The Bagworm Menace

 

The silk cocoon of the bagworm, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis.

Charlottesville, Va., news outlets are reporting damage to local trees by the so-called ?EUR??,,????'??bagworm?EUR??,,????'?? caterpillar. Landscape Architect Deborah McAndrews told Charlottesville News Plex she believes it has reached the level of an infestation in Albemarle County, and cites the Leland cypress as suffering the most.

The Ohio State University Extension notes the bagworm occurs in the eastern United States from New England to Nebraska and south through Texas. The larvae prefer arborvitae and red cedar but many other conifers and deciduous trees are attacked, including pine, spruce, cypress, juniper, willow, black locust, sycamore, apple, maple, elm, poplar, oak and birch.