Farmers Weekly Review

Many people think there is not much going on in gardening, well, at least outside gardening, in Will County in January.

Not true. You just have to look a little harder. One of my first calls at the office was about insects — outside. And the natural human characteristic of trying to save or fix things, regardless of what Mother Nature already had well at hand.

The caller said they were shocked to find a wooly bear caterpillar outside after all these cold temps. It was just curled up into the fuzzy ball it makes as a threat response. No cozy cocoon here, just the fall sweater.

The caller said they realized something was wrong, so they “saved” it by bringing it inside. Makes sense, right? No, this would spell definite death for this little furball.

See, wooly bears are the exception to the rule on caterpillars who spend their winters up north. They actually overwinter as what this caller found — curled up somewhere, usually under some shelter, just wearing their fall sweater.

Wooly bears, who are the larval form of the Isabella tiger moth, do not make their cocoon in fall like most moths. So, if you find one (or many), just leave them be where they are. Just like the Hippocratic Oath doctor’s take: First, do no harm; it actually applies to nature for the most part, too.

But speaking of moths, there is another one I am trying to make more people aware of, particularly their winter form: our largest moth, the Cecropia moth. The winter stage of this moth is the more usual overwintering style; think of it as one of those tiny houses that are so popular these days. They make a cocoon. But it is far from tiny.

The Cecropia moth’s cocoon is the double-wide of the insect world, measuring a whopping 4 inches long by 3-and-a-half inches wide at its widest girth. They can be found on trees, branches, even sometimes glued up against the fascia of houses.

And due to their size, they either frighten or intrigue people, which usually ends up in the demise of these precious moths. Some people assume incorrectly they must be some pest, and immediately destroy it. But sadly, many of us nature-loving folk, also can “love them to death.”

Some people, after recognizing what amazing insect they have found, again think they will help to “save” the moth by bringing it inside. Well, what is inside our homes? Summer like temperatures which can provide a signal for the moth to eclose (technical term for coming out of a cocoon) too early.

These moths are part of the silk moth family, and as I have mentioned previously, have the unfortunate evolution of the adult moth has no mouthparts at all. They eclose from that cocoon with one goal, the only real goal of nature — to reproduce.

If you think you can keep these moths alive in the house until it is warm enough for them to be “let out” in spring, there is no chance for that scenario. Take as many selfies with them as you want, but leave nature in nature. Thousands of evolutionary tweaks over time have them covered.

Other nature-curious people are enamored by the sheer size of the Cecropia Moth cocoon, and they just can’t help but let that curiosity get the best of them. They are driven to peel the cocoon open just to take a look inside. Another disastrous outcome will follow.

The cocoon is designed with two layers, the outer hairy layer that looks like an old brown paper grocery bag, and the inner rounded layer is surrounded by a gap that is thought to provide insulation from our winter’s wild temperature variations.

The sarcophagus-looking pupa inside is a dark mahogany with shapes of what will be the adult moth in mid-summer. But again, curious folks who peel back the cocoon’s covering, destroy what nature has evolved to protect them. Leave them be. When in doubt, don’t.

However, on the flip side, a winter saunter about the property can also help you to eradicate some pretty devastating pests, without the use of chemicals, as they are easy targets being insects.

Remember, insects are cold-blooded and cannot self-regulate body temperature, so when it is too cold, they are completely immobile.

But nature again, created chemical wizardry to allow them to tolerate literally freezing, by changing their hemolymph (think insect blood) to glycol. Yes, you have heard that term before; it is antifreeze.

So, with pests that are visible in winter, this is a wonderful time to attack. Two of the most common are bagworms and spongy moth (formerly known as gypsy moth) egg masses. Both of these insects are destructive by chewing off the energy-makers of the plants, their leaves.

For us in Will County, currently bagworms will be more often seen. Fortunately, we have not yet been overtaken by millions of spongy moths like the East coast has. People have related to me that in particularly bad year, as the spongy moth defoliate the new spring leaves; their populations are so heavy that people need umbrellas to avoid the raining down of gypsy moth caterpillar poop. Ewww.

And that is not the half of it. Unlike pests like the fall webworm that defoliates leaves right before they fall in autumn. No. Spongy moths attack trees at their most vulnerable, when the new spring leaves are just furling out, ready to start capturing sunlight through the miracle of photosynthesis, turning sunlight into food for the plants.

Oh, and a biproduct of oxygen for us. They spray for Spongy moth in some of our areas in the spring, but a spring doesn’t go by when I don’t get calls to identify the multicolored, fringed caterpillars that are gypsy moths.

So, as you are out enjoying some good bracingly chilly fresh air this winter, look for the bags of bagworms and the spackle-like egg masses of spongy moth and remove, bag, and tie up and discard.

An outside winter walkabout is good for body, soul and the gardens just around the corner.