Meet my son-in-law. He called me last evening and asked if I would go into the backyard and "measure the worms on the worm tree." OK, what is a "worm tree" and why do I have one. He said he had looked at it when he was mowing my yard Friday and the worms were only about 1/2" long but if they were big enough he would come get some to go fishing this morning. "Worm Tree!?!" I said.
Well, I went out and found these guys all over the beautiful leaves of the little tree. I had been really upset last year when over night all of the leaves had been eaten off. Now my SIL says that the "worms" (read catapillers) live and breed in the ground under this tree. When they hatch they climb the tree, eat and grow, go back into the ground and then become butterflies. Who knew. Anyway, here are just a few of the "worms" he harvested: see how they are trying to escape his bag.
So, above you see how they are eating the leaves and below you can see the results of more than a hundred hungry catapillers having a feast. And to think, all this activity has been going on right in my own backyard.
And you may be asking what I have been doing while all this activity has been going on. Well, I have been eating out, runing around with my daughter, and not sewing (except for working on the binding of Baskets & Lace). After some housework today I plan on a four day sewing marathon. Yea!!!!!
6 comments:
Do they have big webs and nest in the tree? I have seen that in trees but never really known what it was.
Next year, tell son-in-law to come get the darned critters BEFORE they can damage the tree. Tell him he can have ALL of them....for FREE!!!
I thought you were harvesting "good 'ol boys", not worms, lol.
We have a problem with root weevils not "worms." we have to buy nematodes and scatter then around at just the right moment (not too early...not too late)to keep the weevils from eating the rhodies. Good luck with the "worms!"
Aww, you're going to use the cute little catepillars for fishing? Better than letting them kill your tree, I guess.
yuck.
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