The picky nature of the web moth
the Web moth is a moth from the family of web and bud moths. It has silvery-white forewings and gray-brown hind wings. In addition to their silvery color, web moths are easy to recognize by their black spots.
also read
- Bird cherry wood - characteristics and uses
- Is the bird cherry edible or poisonous?
- This is how you can recognize the leaf of the bird cherry
But what is so bad about this little animal for some gardeners? The larvae of the spider moth feed mainly and preferentially on the common bird cherry. They are picky, specialize in bird cherries and only rarely attack cherries and other fruit trees.
What does the web moth do with the bird cherry?
The females among the web moths lay their eggs on the winter buds of the bird cherry after mating between late summer and autumn. The caterpillars hatched from the eggs overwinter under the bud scales.
In the spring they wake up and eat the buds. freshly expelled and for us humans poisonous Leaves bare. This is usually the case until the end of May / beginning of June.
And then?
- the caterpillars spin around the entire tree to protect themselves from predators and rain
- the tree looks like a ghost tree or is covered with silvery cobwebs
- the caterpillars pupate in common webs (mostly on the trunk)
- in July they hatch and have become moths
A nuisance that should be destroyed?
Don't worry, the caterpillars will eat the bird cherry bare, but the plant will sprout again. This is the so-called Johannist drive. In midsummer at the latest, the bird cherry no longer looks bare.
You can tackle the web moth. But chemical clubs are less recommended for environmental reasons. On the other hand, there are around 80 different insects that the web moths eat and prevent them from spreading. This includes among others Predatory bugs and Parasitic wasps.(€ 69.90 at Amazon *)
Tips & Tricks
Another method that is in your own hands is to remove the animals in good time in the event of an infestation wood the bird cherry.
