#eriocampa

Butternut woollyworm (Eriocampa juglandis), Newark DE. September 2017.

An unusual sawfly with a fantastic name, the butternut woollyworm is can be found near forest edges and woodlands, feeding on the leaves of walnut trees (these were found on black walnut, Juglans nigra). Larvae produce long, thick strands of wax that coat most of their bodies, making them conspicuous to predators like birds, but unlikely to be meal themselves, as the wax is unpalatable. Fully mature larva, however, lose their waxy coatings, leaving their host plants behind as they seek a safe place to pupate. Although the woollyworms can quickly defoliate a tree at the end of the summer, they rarely result in the death of their host plant.