National Moth Week 2023 - Common Bagworm Moth


Moths do not find universal appeal. The common bagworm moth, scientifically known as Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis, belongs to the family Psychidae. There are around 1,300 species of bagworms. Bagworms are the larval stage of certain moth species that damage evergreen and deciduous trees. The name bagworm comes from the fact that the worm-like larvae emerge from bag-like casings.

The life cycle of Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis in cooler climates starts when the eggs hatch in the end of May and beginning of June. This species emerges earlier in Florida and can be bivolutine (two generations in a year) in southern regions during warmer years.

Once the eggs hatch, the larva spins a silk strand that hangs down it. The larva can also be transported to nearby plants by wind. Once the larva finds a host, it starts to make a new protective bag around itself. It remains inside this bag sticking only its head out to eat from the host. The larva continues feeding until it matures by the end of August. It then attaches the bag they are in to a branch with a strand of silk and starts developing into a pupa.

The bagworm moth generally resides and feeds on willow, maple, bald cypress, native roses, black locusts, pines and over 120 other deciduous and evergreen species. Larvae are known to subsist on fruit trees, ornamental trees, perennial flowers and decorative shrubs making the bagworm moth’s diet diverse and adaptable.


Adult males emerge in early fall with a wingspan of 25 millimeters. These are small, dark moths with fur on their body and transparent wings. Adult bagworm females are wingless. They never leave the protective bag. She remains in her bag for the male to find and mate with her. The female will then produce 500-1000 eggs within her bag and then dies.

In residential landscapes, bagworm moths can be hand-pulled from surfaces in cooler months as some contain the wingless female or her clutch of eggs that will hatch in spring. The author recommends BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) spray as a biological control at dusk in spring- when the bag’s size is small and the moth more susceptible. Providing habitat for natural predators such as spiders, syrphid flies, and parasitoid wasps are, as usual, best practices. The bagworm is very common in urban settings and should not cause alarm to the better-informed reader.

Come celebrate moth awareness week collaboratively with National Moth Week and Florida Native Plant Society. Like and share your own experiences with us.

Caterpillar image courtesy of Judy Gallagher
Adult image courtesy of Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren


Caption provided by FNPS President, Mark Kateli
Instagram: @markkateli | Facebook: Mark Kateli

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wednesday's Wildflower:Spanish Needle

Image
Spanish Needle, Bidens Alba Submitted by Donna Bollenbach, Suncoast Chapter Biden's alba , all photos by Donna Bollenbach Nothing attracts more butterflies and bees than a simple white flower called Bidens alba . Also called Romerillo, Beggar’s Tick, Spanish Needle or Monkey’s Lice, this Florida native wildflower is the third most reliable source of nectar for pollinators in our state. There would be many starving bees and butterflies if not for the Bidens family of flowers. More so, Bidens alba and its sister plant, Bidens pilosa , are both edible and have medicinal value. Yet, many gardeners have a love/hate relationship the plant, and some even consider it a pesky weed. Why?
Read more

Australian Pine: One of Florida's Least Wanted

Image
 Austrailian Pine fruits Australian pines seem to be everywhere in the coastal regions in the bottom half of Florida. Their name is deceiving because, while they are native to Australia, they aren't pines or even conifers. They are flowering trees with separate male and female flowers, and what look like needles are really green twiglets with close-set circles of tiny leaves that drop at the first sign of a drought. In the photo to the right, the light-colored lines are where leaves where once attached. Most of the photosynthesis takes place in the twiglets. There are three species of Australian pine ( Casuarina spp ) that have been imported into Florida for various purposes. They were widely planted to soak up the "swamps" in Florida, stabilize canals, and hold beaches. Unfortunately for Florida's ecosystems, the "pines" accomplished all this and more--like seeding prolifically, growing five feet or more per year, producing dense shade, and emitting
Read more

Florida Native Azaleas

Image
Piedmont Azalea, Rhododendron canescens. Photo by Lilly Anderson-Messec By Lilly Anderson-Messec While growing up in North Florida, I began to recognize the arrival of spring by the boisterous show of white, pink, and fuchsia blooms of azalea shrubs. The house I grew up in had large, mature azalea hedges with a variety of different colors and forms. Every spring, my mom would bring in vases full of them and my dad loved to point out the showy shrubs as we drove through town. I suppose I assumed these plants were native, but most likely I never gave it a thought. I didn’t differentiate a native plant from a non-native one because I didn’t yet know the importance of native plants as the basis of our functioning ecosystems. I was so surprised when I learned the azaleas I was so familiar with (Rhododendron indicum) are actually transplants from Asia! They are favored by the horticultural industry for their fast, vigorous, and dense growth of evergreen leaves and large, showy blooms. Curio
Read more