Hi Douglas & All,     I suspect the cocoon you describe is a web produced by some kind of tent caterpillar.  Those black dots are likely frass. In time the worms may spin a real cocoon and, if you are really lucky, you might manage to keep some samples until adults emerge next year.     So I would suggest you just let them do their thing and see what happens. Most trees can suffer total defoliation during the growing season and be entirely unaffected. Trees and leaf feeding insects have a long history of coexistence.     Quince is almost impossible to kill even if you are determined to get rid of it. So rest easy. YT, DW, Kentville On 8/12/2020 10:47 AM, Douglas Guptill wrote: > Hello list: > > I have a cocoon of small (3/4 inch) worms making a cocoon (like spider > web material) in my quince tree. Urban Dartmouth. The cocoon is > expanding daily, and the worms seem to be leaving small (about 1 mm) > black dots, and brown leaves. > > So my bewilderment is, should I > > *) cut all the affected branches off and put them in the green bin > > *) let the system (whatever it is) mature, and maybe provide food > for whatever birds happen to come by. > > Any advice appreciated. > > Thanks, > Douglas. > _______________________________________________ > Naturens mailing list -- naturens(a)chebucto.ns.ca > To unsubscribe send an email to naturens-leave(a)chebucto.ns.ca