Bagworm moth

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Family of moths known as Psychidae

title: "Bagworm moth" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["psychidae", "moth-families"] description: "Family of moths known as Psychidae" topic_path: "general/psychidae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagworm_moth" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Family of moths known as Psychidae ::

| name = Bagworm moths | image = Iphierga.jpg | image_caption = Adult of an undescribed Iphierga species from Aranda (Australia) | image2 = Case moth02.jpg | image2_caption = "Bag" of unidentified species | taxon = Psychidae | authority = Boisduval, 1828 | diversity_ref = | diversity_link = #Systematics | diversity = 10 subfamilies, 241 genera and 1,350 species ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Meture-Elongatus.jpg" caption="mm}} in length"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Bagworm_moth_caterpillar_locomotion.webm" caption="Bagworm moth caterpillar locomotion"] ::

The Psychidae (bagworm moths, also simply bagworms or bagmoths) are a family of the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). The bagworm family is fairly small, with about 1,350 species described. Bagworm species are found globally, with some, such as the snailcase bagworm (Apterona helicoidella), in modern times settling continents where they are not native.

Another common name for the Psychidae is "case moths", but this is just as well used for the case-bearers (Coleophoridae). The names refer to the habits of caterpillars of these two families, which build small protective cases in which they can hide.

The Psychidae belong to the superfamily Tineoidea, which appears to be sister to the other lineages of the Ditrysia. They are not closely related to moths of the superfamilyGelechioidea, which includes case-bearers.

Most bagworms are inoffensive to humans and inconspicuous; some are occasional nuisance pests. However, a few species can become more serious pests, and have caused significant damage e.g. to wattle (Acacia mearnsii) in South Africa and orange (Citrus × sinensis) in Florida. If detected early, picking the cases from the trees while in their pupa stage is an effective way to check an infestation; otherwise, insecticides are used. One bagworm species, the fangalabola (Deborrea malgassa) of Madagascar, is in some places encouraged to breed on wattle trees, because its pupae are collected as a protein-rich food.

Description

The caterpillar larvae of Psychidae construct cases out of silk and environmental materials such as sand, soil, lichen, or plant materials. These cases are attached to rocks, trees or fences while resting or during their pupa stage, but are otherwise mobile. The larvae of some species eat lichen, while others prefer green leaves. In many species, the adult females lack wings and are therefore difficult to identify accurately. Case-bearer cases are usually much smaller, flimsier, and consist mainly of silk, while bagworm "bags" resemble caddisfly cases in their outward appearance – a mass of (mainly) plant detritus spun together with silk on the inside.

Bagworm cases range in size from less than 1 cm to 15 cm among some tropical species. Each species makes a case particular to its species, making the case more useful to identify the species than the creature itself. Cases among the more primitive species are flat. More specialized species exhibit a greater variety of case size, shape, and composition, usually narrowing on both ends. The attachment substance used to affix the bag to a host plant or structure has a higher tensile strength than that of other moth species, requiring greater force to initiate breakage. Body markings are rare. Adult females of many bagworm species are larviform, with only vestigial wings, legs, and mouthparts. In some species, parthenogenesis is known. The adult males of most species are strong fliers with well-developed wings and feathery antennae but survive only long enough to reproduce due to underdeveloped mouthparts that prevent them from feeding. Most male bagworm wings have few of the scales characteristic of most moths, instead having a thin covering of hairs.

File:Pachythelia villosella.case.jpg|"Bag" of Pachythelia villosella (Oiketicinae) File:Grasninella m.JPG|Adult specimen of Phalacropterix graslinella (Oiketicinae) File:Bagworm Moth larva Negev.JPG|Bagworm larva in the Negev (April 2014). Case is made mostly of feathery stork's bill seeds (Erodium cicutarium). File:Family Psychidae444.jpg|Bagworm (possibly Hyalarcta huebneri) extending its forequarters from its case in the act of locomotion.

