Found new residents in my grey willow this evening.
There are three groups of this size that I can see.
They are eating the leaves down to the centre vein! Not that I care about the willow, in fact I’m trying to kill it by girdling it (I want to keep the framework for other climbers). I don’t see them in any of my other plants, either.
Any ideas? Are they bad, good, or chaotic neutral?
heretherebespiders 
Eugh- don’t fancy them much!
Google says it might be a Buff-tip caterpillar (Phalera bucephala)
Info..
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=897
Probably Chaotic neutral as they munch on many deciduous trees… Yours just found your Salix. If you have birds in your garden they will probably see them as dinner.
(BTW… Bonus points for the DnD reference there!) B-)
I was wondering about toxicity – the Resident Robin either is stuffed full of them, or hasn’t seen them (hard to imagine, wee thing has great vision). She/he was hanging out in the tree just feet away and not nomming away…
Thanks for getting the nerd reference!
I think they are a little big for Robins. Blackbirds and the like would be more the right predator!
That does look like them, and I have seen those moths (I think they look a bit like a big bird-poo).
LOL!!
They are fairly common around here. I can’t see why they wouldn’t be over there too.
Not sure (hope you can keep track of ’em and get photos of the adults, but it sure looks like a plague of the critters.
Willow are tough plants, however, so entirely possible, despite this infestation and your wishes, that it’ll regenerate.
Good luck.
Oh, I’d like the willow to croak anyway!
I haven’t seen these guys before but expect the hairy nature will keep the robin away – see also http://www.irishmoths.net/pages-moth/m-1994.html
These are similar to oak tree moth when the wormies emerge in spring. The oaks just drop their leaves thus starving the critter! Smart tree. xxx
The willow will lose all of its leaves eventually anyhow – saves me having to clean some of them up!
Bag-worms! Yuck. If possible, cut off the branches and destroy them.
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/homeowners/110519.html
No, there aren’t any bags or tents in the tree!
Kill them! They are terrible. They will kill anything they touch!
Linda
I was going to ask about the bags, but you already said “nope”.
As a kid a neighbor had something that ate their willow and made it look dreadful – but it never died. Each year they seemed to appear and chomp away until he finally cut it down.
Looks like you offer a free all you can eat buffet for some critter