Bagworm Camouflage

Description:

The female is wingless and grub like with tiny, useless legs. The male is a small, brown, hairy moth with clear wings. The yellow egg is slightly oblong or spherical, about 0.8 mm by 1.0 mm. It is found in the mother's bag, usually in her pupal exuviae. The male is 2 to 43 mm long; the female, 2 to 52 mm. The head and forward parts are dark and sclerotized the remainder is pale amber. Larval bags grow to about 5 cm long and 12 mm wide The pupa is dark brown. Males are slender posteriorly, and females are cylindrical. The pupal stage is spent inside the bag.

Habitat:

Bag worms feed on many trees including Vachellia nilotica (widely known by the taxonomic synonym Acacia nilotica, or the common names gum arabic tree.

Notes:

A single bag worm does relatively little damage. Yet because females do not fly, populations are often very dense; and excessive defoliation may actually kill conifers within one or two seasons. Damage is most noticeable on ornamental plantings rather than in forests and woodlands.