown leaves this year? They still look healthy just no leaves.

 

[Telemark]

I had caterpillars eat all the leaves off my apple trees. Will my trees die or is there a chance they will regrown leaves this year? They still look healthy just no leaves.

In my experience, trees will generally grow more leaves if defoliated this early in the season. You'll need to kill off the pest, or they can exhaust the trees.

Give them some additional water, if needed. And give them some fertilizer after a few weeks if they do leaf out again.

 

[Luongo43]

In my experience, trees will generally grow more leaves if defoliated this early in the season. You'll need to kill off the pest, or they can exhaust the trees.

Give them some additional water, if needed. And give them some fertilizer after a few weeks if they do leaf out again.

I’m having the trees prayed this weekend so that should kill off whatever is left. What fert do you suggest to put down?

 

[Telemark]

Probably lawn fertilizer, since you want something high in nitrogen to grow leaves. Go ahead and dissolve it in a bucket of water and dump it around the tree.

 

[bigboreblr]

First leaves of the year always look bad. Between catepillars and cedar apple rust. I think if you give them one good whack with insecticide, your atleast hlf decent.

Thought spruce trees wouldnt't be bothered. They whacked my white spruce trees I picked up in april. Thought I was dealing with some sort of fungus issue with the young shoots looking like corn cobb's. Going to spray my spruces next year too.

There lifcycle seems interesting. Seeing good sized catepillars dead on my trees. I haven't sprayed since end of may. Keeping my eye's out for aphids. Not really seeing anything yet. Likely after this heat waves passes next week. Running my hose about 9 minutes a day the past few days. Between 20 potted grafts, 15 or more bareroots this year, and 25 spruces, this heat wave is keeping me busy.