14 DAY TRIAL // A huge web spun by an army of cotoneaster caterpillars has covered the bushes in a Huddersfield couple's garden, giving them an eerie look.
John and Jackie Morris say they first discovered the strange, sticky substance on their rose bushes in the middle of May 2011, and now it's back in the same place. According to the Daily Mirror, the gluey web is approximately 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) long and is used to protect larvae from predators.
The couple say they are not bothered at all about the silk-like material in their garden, and their neighbors find it really fascinating, that's why they haven't taken any steps to remove or alter it in any way.
“I haven’t heard anyone else mention seeing any in the area,” John says. “It started a couple of weeks ago and it’s got bigger and bigger. We’re not really bothered about it being there. Once the young hatch it disperses in the weather.”
Cotoneaster caterpillars are the larval stages of the Hawthorn moth. They use to cover their feeding area with extensive sheets of fine white silk webbing, just like the one seen in this couple's garden. The young larvae resume feeding in late spring, when the webbing and damage to the plants become more extensive and noticeable.