This week's featured insect is the bagworm moth pictured below:
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| Unidentified species Source: Wikipedia |
These moths were given the name bagworm because their larvae construct cases out of silk and materials from the surrouding environment (such as twigs), pictured below:
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| Unidentified species. Source: Wikipedia |
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Pachythelia villosella
Source: Wikipedia |
This bag protects the larva from predators and it also serves as the pupal casing. The adult female resembles are larval form and remains in the bag throughout mating and egg deposition, after which it crawls out of the bag. falls to the ground and dies. There are multiple species of this type which can cause extensive damage to trees and shrubs.
Thanks for doing this post. I never knew what these were when I found them in our yard. I didn't know they caused damage ... should I remove them when I see them??
ReplyDeleteThanks again ... I have wondered about these for years!
~Michele
As long as there are not too many of them your plants should be fine. Here is a fact sheet published by Penn State with some great information: http://woodypests.cas.psu.edu/factsheets/insectfactsheets/html/bagworm.html
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