Bugs on my Hop Plants
Location: Northwestern Ohio
August 16, 2011 2:28 pm
Attached is a picture of a bug that is all over my cascade Hops plant late this summer. It found white spun webs on leafs with them in it. There are a bunch more just crawling around curled up on the Hops leaves. They seem to leave the Hop cones alone. They are about 1.5 inch in length or smaller
Signature: John

White Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Hi John,
This is a White Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar, Orgyia leucostigma, and we are quite intrigued to learn that it feeds on the leaves of hops. According to BugGuide:  “Caterpillars feed on a wide range of hardwood trees and conifers. Wagner(1) lists ‘apple, birch, black locust, cherry, elm, hackberry, hickory, oak, rose, willow…fir, hemlock, larch, spruce and other conifers.’”  Thanks to your experience, we can add hops to the list.  BugGuide also indicates  “Flightless females lay a froth-covered mass of up to 300 eggs after mating.”  Since the female is flightless, it stands to reason that the species is not easily introduced to new areas unless they are somehow transported there, like through human intervention.  If the hops plants are new to your garden, you may have brought the eggs along with the plants.  One final note is that BugGuide warns: “CAUTION: Avoid handling the caterpillar, as its hair is known to cause allergic reactions, especially in areas of the body with sensitive skin (e.g. back, stomach, inner arms). Seek medical treatment if a severe reaction occurs.”  Out of our own curiosity, are you a home brewer?  Our friend Jared makes amazing home brews in Los Angeles, and we just got invited to the hop harvest this week.

Thanks for the quick reply Daniel! I am a home brewer. I planted these hops two years ago. I don’t remember the caterpillars last year but the hops were not as plentiful last year.Oddly, I planted 5 different hops plants right next to each other andhave only seen the caterpillars on the cascade hops. (who doesn’t like a little cascade?). I will ask my home brew store where the hops rhizomes came from.
Thanks again,
John mulligan
swanton, oh

Little Yellow Bug with Outriggers – Request for identification
Location: Nenana, Alaska
August 5, 2011 7:06 pm
A coworker found this bug while we were in Nenana, Alaska last week. We are both interested to know what it is, mainly so we can look for additional pictures, details to try tying a fishing fly to match.
Signature: Bill H.

Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Hi Bill,
This is some species of Tussock Moth Caterpillar, but alas, we have been unsuccessful in determining the species.  You may be able to find additional inspiration for tying flies by searching other species in our Tussock Moth Caterpillar archives.  We suspect this caterpillar is in the tribe Orgyiini, but we were not able to locate a match on BugGuide, perhaps because your individual is an early instar and its appearance will change as it grows.

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