Hatchlings in a jar.  These were brought inside, so outdoor eggs have probably not hatched.  Thought you might like to see how tiny they are (Karen says about 1/8 inch long).

Karen Snape sent in a photo of eggs on twigs and a clothespin she brought inside to watch.  You can see they are very tiny.  If anyone sees hatched larvae on your trees, let me know and I'll share on the blog.

This photo of a banded tree is from a couple of weeks ago.

The arrows point to eggs. 

The top photo shows many more moths on the tree band.  If you have eggs below the band, please keep an eye out for hatching, so we can spread the word.  The Forest Health Update (linked in the last blog) said that we should be in the tapering off phase of the infestation, and that others nearby had hatched.  With this extreme cold, I doubt there is much activity, but the weather is forecast to warm up in the next couple of days.

The Virginia Forest Update contained the link below, and on page 5 you will find an article from Department of Forestry on the Fall Canker Worm invasion.

Virginia Forest Health Review

Fall Canker worm moth adult females (black) and males (with wings)

Thought you might like to see another photo courtesy of Karen Snape on the maple tree she banded.

Caledon Fall Canker Worm Research Project
A college student is conducting a research project at several area parks, including Caledon State Park.  He was kind enough to share his King George information with me.  He banded 4 trees at Caledon, and has trapped 6, 53, 495 and 727 female moths for a total of 1281!  I've not counted mine, but don't think I've seen anywhere near 500 moths on any one tree.

Female moth with eggs

Female moths will lay eggs below your bands.  Watch for these and do not remove bands until after eggs have hatched.  If your bands are full in spring, either replace or add another band above to capture hatching larvae as they move up the tree.

Two female moths with eggs - notice eggs near top left of photo.

Happy New Year!  And the fall canker worms are on the move.  I've had reports from Presidential Lakes, The Meadows, Rt. 206, Eden Estates, and can see lots of moths at my house in the Jersey area at the south end of the county.  We've got them crawling on the house for the first time that I've noticed.  I also had an email from another KG resident who has them on the house and sent a great photo of the adult female.  Thank you for telling me about your moths, and I hope it helps us save our trees.  Enjoy (?) the new photos.

Adult female. Head is up, one leg extended.

Males caught in the wrap, females show as dark spots near the bottom of the band.

The banded tree.

Another shot of banding.  More females on this tree and fewer males.

I've got some new photos provided by Karen Snape, area forester, who banded a maple tree with quilt batting, a fabric strip and "lots of staples."  She has caught adult moths!  See them in the photos below.  Thanks to Karen for providing photographic evidence that we all need to be looking for!

Two female moths caught in the band.

Three male moths caught.

Photo of the banded maple tree.

Another quick post sent in from a King George gardener: I used nylon cord to wrap around the top & bottom of the tree wrap. This prevented the swagging . After stapling, I then tied the fine nylon string around the band, then applied the tangle foot.

I can see how this would help.  Maybe I can tie some string around the sticky band that loosened on the trees here at the office.  Better than making a mess of the stapler. --T

http://www.crabbeaviation.com/

Crabbe Aviation does aerial spraying in our area and is available to spray Bt for fall canker worms after hatching.  For more information, see the link above.

These are photos of oak trees in my yard.  The light brown stuff is a bat of insulation that Dan cut into strips and peeled apart to wrap under the plastic moving wrap.  The black is duct tape for the tree where the plastic wrap let loose.  We will be using axle grease on the plastic (via recommendation from a forester at the State Fair).

Many of you were at the fall canker worm program last month and received this brochure.  For those of you who want more information, this is a brochure developed in Charlotte, NC, where they have been battling fall canker worms for a number of years.
http://www.charmeck.org/city/charlotte/epm/Services/Landscaping/Documents/Cankerworm%20Brochure%202013%20Web.pdf

Here are photos of wrapped trees here at the office.  The rain made the wrapping material lose its elasticity, and it is sagging.  Not good for its intended purpose.  We'll either have to rewrap or add more staples to hold the wrap against the tree.  Unfortunately, the Tanglefoot is going to get on the staple gun.

Fall Canker Worms

This is the start of a fall canker worm blog to allow you to post your information as well.  The Envirothon team banded a couple of trees here at the office similar to the banding we did at the Caledon program.  The rain last week made the banding material sag, and I'm not sure how well it is going to work at keeping out the female canker worms.  My husband, Dan, came up with a different plan for the wrapping and it has held up better than the tree wrap.  He cut pieces of insulation into 6-inch widths, and we used banding stretch wrap for moving.  It comes in a short roll and sticks to itself without any adhesive.  We wrapped the trees before the rain and cold, and only had one wrap come loose.  When Dan looked at the trees, he said the ones where he used the stretch wrap generously held.  I'll try to post some photos later.

Also, Karen Snape stopped by yesterday and said she had seen a fall canker worm moth at her house.  Keep watching and let me know what you see and if you find a better way.