Spongy moth caterpillars are easy to identify, because they possess characteristics not found on other leaf-feeding caterpillars. They have five pairs of blue dots followed by six pairs of red dots lining the back. In addition, they are dark-colored and covered with hairs. Young caterpillars primarily feed during the day whereas the older caterpillars feed at night.

When present in large numbers, the older caterpillars feed day and night. Young caterpillars spread to new locations by crawling to the tops of trees, where they spin a silken thread and are caught on wind currents. Older caterpillars are approximately 1.5 to 2.0 inches long. Spongy moth caterpillars do not produce a web, which distinguishes it from web-making caterpillars such as the Eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum and the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea. The Spongy moth larval stage lasts approximately seven weeks.

Spongy Moth Habit

Spongy moth undergoes four developmental life stages; these are the egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa, and adult. Spongy moth females lay between 500 to 1,000 eggs in sheltered areas such as underneath the bark of trees. The eggs are covered with a dense mass of tan or buff-colored hairs. The egg mass is approximately 1.5 inches long and 0.75 inches wide. The eggs are the overwintering stage of the insect. Eggs are attached to trees, houses, or any outdoor objects. The eggs hatch in spring (April) into caterpillars.

In early summer (June to early July), Spongy moth caterpillars enter a pupal or transitional stage. The pupae are dark brown, shell-like cases approximately two inches long and covered with hairs. They are primarily located in sheltered areas such as tree bark crevices or leaf litter. Adult Spongy moths emerge from the pupae in 10 to 14 days. They are present from July into August. Females have white to cream-colored wings, a tan body, and a two-inch wingspan. Female Spongy moths cannot fly. Males, which are smaller than females, with a 1.5-inch wingspan, are dark-brown and have feathery antennae. Both the adult female and male can be identified by the inverted V-shape that points to a dot on the wings.

Spongy moth has only one generation per year. Spongy moth populations will go through cycles in which the populations will increase for several years then decline, and then increase again. Area-wide outbreaks can occur for up to ten years, but generally population densities in localized areas remain high for two to three years.

Spongy Moth Damage

The larva or caterpillar is the damaging stage as it eats the leaves of trees in the spring. They can consume tremendous amounts of leaf material. For example, Spongy moth larvae can consume as much as one square foot of leaves per day. As a result, they produce a large amount of fecal (frass) material. When populations reach outbreak proportions, the caterpillars can completely defoliate host trees over a wide geographic area. Consistent or repeated defoliation over several years can have devastating effects, often leading to tree stress and death.

Spongy moths have a wide host-range, which includes oak (Quercus sp.), crabapple (Malus sp.), linden (Tilia sp.), poplar (Populus sp.), beech (Fagus sp.), willow (Salix sp.), birch (Betula sp.), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.), and hawthorn (Crataegus sp.). Trees less susceptible to attack by Spongy moth are ash (Fraxinus sp.), sycamore (Platanus sp.), Indian bean (Catalpa sp.), honeylocust (Gleditsia sp.), dogwood (Cornus sp.), junipers (Juniperus sp.), yew (Taxus sp.), lilac (Syringa sp.), arborvitae (Thuja sp.), arrowwood (Viburnum sp.), and tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera).

Conifers are more susceptible to death than evergreens because they don't produce another flush of growth once defoliated. Conifers, such as pine (Pinus sp.) and spruce (Picea sp.), are unable to produce new leaves (needles) after defoliation.

There are reports of skin rashes and respiratory problems due to airborne gypsy moth body parts such as their wing scales, larval hairs.

Control

There are several controls that are both natural and artificial being tried on gypsy moth.

• In nature, there are viruses, fungi, bacteria, and predatory wasps. In the home landscape, there are several possible control methods.
• Trapping is used to help determine the severity of the infestation. 
• Bacillus thuringensis kurstaki can be commercially applied as well as synthetic insecticides to control gypsy moth, but Bacillus thuringensis kurstaki is as effective and is environmentally safe because it occurs naturally in the environment.