Bagworms

Order/Family: Lepidoptera/Ptinidae

Description:

This pest is best recognized by the tear-drop shaped bag covered with materials from the plant on which it is feeding. The larvae carries the bag around as it feeds.
The larva (caterpillar) is dark brown with a yellow head and black and yellow spots on the body.
Male moths are about 3/4-inch long, have a wingspan of approximately 1-inch, and are sooty black and covered with hairs.
Rarely seen, females are yellowish, wingless, legless, and maggot-like.

Biology and Habits:

Females lay 500 to 1,000 eggs in their bag and then die.
The eggs are the overwintering sate and hatch in late spring.
The young larvae spins a silken cocoon and incorporates plant material in the bag. As the larvae molt, the size of their bag increase.
The larvae pupate in late summer, and the adults emerge within 7 to 10 days.
The males emerge and fly around seeking females which remain in their bags and mate there.
There is one generation per year.
Because the females can not readily move from plant to plant, it is very common for a plant to be heavily infested while others close by remain totally unaffected.

Plants Attacked:

Bagworms prefer junipers, cedars, arborvitae, white pine and other conifers.
They also feed on rose, sycamore, maple, elm, boxelder, poplar, maple persimmon, and black locust.

Damage: