Question
HELEN
_________________

7031 SW 97th Lane
Gainesville, FL
U. S. A. 32608-6302
e-mail:  
telephone:  (352) 372-3655

Mr. Hyland:

There was a submission from Ms. Cathy Taomino in August of 2007
pertaining to web sacks in trees.  The answer was that the webs
are probably the Fall Webworm.  The question states that there
were spiders in the tree, however -- not worms.  Are there
any other pest or pestulance that is reminiscent in nesting
behavoir.  I recall a similar phenomenon: the reference is
to the Ermitus or Hermitus "spider" that is not actually an Arachnid.  The pestulance can enter a corpus, live in the
corpus, and set up circumstances for physical collapse.   
I have seen what appear to be a couple of victims
in the local population in Gainesville, FL.  A symptom of
the infestation in a biological organism is usually the presence
of "black veins" that are similar to vericose veins in appearance.
In the past, experts have not been sensitive enough to the
level of threat of this pestulance.

If you have information pertaining to this pestulance, then please reply.  

Thanks.

HELEN


Answer
What they said was " what looked like netting wrapped around the tips of tree branches" They did not say there were spiders in the "web' This description fits the Fall Webworm. Another web type that seems to cover a tree is bark lice but these are on the trunk and limbs. Another would be the Eastern Tent caterpillar but these are in the limbs not on the tips of the foliage and are in the early spring.

Bark lice are small, brown insects that live on the rough bark of hardwood trees, especially live oak trees. Contrary to their name, bark lice are not parasitic on humans or animals, rather they live on the bark of trees, feeding on fungi, lichens and dead insects. They serve as "clean-up" crew of sorts for the tree. They do not eat leaves or bore into the tree, or consume the bark of the tree. Because they are small and vulnerable, bark lice have developed a protective means for their survival: silken webs. Seemingly overnight, a colony of bark lice can envelop the trunk of a large tree with a silken covering. This silk covering affords bark lice the protection from predators while they feed underneath.

I still believe that this was Fall Webworm.