Green worms eating my trees

[bitternut]

Does anyone know what pest these green worms are that are eating my woods? In some parts of my woods they have practically stripped the understory of all leaves and are moving up to the overstory. They are eating every kind of tree but the striped maple seem to be the last to go. They are various sizes, from1/8" long to about 3/4" long. They are a pale green and most have a darker green stripe down the center of their back. They are smooth skinned and seem to be hairless. Here is a picture of some of their handiwork. You can also see one of the worms on the leaf.

[SwampDonkey]

I'm guessing the 'bruce spanworm' or some other type of inch worm.

Here is a link


My second guess is some type of sawfly.

[Ron Wenrich]

I'm guessing a spring cankerworm.  Here's a link:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2558.html

[Jeff]

Bitternut, can you add your location to your profile? This should help the people in the know narrow down what might be the culprit in your area.

[SwampDonkey]

I was also pondering spring cankerworm as Ron suggested. But, I don't know much about it. I did come across it on some sites that suggested it can be confused with bruce spanworm. So I'de say they were closely related.

[bitternut]

Sorry about no location. Thought I did have it in my profile but it was not there. Its there now. I live in Niagara County on the south shore of Lake Ontario but my woods is located in western Allegany County near the Pennsylvania border. That is where I have the worm problems.

I checked the links you guys gave me and either one of them could be the culprit. They are pretty small right now so it is hard to tell just which worm it is. I will have to take some home and check them out with a magnifying glass to see just which species they are. I will see if I can get a picture of the difference in the understory where they are active. It is quite dramatic when you look in one direction and the woods looks open and bright. Look in another direction and the woods looks dark and overgrown.

[bitternut]

I took a couple of pictures to show the results of the worm activity. I stood on a trail and looked one direction and then looked in the opposite direction for the second shot. The trail was like a dividing line. I did notice a lot of what I always called WINTER MOTHS flying around last deer season in the same area where I now have the worms. I guess they are SPRING CANKER WORMS. Here are the worm and no worm pictures. The pictures really don't show it as dramatic as it really is.

Hmmm...........can't find where the pictures are. I'll be back.

FOUND THEM