Chomp!

The date is July 8th. The tree is our cherished oak that sits just off the front deck of our house and provides my screen porch with afternoon shade. As of today, it is barren, eaten, ravaged by gypsy moth caterpillars.

They left one branch. Why, I do not know. I guess they just didn't notice it. While they were chomping, my husband tried spraying, both with insecticide and water, and he and our ED both ended up squashing the loathsome insects on the tree trunk as they crawled determinedly up it. We are hoping that it is not too late in the year for the tree to try to grow a new set of leaves.

One happy fellow as a result of this. The dominant hummingbirds sit on a vacant branch waiting for a junior to try to get a drink at the bird feeder nearby. He now has his choice of lurking spots and an dive path unimpeded by leaves.

The last time we had an infestation like this was, we think, in the mid 1980s. If you go outside under the trees, there is a rain, a pitter patter, of caterpillar poop. The joys of nature, eh.