Interesting insects: The Bagworm Caterpillar

“Bagworm Caterpillar” is still a fascinating creature. It collects and saws little sticks to construct elaborate spiral log cabins to live in. These small creatures begin as moths. Once they hatch they immediately begin constructing elaborate shields for themselves for protection, often times looking like log cabins.

They build their homes out of silk, sand, soil, and plant materials. If you look very closely, you can see the strands that it used to tie the structure together. Bagworm moths make their homes in many types of trees, especially cedar trees. Larvae crawl to nearby plants and their bags can be seen hanging on trees that they feed on. Some may spin a silk thread that catches the wind and carries them off to new trees.