This is one of our apple trees. If you enlarge the picture and look carefully in the center of it you will see at least two different caterpillars at work. they are the "creator" of the laciness of the leaves.
These little fellows start out pale green and turn a dark color as they get bigger. They can hang from very fine threads that they make themselves. So when you walk under a tree where they like to eat you will come face to face with many of them.
Since they particularly like our apple trees we have quite a few in our back yard. They also really enjoy Siberian Elm leaves so they are abundant along the place where I usually take my walk.
At the moment they are only about an inch long but as they continue to feast on leaves they become longer and fatter.
I picked these two off of the back of my neck while sitting here by the computer - they had hitched a ride indoors after I was out taking their pictures so now you see them close up on my desk.
They do not feed on humans but they tend to tickle and if there are many on you at one time they feel uky. I have seen people getting quite upset about them.
Ah, don't ask what their name is I don't know which ones they are.
3 comments:
Are you enamored by the caterpillar's lace? I would probably call the county extension (an arm of our Univ. that helps with just about any kind of problem)and see what is necessary to get rid of them. I saw a snake hanging from my red bud tree the other day when I was mowing. Last night, however, it was gone. This is the time for creepy crawlies, mosquitos, ants, lightening bugs, and what ever likes the warmer or wetter weather.
Our "caterpillar problem" is so wide spread that there is nothing to do for it except live through it. One year they were so bad everywhere and on our apple trees that H. took the shop vac and sucked them off of the apple trees into a vac of water. That was back when the trees were smaller - they aren't that bad this year.
Too bad there not edible. That would make for a lot of cheep protein :).
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