A bagworm is an interesting name for an insect.Why are these pests called bagworms, do they have a bag? They don’t have a bag but part of their life cycle takes place in a bag, so to speak.The bagworm is otherwise known as Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis in the scientific world. The Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis is part of the large insect family and is also a well-known pest of our beautiful evergreen trees. It is best to control these insects otherwise the fate of your evergreen trees is tragic. The life cycle of this moth is a fascinating topic to talk about. If you want to find out more about these interesting creatures, then let us learn about the life cycle of this moth called the bagworm.After reading all about these insects, be sure to also check out our articles about bagworm moth facts and the cockroach life cycle.How many stages are there in a bagworm’s life cycle?The bagworm species has a unique cycle through which they begin their life. The various stages that the insects go through can be divided into steps for an easy understanding. Let us go through each stage of this bagworm insect’s life cycle to understand how the bagworm larva turns into adult ones.The eggs of the bagworms hatch around the springtime. Once the larvae hatch, the larvae begin to spin a silk strand and hang down from it. The larvae are moved to nearby trees and shrubs with the help of wind. These become the host plants for the larvae for further development in the moth life cycle. The host plants can be a variety of trees and shrubs.After finding the host plant, the larvae make bags around it to protect themselves. Everything except the head is immersed in these bags. The head is out of the bags as a means for the larvae feeding to happen. The larvae feed on the host plant through the head. The larva continues the feeding process until it matures from this young stage.After they mature, they attach their bags into the branch of the host with a silk strand and start to develop into a pupa. Adult male worms appear with fur on their body and wings but the females of the adult bagworms are wingless; they have no wings like adult males. The females also don’t go outside, they stay in the bags.When they fully mature, these moths mate and die immediately after the mating process. This is a succinct summary of the different steps in the life cycle of bagworms.How long do bagworms stay in cocoons?The name of the moth is bagworms. Does that mean that they stay in their bags for a long time? Well, a great part of their life cycle is in these bags or cocoons but how long do they really spend inside these cocoons?Right after the caterpillars of bagworm moths hatch, they weave a silk cocoon around themselves. The caterpillar stays inside this cocoon until they mature into an adult moth. Sometimes the cocoon is made stronger by adding pieces of twigs and other plant matter. This is done to protect the cocoon from any harm. Since the larva spends most of their time in the cocoon, they actually spend a great amount of their total life in this cocoon. The stages of these moths last for around 7-10 days each. In these times, they remain inside these bags turning dark brown to black in color. From the larva stage to the adult stage, it takes around four weeks for the moths.This means that they spent four weeks of their life in these bags, however, for females this is a bit different as they never really come out of the cocoons. They live and die inside these bags. The adult male moth mates with the female moths inside the bags. The females lay eggs inside these bags and die immediately after the eggs have been laid.It is rare that you see the females surviving in the bags but the male bagworms stay in the cocoon for four weeks of their one year life and the females stay inside the cocoons throughout their short life.Which habitat do bagworms live in?What is the habitat that bagworms prefer to live in? The bagworms can become a serious pest to trees and plants if not taken proper control of. The bag that they live in during the initial stage can also cause serious damage to the host plants and trees.Bagworms prefer evergreen and deciduous trees to feed on. These evergreen and deciduous trees become the host plants and trees for them. They reside on these trees and feed on them too. Many deciduous and evergreen trees are the bagworm’s host plants. The cedar trees are the favorite trees for them to live and feed on and the larvae hang on to these cedar trees. Apart from these, other trees like maple, sycamore, willow, juniper, arborvitae are also some of the deciduous trees these moths live in.Bagworms also attack fruit trees, ornamental trees, perennial flowers, and decorative shrubs during their life period. Bagworms usually pass the winter times as larvae in the bag, but when they are adults, the cold weather is not something they can tolerate. Unlike the spring, the cold winter can actually kill a lot of bagworms so it is better to get rid of the bagworms during the wintertime from these habitats. During this time the larva will be in the bag and it will be easy to spray insecticides and kill these insects. When they become adults, it will be hard to get rid of these moths since they are more mobile and can also resist insecticides.How long is the life cycle of a bagworm cocoon?We know that the male moth of a bagworm has a slightly longer lifespan than the female ones. How long do these species last in the bagworm cocoon?The young male moths leave the bag when they become mature after four weeks of being bagworm larvae. The bagworm larvae feed on the evergreen hosts and later the male moths get out of the cocoon and feed on these plants. The adult male moth also has wings, unlike the female moth.The female moth stays inside the bag even after they mature, feeding on the evergreen hosts. These female insects can last up to one year in the bag, that is until mating happens and the next batch of eggs is laid inside the bag. These female bagworms have a longer life cycle than a bagworm cocoon since they never leave the bag anyway.Some species of the bagworm have females that stay alive inside the bags even after they have laid eggs. Bagworms reproduce during the spring and the larva stage inside the cocoon lasts for four weeks for the males. We can see the adult male moths outside but the female ones never make an appearance outside their bags. The life cycle of this bagworm really is an interesting thing to learn about!Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for bagworm life cycle: interesting facts on moths for kids revealed! then why not take a look at the chameleon diet: curious food facts that are worth to know for kids, or centipede vs millipede: differences between legged species sim
A bagworm is an interesting name for an insect.
