By Cabell Heyward Conditions this year seem to be just right for two natural invaders, one an insect with advanced aeronautical and athletic abilities, and the other a builder of unsightly silken tents in trees. A couple of years ago, the Asian Lady Bug enveloped the landscape, gathering in huge numbers in any warm, sunny spot in the house and marching in phalanxes across ceilings, dropping into dinner plates and regrouping on window sills.
This year, one invader is apparently the Fall Webworm and the other the Brown Marmorated Stinkbug. The Fall Webworm is actually a moth whose gregarious wormy larvae build tent-like silken nests in trees. The larvae feed on the leaves of broadleaf trees, including redbud, fruit trees, pecan, walnut and many other hardwoods. They can envelope entire branches, often killing the branch. At maturity, as moths, they then lay eggs in preparation for the next generation.
Related, but not in great abundance here, is the Eastern Tent Caterpillar. This creature, another moth, lays eggs mainly in cherry trees and shows up in dense tent structures just as the leaves of the tree reach full growth. These nests are not quite so obvious as what we are seeing here now. The other creature performs buzzing aerial acrobatics and then lands with an audible “thunk” on any close-by surface. If he falls on his back, he does a flip with legs flailing to right himself and is then content to crawl for awhile. This is the Brown Marmorated Stinkbug.
He was introduced here in 1998 from China, according to the experts. He is about 5/8-inch long with a pale gray or white underside and gathers around houses for warmth, but has an uncanny ability to find his way indoors.
The stinkbug is a great hider and loves niches and crannies, but at night will fly toward light and warmth, such as your illuminated lampshade.
“Marmorated” means a vein-like pattern found in marble which describes this bug’s pale underside. The stinkbugs can be easily caught with fingers and do not sting or bite, and can then be disposed of. The odor comes from a gland located on the underside which they emit perhaps as a defense.
There is no defeating the stinkbug unless you spend a lot of time chasing them down and consigning to the toilet or disposal. If a webworm nest is easily reached, prune the limb above the nest and burn it.
