2 
ment it may attain a length of about three-fourths of an inch. The 
body is soft in texture and dull brownish or blackish, while the head 
and thoracic segments are horny and whitish, mottled with dark 
brown. 
ORIGINAL HOME AND PRESENT DISTRIBUTION. 
The bagworm is unquestionably native to North America. It 
abounds in the Southern States, and its proper home—that is to say, 
the part of the country where it reaches its maximum—is in the Lower 
Austral life zone. It extends through a considerable portion of the 
Upper Austral zone, but there are indications that it has gradually 
spread into this territory from more southern regions.“ The shade 
trees of Baltimore, Washington, St. Louis, and other more southern 
cities are frequently defoliated by this insect. Northward it occurs 
oir aa 
Nee 
gostei 
A 
thin 
iy 
Fic. 2.—Bagworm ( Thyridopteryx ephemerxformis): a, Full-grown larva: b, head of same; c, male pupa; 
d, female pupa; e, adult female; /, adult male. All enlarged (from Howard). 
through New Jersey and at many points in Pennsylvania, including 
the cities of Harrisburg, Elliottsburg, Allentown, and Swarthmore. 
Farther west it has been found at Columbus, Marietta, South Salem, 
and other localities in Ohio, at several points in West Virginia, at 
Brooklyn, Ind., in Pecatonica, Thompsonville, and Allendale, Ill., and 
so on west to Oklahoma. Everywhere south of these localities, except 
in the immediate Gulf region, it abounds. In the East it is commonly 
found in New York City and Brooklyn, and at several points on Long 
Island. In the Hudson River Valley region it has been recorded by 
Felt at Yonkers and Mount Vernon, and has been collected at New 
“In the main the bagworm is one of those characteristic forms like the wheel-bug 
( Arilus cristatus L.), the Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina L.), and the larger 
digger wasp (Sphecius speciosus Dru.), true southern forms which are gradually 
extending their northward range by following the seacoast or valleys, or, if carried 
ace.dentally northward upon railroad trains, establishing themselves at points beyond 
their former habitat. 
[Cir. 97] 
