Fall Webworms Do a Dance

Fall webworms in and on their web, 24 August 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 31 August 2026 A week ago at Hays Woods I found a nest of fall webworms (Hyphantria cunea) at eye level. We usually see these webs high in the trees so this was a good opportunity for a closer photo, shown above. Their mother had laid a mass of eggs on a leaf; a week later the eggs hatched into tiny caterpillars. To protect themselves they built a communal web, mostly at night, to surround themselves and the leaves they are eating. As they consume the leaves they expand the web. As ugly as this looks it does not harm deciduous trees because this is the end of the growing season. Fall webworms (photo by Ronald F. Billings, Texas A&M Forest Service, Bugwood.org) Fall webworms stay close to each other when they’re small but at the 5th or 6th instar they venture out alone. In this photo from Bugwood, the tiny ones are inside. Fall webworms photo by Lacy L. Hyche, Auburn University, Bugwood.org To get a better photo…