Hand pick them off if you really are worried about the chemicals.

READERS BEWARE: doing this enough has taught many eco-friendly gardeners that responsible use of chemicals is okay.

I'VE FOUND THEM ON MINE TOO. WHAT DID YOU DO? DID IT WORK?

They are probably "Genista" caterpillars. It's a moth, and the caterpillars are unlikely to do permanent damage to the trees.

Management: No management may be required on mature plants as the worms rarely consume enough foliage to damage the plant. However, young and/or newly installed plants with a small canopy may need to be protected. Handpicking is an effective control in small gardens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sophora Worms

We have that moth species use our Texas Mountain Laurels as hosts for the caterpillars every year. Not much damage and the plant recovers later. I leave them alone. We have many Texas Mountain Laurels, as the plants are native here.

I am so excited I just got my first TML!!! I have always admired them in the neighborhood. Only in about a week and already found two worms. Based on info above, I guess I will just manually remove them for now. Surely don't want to lose this wonderful addition to our landscape.

I use bacillus thuringiensis and is used in organic gardening. If you top water the tree it must be re-applied because it will wash right off.

My shrub is about 10 years old now. I’m in Phoenix AZ. The buds were attacked this year due to early warm weather, ruining the bloom. Now all the new growth, including next years buds have been ruined. Ive tried BTand chemicals, both topical and systemic, but the worms win. I give up.

Hundreds of them on a very short tree that came back after a freeze. ill be harvesting them today!