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What is killing my willow

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 Any idea what this is and how I can get rid of them to save my willow trees. The leaves have been turning brown and dropping so I sprayed with a bug spray. Three of these were lying on the ground under one of the four trees when I got home tonight.

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Posts

  • This looks like a poplar hawk moth, they eat willow as well.

    They won't make the leaves turn brown though. Maybe its a fungus like anthracnose.

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    Another indiscriminate spraying.

    Death to some harmless creatures and no help to treeimage



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • I think it's a hawk moth too.  Should not harm a tree  so it is probably a virus that affects willows.  It weakens the tree over a few years.

  • Kris didn't know ... and the pesticide companies market their poisons as if all insects are pests,  and they don't say check what you're spraying for first. image

    It's sad that these have died. image

    If we can help Kris to get his willows more healthy, hopefully there'll be more caterpillars next year and he'll enjoy knowing his trees are contributing to improving the much needed population of moths and other pollinating insects. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Education is always good image 

    The problem is that so often these programmes are only watched by the people who are already interested in the subject ... lots of people don't develop an interest until they think something is killing their plants ...


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • KJAKJA Posts: 16

    I had taken one of the brown infected leaves to the garden nursery for advice and it was suggested that it was a fungus so was given the pesticide to use and prevent it spreading further and completely destroying these beautiful trees.  It was only after I had treated them for the fungus that I found these caterpillars which is what prompted a google search and found this forum.  It was not a shoot then ask situation.  I had thought approaching a "local expert" was the right thing to do.  Only when I noticed the caterpillar did I question what was killing the trees as they are clearly not a fungus, so I reached out.  Due to their colouring, they are camouflaged and I could not see them.  Had I have seen them, then I would have mentioned this to my local nursery.

    Thank you to those with helpful constructive advise.

  • We live and we learn don't we image

    Your trees are obviously a good wildlife habitat - so it will be good if we help you to restore them to full health.

    Can you post us a picture or two of the trees and a close-up of the leaves?

    To upload a photo you need to click on the green tree icon on the toolbar above where you type your post.

    Can you also let us know what you sprayed with please?

    image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • KJAKJA Posts: 16

    Hi Dovefromabove.  I will take a photo when I get home and post.  I used Bayer Fungus Fighter Disease Control.

    Jo47.  I will certainly return to this site for advise in future.

    Thanks

    Kris

  • I've been having a brief google and discovered that the active ingredient in Bayer Fungus Fighter is myclobutinol - further googling querying the effect of this on insects doesn't reveal very much, but I did find one reference to it being harmless to the sort of insects that are used in greenhouses to control aphids/whitefly etc.

    So, there is a possibility that your caterpillars were on the ground beneath the tree purely coincidentally as when they reach optimum size/age they climb down their food plant and find a suitable place to pupate over the winter, emerging as beautiful moths in the spring.   http://www.eakringbirds.com/eakringbirds2/mothshawkmoths.htm

    So you may not have murdered them after all image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • KJAKJA Posts: 16

    Thank you for the reassurance. It certainly was not intentional and they have moved from their position since I got in tonight. Hopefully they have found a safe pace to enter the next phase of life.I have taken images of the trees as they are today (not the best light).  Thanks for your support and understanding and most of all advise...We live and learn.

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