Redhumped Oakworm
From Bugwoodwiki
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USDA Forest Service. 1979. A guide to common insects and diseases of forest trees in the northeastern United States. Northeast. Area State Priv. For., For. Insect and Disease Management., Broomall, PA. p. 123, illus.
Defoliation by the redhumped oakworm becomes noticeable in oak stands in late summer. This insect attacks all oak species, but outbreaks tend to develop in areas where the white oak group predominates. No permanent tree damage results from a single, complete defoliation. The greatest problem is the nuisance the larvae create--frass dirties camping, picknicking, and residential areas and migrating larvae become odorous when they die from lack of food.
Adult females lay eggs in June and July in batches of about 50 on the undersides of leaves. The eggs hatch in 10 days, and the caterpillars feed in colonies on the upper surfaces of leaves, consuming more leaf tissue as they grow. When the caterpillars are about an inch long, the colonies begin to break up. The full-grown larva has a rounded orange-red head and yellowish body with fine, black lines extending its full length. On top of the body near the tail is an orange-red hump. Mature caterpillars drop to the ground in late September and pupate between rolled leaves in the litter. Some may overwinter as prepupal larvae. Adult moths emerge in June. There is one generation per year.
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 Photo by USDA Forest Service - Rocky Mountain Region Archive, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org |
