Caterpillars and Loopers Flashcards
Cankerworms
spring and fall, two different species, nearly identical. periodic outbreaks cause serious defoliation. attack many hosts. moths are brownish gray, females are wingless
Cankerworm Life Cycle
females crawl upward into trees to deposit their eggs in patches / compact masses (fall) or loose clusters (spring); eggs hatch toward the end of May. one generation per year. larvae of both species occur together, destroy young leaves and buds - prefer elm and apples. completely defoliate a tree in late may to early june then crawl down or drop by silk threads and crawl into the soil to pupate / hibernate and emerge as moths again in the spring
Cankerworm Control
look like inchworms, lace canopy appearance from defoliation, can use B.t. as well as spraying approx ten days post egg hatch. can use carbaryl, cyfluthrin, esfenvalerate, malathion, permethrin - can also trunk band with sticky barriers, homeowners will try this but it does not actually work that well
Eastern Tent Caterpillar
build web tents in crotches of branches in spring and early summer. young caterpillars are dark with two thin yellow stripes along the back. Mature caterpillars are 2” long, they have a median white strip on the back flanked by two yellow stripes. adults are fluffy tan to light brown with two white stripes on the wings. egg masses are black and wrap around small twigs of host plants
Eastern Tent Caterpillar Life Cycle
one generation per year, hatch out in early spring, mature in early summer - migrate from the tent and find a protected place to make a cocoon and pupate. adults emerge in late June and July and lay egg masses, eggs overwinter
Eastern Tent Caterpillar Damage and Control
prefer rosaceous trees (cherry, crabapple, apple) can completely defoliate, maintain plant health, prune out egg masses in the winter. control young caterpillars using Bt or horticultural oil. older caterpillars can be killed using broad spectrum insecticides
Fall Webworm
feeds on over 90 species of deciduous trees, acts similarly to eastern tent caterpillar but the fall webworm constructs its nest over the END of the branch, not in the crotches.
Fall Webworm Descriptors
white hair covered egg masses with several hundred light yellow eggs. young larvae are pale yellow with two rows of black marks along their bodies. adults are covered with whitish hairs that originate from black and orange warts.
Fall Webworm Life Cycle
overwinters as pupa in a cocoon in the leaf litter, crevices or soil. adults appear mid June but may continue to emerge throughout the summer. females lay eggs on the undersurface of the leaves. larvae hatch in 7 days and immediately spin webs over the foliage they’re feeding on. mature in 6 weeks, leave the web and pupate on or in the soil. can have two generations a year
Fall Webworm Control
prune and destroy webs, apply insecticide in July including acelepryn and Bt, also carbaryl and pyrethroid insecticides (permethrin, cyfluthrin, bifenthrin and esfevalerate)
Forest Tent Caterpillar
hatch from egg masses in early to mid May, feed on aspens and many other deciduous trees for 5-6 weeks. create inconspicuous silken mats on tree trunks and branches where they gather, weaken trees via defoliation and make them vulnerable to disease
Forest Tent Caterpillar Identification
mature caterpillars are hairy and velvety-black with blue stripes on their sides, a row of yellow keyhole shaped marking runs along the top of their body - pupate mid-June into moths after 10-14 days, yellowish brown, females deposit eggs in the upper crown of trees that are coated in a frothy, glue like substance that hardens and turns a glossy dark brown; overwinter and then hatch the following spring
Spongy Moth
aka gypsy moth, destructive invasive insect, feeds on the leaves of more than 300 species of trees and shrubs and will eventually kill them
Spongy Moth Identification
egg masses (late summer, winter, spring) can be attached to anything, covered with yellow hairs; caterpillars newly hatched are black and hairy, older caterpillars are mottled yellow to gray color with tufts of hairs, FIVE PAIRS BLUE DOTS FOLLOWED BY SIX PAIRS RED DOTS, moths are brown with darker brown patterning on wings, females are nearly white and don’t fly
Oak Leaf Tier & Leafroller
little green caterpillars hang from silk threads, tiers tie several leaves together with silk and feed between them; rollers roll leaves individually to feed on them; eggs laid in late spring, hatch then feed for about a month then drop to the ground to pupate - repeated defoliation can weaken trees
