ScientificName: Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis
Description: The caterpillar produces noticeable bags that hang in trees. They are up to 2-inches long and are covered in plant debris.
Habitat/Food: Bagworms appear on a wide variety of trees and feed on all of them.
Life Cycle: Female bagworms do not fly and therefore produce more eggs on the same host plant. If there is a current infestation the problem will only worsen year after year.
Organic Control: Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) should be sprayed in the spring when the caterpillars are feeding.
Interesting Fact: During mating season the wingless, footless adult female perforates the lower end of the bag, protrudes her abdomen for breeding, and soon dies after laying about a thousand eggs in the bag.