Animals

Mum filled with all the nopes after coming across huge cobwebs covering garden


Sarah Longfellow, 34, says she had ‘never seen anything like it’ (Picture: Sarah Longfellow/SWNS)

Fascinating pictures show the giant cobwebs crawling with thousands of insects that a mum discovered during a walk with her toddler son.

Sarah Longfellow, 34, says her first thought was that Halloween had ‘come early’ and the foliage was coated in ‘silly string’ or ‘fake snow’.

But as she got closer, it hit her that the ‘creepy’ cobwebs were real – and had shrouded an entire tree and several bushes and railings overnight.

The West Yorkshire local ‘panicked’ as a moth flew into her mouth from the caterpillar-covered foliage.

But they are believed to be Ermine Moths, ‘harmless’ creatures that create webs across the UK to protect themselves from birds.

Sarah was driving through Castleford on May 22 with son Cain when she first saw the rare display of nature in Lock Lane community garden.

After they stopped to explore on the way home, she said: ‘At first, I thought it was going to be spiders, which I’m terrified of, but my son loves.

Lock Lane community garden in Castleford, West Yorks, covered in cobwebs (Picture: Sarah Longfellow / SWNS)
The mum and son looked closer to find the web crawling with caterpillars (Picture: Sarah Longfellow/SWNS)
The webs are believed to be made by Ermine Moths (Picture: Sarah Longfellow/SWNS)

‘However, as we got closer, it turned out to be caterpillars inside and underneath the webs, and it then became more fascinating to me.’

She continued: ‘The caterpillars were all underneath the webs – it was so extraordinary – and they had covered a number of bushes as well.

‘I have never seen anything like that. They were hanging down from the trees and blowing in the wind.’

Cain was happy to see the insects as he loves The Hungry Caterpillar book.

Ermine Moth webs typically appear in May or June before slowly disappearing over the summer.

The moths that emerge from them are white or greyish with black dots and look similar to ermine fur clothing.

They covered everything, from bushes to bricks (Picture: Sarah Longfellow/SWNS)
Ermine Moths webs typically appear in May or June (Picture: Sarah Longfellow/SWNS)

Although they are considered mild pests, they normally do little harm to the environment and the bushes will recover once the insects stop feeding.

Sarah said: ‘When I looked online, it said they were not poisonous and were harmless to humans, and an expert confirmed they were not poisonous.

‘Apparently, they create these webs to protect themselves from birds. They strip all the leaves and have cocoons, and then later turn into moths.’


MORE :
Survey of squashed bugs on number plates shows ‘terrifying’ insect decline

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.





READ NEWS SOURCE

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.