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.