Ecology

In the larval stage, bagworms extend their head and thorax from their mobile case to devour the leaves of host plants, often leading to the death of their hosts. Trees infested with bagworms exhibit increasingly damaged foliage as the infestation increases until the leaves are stripped bare. Some bagworms are specialized in their host plants (monophagous), while others can feed on a variety of plant species (polyphagous). A few species also consume small arthropods (such as the camphor scale Pseudaonidia duplex, a scale insect). One bagworm species was found to eat an orb-web of Plebs sachalinensis (Araneae, Araneidae) entirely.

Since bagworm cases are composed of silk and the materials from their habitat, they are naturally camouflaged from predators. Predators include birds and other insects. Birds often eat the egg-laden bodies of female bagworms after they have died. Since the eggs are very hard-shelled, they can pass through the bird's digestive system unharmed, promoting the spread of the species over wide areas.

A bagworm begins to build its case as soon as it hatches. Once the case is built, only adult males ever leave the case, never to return, when they take flight to find a mate. Bagworms add material to the front of the case as they grow, excreting waste materials through the opening in the back of the case. When satiated with leaves, a bagworm caterpillar secures its case and pupates. The adult female, which is wingless, either emerges from the case long enough for breeding or remains in the case while the male extends his abdomen into the female's case to breed. Females lay their eggs in their case and die. The female evergreen bagworm (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis) dies without laying eggs, and the larval bagworm offspring emerge from the parent's body. Some bagworm species are parthenogenetic, meaning their eggs develop without male fertilization. Each bagworm generation lives just long enough as adults to mate and reproduce in their annual cycle.

Systematics

Ten subfamilies and about 240 genera are recognized among the bagworms.

The subfamilies of Psychidae, with some notable genera and species also listed, are:

Important genera without articles can be collected here, until the subfamilies get their own articles. Species can also be put here, but when they have no articles they should be outcommented as below. Only species with articles should be visible, and when genus articles exist species should be put there.

Subfamily Epichnopteriginae

Applications

The silk of bagworm moth larvae is reportedly "more durable than spider silk". Japanese pharmaceutical company Kowa and the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization announced a new textile, Minolon, in 2024, that combined carbon fibers with sheets of bagworm silk. The resulting material was claimed to be environmentally friendly, with Kowa planning to sell it to aircraft, automobile, and sporting good manufacturers.

References

References

  1. (2011). "World Catalogue of Insects: Psychidae (Lepidoptera)". UWA Publishing.
  2. (December 2015). "Elusive ditrysian phylogeny: an account of combining systematized morphology with molecular data (Lepidoptera)". BMC Evolutionary Biology.
  3. (2021-07-26). "The balance of crystalline and amorphous regions in the fibroin structure underpins the tensile strength of bagworm silk". Zoological Letters.
  4. (12 January 1991). "THE BAGWORM, PTEROMA PLAGIOPHLEPS HAMPS. IN FOREST PLANTATIONS OF PARASERIANTHES FALCATARIA".
  5. (2008-07-01). "Biology of a New Panamanian Bagworm Moth (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) with Predatory Larvae, and Eggs Individually Wrapped in Setal Cases". Annals of the Entomological Society of America.
  6. (2005-05-01). "Larval Cryptothelea gloverii (Lepidoptera: Psycidae), an arthropod predator and herbivore on Florida citrus". Experimental & Applied Acarology.
  7. (5 August 2019). "Discovery of a bagworm devouring an orb web". Arachnology.
  8. (October 1989). "Life-history Traits of Forest-inhabiting Flightless Lepidoptera". The American Midland Naturalist.
  9. (2009-01-01). "Bionomics of Bagworms (Lepidoptera: Psychidae)". Annual Review of Entomology.
  10. (2009). "Encyclopedia of Insects". Academic Press.
  11. (July 2008). "Biology of a New Panamanian Bagworm Moth (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) with Predatory Larvae, and Eggs Individually Wrapped in Setal Cases.". Annals of the Entomological Society of America.
  12. (23 December 2011). "Order Lepidoptera Linnaeus, 1758. In : Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness". Zootaxa.
  13. Yamamoto, Seisaku. (2024-11-21). "Bagworm moth silk developed into eco-friendly, strong textile". The Asahi Shimbun.

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