Birds Eating Sweetgum Leaves? It's Actually Caterpillars

Birds stripping sweetgum leaves are hunting sweetgum defoliator caterpillars (Paectes abrostoloides), not eating foliage. Hawks grabbing leaf fragments are snagging caterpillars clinging to them.

The Cycle

• Small brown moth lays eggs early summer.
• Caterpillars hatch, feed gregariously, defoliate branches.
• Birds feast on caterpillars—natural biocontrol.
• Virus typically crashes population within weeks.

Management

No treatment needed. Outbreaks are rare (last major one: 1977). Trees recover fully. Enjoy the bird show—it's free pest control.