Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Question and Answer >> Pests

Massive Webs in Trees: Fall Webworms, Not "Hermit Spiders"

Inquiry about 2007 Q&A on web sacks in trees. Questioner cited "Ermitus/Hermitus spider" entering bodies, causing "black veins." Expert reiterated: description matches fall webworms (netting on branch tips). Also mentioned bark lice (silken trunk wraps, harmless cleaners) and eastern tent caterpillars (spring, limb crotches). No evidence for mythical parasitic spider.

Pests: Arizona Mulberry Bark Peeling: Sooty Canker, Prune and Treat; Why Maple Tree Bark Turns Black: Fungal Infestation Explained; Silky Webbing on Oak Tree: Harmless Bark Lice (Psocids); Pin Oak Webs: Fall Webworm, Not Spiders—No Treatment Needed; Sapsucker Bird Damage on Curly Willow: Not an Insect Problem; Pomegranate Tree Webs and Bud Drop: Spider Mites or Normal Pollination?; Pine Bark Beetle Identification and Treatment for Urban Arborists; Massive Webs in PA Trees: Fall Webworms, Not Spiders; Squirrels Stripping Bark: Protect Trees & Reduce Population; Cypress Bark Peeling: Normal Aging or Cause for Concern?

Garden Articles

Maple Borers: Low Spread Risk, Monitor and Protect

Vertical Bark Striations on Young Trees: Frost Cracks or Sunscald?

Maple Bark Splitting: Sunscald Diagnosis and Borer Prevention

Hypoxylon Canker on Drought-Stressed Central Texas Oaks

Lichen on Japanese Maple and New Trees: Harmless Epiphytes, No Treatment Needed

Red Maple Bark Splitting: Sunscald/Frost Cracks

Oak Tree Bark Shedding: Causes and What to Do

Plants

Pecan Bark Peeling in Strips: Lightning Strike Suspected

Lackey Moth Caterpillars Defoliating UK Trees and Hedges

Frost Cracks and Sunscald on Young Maple Trees

Spider Mites on Umbrella Tree: Treatment and Repotting Timing

Ficus Spider Webs & Sticky Residue: It's Scale, Not Spider Mites

Why Oak Trees Shed Bark: Natural Growth or Smooth Patch Disease

Roof Rats Chewing Tree Bark: A Garden Mystery Solved