through the upper and lower layers of the leaf around the cocoon, forming a case. 
The case, which encloses the larva and cocoon, drops to the ground. Once there, 
the larva fastens the case to some object by means of silken threads and then 
pupates. Heavily infested trees may turn completely brown by midsummer. 
The resplendent shield bearer, Coptodisca splendoriferella (Clemens), also 
occurs in the Eastern United States. Larvae mine the leaves of apple, cherry, and 
related hosts. They pupate in cases attached to the limbs and trunks of their hosts. 
Family Psychidae 
Bagworm Moths 
Members of this family have the interesting habit of spending the entire larval 
stage within silken bags. The bag is usually strong, tough, and camouflaged by an 
outer layer containing bits of twigs and leaves. Newly hatched larvae begin to spin 
bags about their bodies as soon as they start to feed and they continue to enlarge the 
bags as they grow. An opening is maintained at the top of the bag, through which 
the head and several segments of the body protrude when the larva is moving, 
feeding, or enlarging its case. There is also a smaller opening in the bottom of the 
bag, through which excrement drops out. About 24 species have been recorded 
from the Eastern United States (282). The species occurring in Texas are discussed 
(646). 
Oiketicus abbotii Grote occurs over much of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains 
from North Carolina to Texas. It feeds on many species of trees such as bald- 
cypress, live oak, bayberry, sycamore, elm, hackberry, sweetgum, and willow. It is 
noted for the rather large bag, about 70 mm long, which the larva constructs. Small 
twigs used in its construction are placed in a circular pattern around it. Psyche casta 
(Pallas) feeds on lichens, mosses, and the beech scale in Massachusetts. The larvae 
occasionally climb up on the sides of houses in such large numbers that they are a | 
nuisance. Basicladus celibatus (Jones) frequently attaches its bags to the lower 
trunks of oaks and pines in coastal areas from North Carolina to Florida. The larvae 
are general feeders on low vegetation and may feed on trees. 
The bagworm, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis (Haworth), is widely distributed 
in the Eastern United States and attacks a wide variety of trees. Northern white- 
cedar and redcedar appear to be preferred, but many other conifers and hardwoods 
such as pine, spruce, black locust, sycamore, willow, maple, elm, basswood, 
poplar, oak, baldcypress, and persimmon are also attacked. The male moth is sooty 
black, densely hairy, and has a wingspread of about 25 mm. Females are wingless, 
have no functional legs, eyes, or antennae, and are almost maggotlike in ap- 
pearance. The body is soft, yellowish white, and practically naked except for a 
circle of woolly hairs at the posterior end of the abdomen (6/0). Full-grown larvae 
are dark brown and about 18 to 25 mm long. The head and thoracic plates are 
yellowish and spotted with black. 
Male bagworm moths emerge in the fall, fly to the females, and mate. The 
female remains in her larval bag and deposits her eggs in the pupal case in the mass 
of scales she shed. Winter is spent in the bag in the egg stage and the eggs hatch 
during the following May or June. The larvae feed on the surface of leaves at first; 
later entire leaves are consumed. Mature larvae attach their bags to twigs (fig. 40) 
with silk and pupate in them. There is one generation per year. 
The bagworm is most important as a pest on shade trees and ornamental shrubs 
growing in yards and hedges, along the streets of cities and towns, and in parks and 
other recreational areas. Large numbers of northern white-cedar and other conifers 
are lost each year as a result of complete defoliation. Many others only partly 
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