Hatched Bagworms

I wrote about bagworms a few weeks ago. I've never seen them when they first hatched. (The only ones that I have seen are after they had become larger or even when they've prepared to spend the winter in their sack that has been tied off from the outside world.)

For those of you who are not familiar with bagworms, they are a caterpillar that constructs a bag around itself as it feeds to help camouflage and protect it from enemies. Careful monitoring of landscape plants is important because as the insect (and bags) grow, control is more difficult. Large infestations of bagworms can devastate plants.

I wanted to share this picture with you. One of the arborists here at Ryan Lawn and Tree brought this sample in to me because he knew I hadn't seen small bagworms before. Bagworms have hatched, so monitor your landscape plants (especially evergreens) for this insect pest! Call a tree company, like Ryan Lawn and Tree, for control.