White-marked Tussock moth cocoons on the UL Lafayette campus

This video clip documents the day after an outbreak of caterpillars of the white-marked tussock moth (Orgyia leucostigma J.E. Smith), a moth in the family Lymantriidae, on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Campus. http://www.youtube.com/nemastoma2#p/a/u/1/93YATujL79s . That night, caterpillars spun cocoons between the narrow separations of bricks in a brick wall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgyia_leucostigma.
The larvae are brightly colored, with tufts of hair-like setae. The head is bright red, the body has yellow or white stripes, with a prominent black median dorsal stripe. Bright red defensive glands are readily visible on the hind end of the back, as well as four white toothbrush-like tufts. Touching the hairs will set off an allergic skin reaction in many humans.

Eggs hatch in the spring, usually April in Louisiana. Larvae are solitary feeders and consume whole leaves. They become fully grown in five to six weeks.

In the South, the white-marked tussock moth occasionally occurs in epidemic numbers and may heavily defoliate live oak trees. Trees are seldom killed, but growth loss does occur. The caterpillars may feed on the live oaks that are common near Cypress Lake on the campus of UL Lafayette. Some insects are shown wiggling to prepare for the formation of their cocoon.

The round galls on the live oak tree were induced by a small wasp, Disholcaspis cinerosa. Other wasp species induced the clusters of woody twig galls.

Filmed and edited by Suzanne Fredericq on April 27, 2010

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Science & Technology

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