CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte - For the past 20 to 30 years. Cankerworms have been a serious problem for our Charlotte foliage. This is why this time of year you typically see trees with bands around them. Well this year Charlotte is NOT banding their trees since the 90’s.
About Cankerworms:
Cankerworms. You may have heard of them living in the Charlotte area but what are they?
This native insect has a life cycle similar to a butterfly.
Based on soil temperature, usually in December the adult moth emerges from the ground.
“She is wingless, so she needs to climb up the trunk of the tree to lay her eggs at the very top of the tree," tells Charlotte Tree Canopy Program Manager. Erin Oliverio.
When those eggs hatch the larva is cankerworms and then they are ready to feast at the top of the tree.
“So, with these old trees and the amount of cankerworms we have they were defoliating these large trees," mentions Erin Oliverio.
This is why we band our trees! Erin mentions that the willow oak tree is their favorite tree and these are quite prevalent here in the Charlotte area.
The banding stops the moth from laying eggs at the top of the tree and gives a chance.
“That is a very bad thing in the springtime because the trees need their leaves to survive through the summer," says Erin Oliverio.
But this year Charlotte is NOT banding their trees because the cankerworm population is WAY down.
These numbers are way down compared to other years. The money saved on not banding our trees will be used in other helpful projects in Charlotte.
The numbers are extremely low compared to past years. The reason? 3 years ago, there was a hard freeze around Springtime where lows dropped below 25 degrees 3 nights in a row.
“It just kind of stopped the cycle so their weren’t that many caterpillars that made it to maturity to be able to go into the ground and start over again.”
Even though the city isn’t banding… it won’t hurt the tree if you would like to. Erin says the best rule is to band them around Thanksgiving and remove the bands close to Easter.