What sort of insect makes HUGE balls of webs in trees?

Some are as large as soccer balls. I only see them when I go by or in the woods, and I’ve been seeing more and more of them as the summer progress. Not only spiders make webs, right? They don’t look like ordinary spider webs to me.

tent caterpillar?

Bagworms?

Yuck! I see both kinds, I guess this answers my question…unless there’s more insects that make similar webs.

They are all over the pecan tree in my back yard. Freak me out.

It’s really hard to answer such a question without knowing if you’re in Mexico, Massachusetts, or my own neighborhood. Insects are different in different places. If you were my neighbor in western Washington state, I’d suggest Fall Webworm. The adult moths are very pretty, and as long as they’re not ruining someone’s fruit tree, they’re not really much of a pest.

There are communal web spiders here that cover entire bushes with their webs

Be thankful you don’t live near Tawakoni State Park in Texas.

If I saw that I would get out a flame thrower. It looks like an alien invasion. Ughhhhh,.