Anisota stigma
These voracious insects are native to the Eastern United States, from
New England to
Florida, and can be found as far west as
Texas. The moths are a red-brown in color, with black specks and a single white
dot on each of the
forewings, which range from four to six cm in span. They appear in late June or early July, and lay clusters of hundreds of eggs in a single layer high in trees on the underside of
broadleaf foliage. In one or two weeks, the eggs hatch, and the white,
grublike
larvae begin defoliating the leaves of their host plant.
In the early
larval stage, the
caterpillars feed in groups, devouring the leaves of an entire branch before moving to the next. As the
larvae grow, they change in color from white to reddish, and their spines grow darker, eventually to black. They also spread out on their own, and can often be found on lawns, and even in houses. They eventually attain a length of about 5 cm. They continue to feed for about six weeks, before digging
burrows in the soil, where the black
pupae will winter over.
Generally, natural predators (
birds,
wasps, and other
parasites and
predators) keep spiny oakworm populations in control, and since most of the feeding period occurs in the
Autumn, the species is only a significant (and really only
aesthetic) threat in urban areas, where bird populations are lower, and trees are less plentiful. The oakworm eats only the leaves of trees, not damaging bark or branches, so in a natural habitat, they pose no serious
environmental threat, and are a key link in many forest
food chains.
this information, plus pictures, can be found at:
http://www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl/bulletins/spinyoakworm/spinyoakworm.htm
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/idotis/insects/oakworm.html
http://www.forestpests.org/southern/oakworm.html
for DejaMorgana
and wertperch