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Bagworms are caterpillars that carry their baglike homes around with them, hence the name - bagworm. The spindle shaped bags are generally 1"-2" long and made of unbelievably tough silk and are covered with remnants of the host plant such as leaves, needles, twigs, etc. These coverings or 'bags' may look totally different, even on bagworms of the same species, because they are constructed from materials of different host plants. The eggs of the bagworm over winter in the bags and hatch in the spring. The larvae are dark brown, 3/4" - 1" with white to yellowish heads. They immediately begin feeding on the foliage of the host plant, making new bags as they feed, enlarging the bag as they grow and moving about freely with the bag. They are commonly found feeding on evergreens such as juniper, arborvitae, hemlock and pine and are sometimes referred to as the evergreen bagworm, but they are general feeders and can be found feeding on sycamores, soft maples, locust, box elder, linden and larch as well. When infestations are light, the overall appearance of the plants becomes marred, when infestations are heavy, the plants can become defoliated. The bagworm pupates in late summer and several days later the furry, black male moth, with feathered antennae and 1" wingspan, flies to mate with the maggot-like female in an opening at the base of the bag. The female will lay between 500- 1000 eggs in the bag and then die, eggs over winter and continue the cycle. Generally found east of the Rockies, and much more prevalent in the southern states.
Beetles belong to the largest of all insect groups and are members of the Coleoptera order which means "sheath wings". A common characteristic with members of this order is the modification of the first pair of wings into hard wing covers (elytra). Most often these meet in a straight line down the center of the back and when in flight, they are held rigidly out to the sides of the body, while all movement is by the membranous hind wings which are folded under the elytra when not in flight. Some beetles though, such as ground beetles or weevils which are also beetles, lack hind wings because the elytra is fused together on the back. Beetles have a complete metamorphosis, eggs become grubs, then turn into a pupa before final transformation into an adult. Adults, as well as larvae, have chewing mouth parts, but not all beetles cause injury to plants, some beetles are predaceous feeding on other insects, while others are scavengers feeding on rotting plant and animal refuse. The mouth parts of the beetle will generally indicate its feeding habits. Those with short, chunky mandibles generally are plant eating species while predatory beetles have long pointed jaws, which are ideal for grasping other insects. If the mandibles are covered with stiff hair and lack distinct teeth, most likely the beetle is a non-injurious pollen feeder. With one group of beetles, the snout beetles, which are similar to curculios and weevils, their chewing mouth parts are greatly reduced in size and are placed at the end of a long, slender, trunk-like snout that protrudes forward and downward. There are over 100 beetle families reported in the United States and 40% of all insects can be found within the Coleoptera order, in fact, 2 out of every 5 insects discovered and named in this group are beetles. With so many beetles it would be almost impossible to list them all, but some of the more commonly known plant injurious beetles include the Asiatic Garden, Black Blister, Cedar Bark, Elm Leaf, Japanese, June and Mexican Bean. For those that are predatory see beneficial insects.
Borers are nothing more than grubs or caterpillars, the larvae of various beetles or moths which bore (or drill holes) in the bark of plants, to feed inside the stems. They are one of the larger groups of destructive insects, there are many different kinds of borers which feed on the woody tissue of ornamental trees, shrubs, vines, etc. and in the herbaceous tissue of annuals and perennials as well. Some plants are more susceptible than others to borer infestation and knowledge of specific borers and the plants that they affect is needed for prevention, however any plant can become more predisposed to borer attack when stress is place upon it. Some of the factors than influence such stress are: drought, defoliation cause by leaf eating insects, sun scald, construction and mechanical injuries and chemical injury.
Budworms are small caterpillars that generally feed on or in the opening buds of plants. In the adult stage, they are sometimes referred to as budmoths. A serious insect pest of conifers in North America, but also affecting other ornamentals, some of which are: apple, blackberry, hawthorn, larch, laurel, oak, pear, plum cherry, holly, pecan, rose, and various garden flowers.
To most people, just about any insect would be considered a 'bug', but to the entomologist (those that study insects) a bug is an insect in a group by itself, a member of the insect order Hemiptera, suborder Heteroptera. To make it simple to understand, true bugs have their wings folded flat over their abdomen instead of being held in a roof-like position, but not all bugs have wings, a few are wingless. They also have piercing, sucking mouth parts, and this beak arises from the front part of the head. True bugs also have a gradual metamorphosis, young nymphs resemble adults except for size and their lack of wings. Some of the more common bugs that you probably could identify with are the azalea lace bug, chinch bug and the stink bug. If you thought of the mealybug and the spittlebug, I'm sorry, but these are not true bugs. While many of the true bugs are injurious to plants, some are beneficial insects that prey upon other insects.
It is not the butterfly itself that can be injurious to plants, but the it is the larval stage of the butterfly (the caterpillars that hatch from the eggs laid by the butterfly) that can be destructive to plant tissues. Not all, but some of these caterpillars can be beneficial by eating other detrimental insects. |
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Bagworms -
Beetles -
Borers-
Bugs -