# What sort of insect makes HUGE balls of webs in trees? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 14, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-insect-makes-huge-balls-of-webs-in-trees/509980 "2009-09-14T00:54:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-insect-makes-huge-balls-of-webs-in-trees/509980/1 "2009-09-14T00:54:06Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-insect-makes-huge-balls-of-webs-in-trees/509980/2 "2009-09-14T00:56:28Z")
[tent caterpillar?](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=jH0&resnum=0&q=tent+caterpillar&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=dJStSpCYLYSktgeb24ypCA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1) ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-insect-makes-huge-balls-of-webs-in-trees/509980/3 "2009-09-14T01:01:27Z")
[Bagworms?](http://www.blahedo.org/pix/house/bagworm-branch.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-insect-makes-huge-balls-of-webs-in-trees/509980/4 "2009-09-14T01:12:49Z")
Yuck! I see both kinds, I guess this answers my question…unless there’s more insects that make similar webs. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-insect-makes-huge-balls-of-webs-in-trees/509980/5 "2009-09-14T03:07:57Z")
They are all over the pecan tree in my back yard. Freak me out. ---
**Author:** ![arachnologus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@arachnologus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arachnologus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-insect-makes-huge-balls-of-webs-in-trees/509980/6 "2009-09-14T03:36:38Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > 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. 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](http://woodypests.cas.psu.edu/Insects/FallWebworm/CherryFallWebwormDamage.jpg). The [adult moths](http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=3746) are very pretty, and as long as they’re not ruining someone’s fruit tree, they’re not really much of a pest. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-insect-makes-huge-balls-of-webs-in-trees/509980/7 "2009-09-14T13:11:00Z")
There are communal web spiders here that cover entire bushes with their webs ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-insect-makes-huge-balls-of-webs-in-trees/509980/8 "2009-09-14T15:55:16Z")
Be thankful you don’t live near [Tawakoni State Park](http://www.texasento.net/Social_Spider.htm) in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-insect-makes-huge-balls-of-webs-in-trees/509980/9 "2009-09-14T16:35:21Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Be thankful you don’t live near [Tawakoni State Park](http://www.texasento.net/Social_Spider.htm) in Texas. If I saw that I would get out a flame thrower. It looks like an alien invasion. Ughhhhh,.