Insect Defoliators of the Southeastern United States

1. Insect Defoliators of the Southeastern United States Forest Health Guide for Georgia Foresters Terry S. Price – Entomologist http://www.gfc.state.ga.us

2. Hardwood Defoliators Greenstriped Mapleworm Orangestriped Oakworm Spiny Oakworm Buck Moth Oak Skeletonizer Forest Tent Caterpillar Eastern Tent Caterpillar Catalpa Sphinx Walnut Caterpillar Variable Oakleaf Caterpillar Gypsy Moth Locust Leafminer Larger Elm Leaf Beetle Japanese Beetle Yellow Poplar Weevil

3. Lepidoptera Oakworms Oakworms in the genus Anisota, are common throughout the South and do considerable damage in forest and landscape trees. Common species are the orangestriped, pinkstriped and spiny oakworms

4. Orange Striped Oakworm Feed on various oaks and sometimes birch and hickory.

5. Spiny oakworm

6. The greenstriped mapleworm, prefers maples but will feed on boxelder and oaks

7. Buck moth larva The buck moth feeds primarily on oaks.

8. The oak skeletonizer

9. Oak Skeletionizer Damage

10. The oak skeletonizer was responsible for extensive defoliation of chestnut oak over a 300,000–acre area in North Georgia from 1986 to 1999

11. Note key-hole shaped spots Forest Tent Caterpillar Forms no tent, feeds on many species

12. Eastern Tent caterpillar

13. Catalpa sphinx moth.

14. Feeds on walnut, butternut, pecan, hickory. Walnut caterpillar

15. Variable Oak caterpillar

16. Coleoptera - Hardwoods Locust leaf miner – nymph, larva and adult

17. The larger elm leaf beetle

18. The Japanese beetle

19. Conifer Defoliators Spotted Loblolly Pine Sawfly Virginia Pine Sawfly White Pine Sawfly Slash Pine Sawfly Hetrick's Sawfly Warren's Sawfly Blackheaded Pine Sawfly Red-Headed Pine Sawfly Abbott's Sawfly Introduced Pine Sawfly Loblolly Pine Sawfly Pine Webworm Pine Colaspis Beetle Pine Chafer Beetle Evergreen Bagworm

20. Sawflies

21. Black headed sawfly

22. Lepidoptera - conifers Pine webworm

23. Everygreen bagworm

25. Coleoptera (Conifers) Pine Colaspis beetle

27. Pine Colaspis beetle damage

28. Pine Chafer Beetle

29. Stinging Caterpillars that occur in Southern US Saddleback caterpillar Saddleback caterpillar

30. Hag Moth Caterpillar

31. Puss Moth Caterpillar. Most dangerous of the Stinging caterpillars – symptoms may last 12 hours

32. IO Moth Caterpillar

33. Stinging Rose Caterpillar

34. Mimicry – pretending to be something your not so as to keep from being eaten.

37. Questions to answer for Insect Defoliators: 1) How do polyphagous, oligophagous and monophagous defoliators differ? 2) How is the presence of a defoliator detected and evaluated? 3) Describe the basic life cycle of the spruce budworm. In what part of the U.S. is this insect a problem? 4) Describe the basic life cycle of the gypsy moth. What is the potential of this insect becoming a problem in Alabama? 5) Describe the basic life cycle of the Douglas-fir tussock moth. Where is this insect a problem? 6) How do humans contribute to the spread of Gypsy Moth in the United States? What is one major difference between the Gypsy Moth and the Asian Gypsy Moth. 7) What is ‘Disparlure’ and what is its role in integrated pest management? 8) Why is damage by the Douglas-fir Tussock moth generally more serious than that caused by the Gypsy Moth? 9) Why would foliage feeding insects generally be more important in the Southern Region than in some other parts of the U.S.? 10) Why are native defoliators generally less of a problem than those introduced from other countries?