Baby Bagworms

This moths larvae spin unsightly baglike shelters in tree canopies and can cause serious damage through defoliation.

Baby bagworms. One adult bagworm can produce over 1000 baby bagworms. Bagworms are relatively sedentary during their lifetime most often remaining on the same tree until they pupate. Females lay eggs in the bags each fall that hatch in late spring now. Once the eggs hatch the larva spins a silk strand.

Bagworms pass the winter as eggs inside a spindle shaped bag found on avariety of trees and plants. Once youve clipped off all of the egg sacks transfer them from the water to a sealable plastic bag and throw them in the trash. Bagworms add material to the front of the case as they grow excreting waste materials through the opening in the back of the case. Theyre called bagworms because after the larvae feed on plants and trees they encase themselves in cocoon like bags constructed from twigs leaves and self spun silk.

Once the case is built only adult males ever leave the case never to return when they take flight to find a mate. The bagworms overwinter in the bag that was put there by last years females. They hatch in may and early june and crawl out of their sacks eating the plants until around august or so. The evergreen bagworm prefers deciduous and evergreen trees while the snailcasebagworm prefers vegetables ornamentals legumes fruit and other trees.

Once in its bag a. Bagworm eggs hatch near the end of may or the first week in june. When to spray bagworms. Though these little worms are only 18 of an inch long they begin to test the strength of their silk by spinning a thread and hanging around.

Females are creamy white andlack wings and legs. The bagworm thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis is a common pest of many coniferous and deciduous trees in the eastern us. The larva continues feeding until it matures. Life cycle the eggs of bagworm moths hatch in end of may and beginning of june.

It remains inside this bag sticking. To get rid of bagworms start by mixing warm water and dish soap in a bucket. Then inspect the branches on your infested tree and use clippers to cut off any egg sacks you find so they fall into the soapy water. Junipers and spruce seem to be bagworm magnets but bagworms will feed on just about any kind of plant.

Once the larva finds a host it starts to make a new protective bag around itself. Bagworm eggs overwinter on the leaves and needles of a host plant and hatch may through early june. Adult females are wingless and never leave the tree while male bagworms pupate and develop into a small brown moth.