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Western Tent Caterpillar
Overview
An outbreak of the western tent caterpillar was first observed around a Mountain Village home in 2003. This particular caterpillar usually attacks aspen tress, but can also infest other deciduous tress. By 2005, the insect had multiplied, and was noticed along the majority of Granite Ridge and Upper Mountain Village Boulevard to the Village Center. In some cases, we reported caterpillars over one-inch deep on private property and in aspen trees.
Preventative Measures
After consulting with an entomologist and other expert consultants, we performed an aerial spray in 2006 and 2007 to help control the tent caterpillar population. In 2008, we detected egg nests in the Village Center once again and on Aspen Ridge open space. Due to the success of the previous year's aerial spray, we used Dimilin 4L in small amounts targeting specific nests. This occurred from the ground using a hand applicator spray unit, and was performed by Montrose Landscape Consulting & Spraying, Inc. For more information, contact Linda Corwine at (970) 249-2659.
Egg Mass Sampling
In October 2008, we conducted an egg mass sampling to predict caterpillar populations for 2009.
- Aspen Ridge: light defoliation possible
- Country Club Drive: masses present on the lot adjacent the Peaks Resort hotel, very light defoliation possible
- Courchaval: one egg mass per tree, light defoliation possible
- Village Center: light egg masses present (1-2 for a small number of trees), ornamentals will need to be monitored with pruning of any nests recommended
- Visher Drive: a few egg masses present on trees to the west of the Telluride Golf Course gate, this area should be monitored in the spring of 2009 by the Telluride Ski & Golf Company (TSG)
The main areas of concern are the aspen stands to the north and south of the tennis and platform tennis courts. These areas were hit the hardest in the spring of 2008 with a number of trees reaching 80 to 90% defoliation. Egg masses were light to heavy in numbers in the forest stand to the north of the courts, and light to moderate in the forest stand to the south. This area will need to be spayed in the spring of 2009. BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) will be considered has opposed to Dimilin due to the proximity to wetlands. This is on TSG property.
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