bagworm

An Important Bagworm Parasitoid and Connecting the Dots
Itoplectis conquisitor
boggs.47@osu.edu Fri, 10/03/2025 - 10:45

Curtis Young (OSU Extension, Van Wert County) showed participants in this week’s BYGL Zoom Inservice pictures of the parasitoid wasp Itoplectis conquisitor (family Ichneumonidae). The wasps were all males, and they were milling around on this season’s bagworms (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis, family Psychidae) in northwest Ohio.

 

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Authors
Joe Boggs
Curtis E. Young
Bagworm Feeding Season Ends; Picking Season Begins
bagworm
boggs.47@osu.edu Thu, 08/28/2025 - 13:23
Bagworm caterpillars have “tied off” and are pupating in southwest and northeast Ohio. This marks a significant transition period in management options. Insecticides are no longer effective, but plucking remains viable.
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Authors
Joe Boggs
Curtis E. Young

Be Alert to Bagworms

Early instar bagworm
Bagworms (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis, family Psychidae) are the larvae (caterpillars) of a native moth that develop within silk bags festooned with pieces of their host plants. As the caterpillars mature, they begin weaving more host plant debris into the silk, which provides structural stability as well as camouflage.
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Authors
Joe Boggs
Bagworm Egg Hatch: The Game’s Afoot!
bagworm
boggs.47@osu.edu Wed, 05/29/2024 - 15:53
BYGLers reported during yesterday’s Tuesday morning BYGL Zoom Inservice that overwintered Bagworm eggs are hatching or have hatched in Ohio meaning the “bagworm season” is now underway. Look closely at trees and shrubs festooned with last season’s bag abodes to detect newly hatched bagworms.
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Authors
Joe Boggs
Erik Draper
Curtis E. Young
“Bagworm Season” is Wrapping Up but Bags Will Remain
bagworm
boggs.47@osu.edu Sat, 09/03/2022 - 10:56
Common bagworms (family Psychidae) are so-named because the native moth caterpillars live in silk bags festooned with plant debris. It’s the perfect camouflage allowing them to remain undetected until their damage is revealed by their voracious appetites. The “bagworm season” is ending with the caterpillars transitioning from life in a tote bag to life in a sleeping bag.
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Authors
Joe Boggs
Bagworm Damage Becoming Obvious
Common Bagworm feeding on Juniper
boggs.47@osu.edu Tue, 07/19/2022 - 08:32
Common bagworms have been with us for a while. Overwintered bagworm eggs began hatching in southwest Ohio at the end of May (see “Bagworm Eggs are Hatching: The Game’s Afoot!,” June 1, 2022). However, it’s amazing how long these general defoliators can continue to crawl below our radar as they chomp on evergreens and deciduous trees and shrubs before their cumulative damage and size finally make them apparent.
Published on
Authors
Joe Boggs
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