''Apterona helicoidella'' (snailcase bagworm) is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the

Psychidae 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, su ...

family. It is widely distributed in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

through most of central Europe and the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, up to the

Ural Ural may refer to: *Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India *Ural Federal District, in Russia *Ural econo ...

. It is also found on the

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. It was introduced in the United States by accident during the 1940s. It is now found in many mid-Atlantic states, including

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and has also been reported in the Pacific coastal states, as well as

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. It has been collected in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

as well (

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

Collection). In southern Europe a subspecies with two sexes exists with small males that have light grey wings. This subspecies is called ''Apterona helicoidella crenulella.'' North of the Alps the species is

parthenogenetic Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...

and is called ''Apterona helicoidella helicoidella''. Only females are present in this subspecies. They form a case that looks like a small

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastro ...

. The females grow within the case, becoming adults in the late summer. Unlike most

bagworm 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, su ...

s, the case is constructed of soil particles and feces instead of leaves and twigs. The snailcase bagworm begins constructing its case at birth and remains inside for the rest of its life. This subspecies is unusual in that it is parthenogenetic; all individuals are females, and they reproduce without mating. Each female produces one to two dozen eggs, which are deposited within the case. The case of a snailcase bagworm, not surprisingly, resembles a small snail about 4 mm in diameter with coloration similar to the soil. The larvae are greenish or reddish gray with a black head that protrudes from the case to feed. Though the snailcase bagworm doesn't cause the damage of related species such as the

evergreen bagworm The evergreen bagworm (''Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis''), commonly known as bagworm, eastern bagworm, common bagworm, common basket worm, or North American bagworm, is a moth that spins its cocoon in its larval life, decorating it with bits ...

, they are a nuisance to humans by attaching to the sides of homes and buildings. Once the larvae are full-grown and moving to pupate, they cannot be controlled with insecticides. The best way to keep them off the sides of buildings is by using temporary barriers like sticky tape or flanges. They can be knocked off buildings with a strong spray of water before they attach. After they are attached, removal is difficult. They consume small areas of a leaf surface, rarely causing significant damage, though it has been found to feed on most vegetables, ornamentals, legumes, fruit and other trees, and many species of annual herbs. Reported food plants include ''

Potentilla neumanniana ''Potentilla neumanniana'', the spring cinquefoil or spotted cinquefoil, is a perennial flowering plant in the rose family (Rosaceae). It may grow up to the height of 5–15 cm. It was first scientifically described by H.G.L. Reichenbach i ...

'', ''

Erodium cicutarium ''Erodium cicutarium'', also known as common stork's-bill, redstem filaree, redstem stork's bill or pinweed, is a herbaceous annual plant, annual – or in warm climates, biennial plant, biennial – member of the family Geraniaceae of flowering ...

'', ''

Teucrium ''Teucrium'' is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, commonly known as germanders. Plants in this genus are perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plant, herbs or shrubs, with branches that a ...

'', ''

Artemisia vulgaris ''Artemisia vulgaris'', the common mugwort, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is one of several species in the genus ''Artemisia'' commonly known as mugwort, although ''Artemisia vulgaris'' is the species most ...

'', ''

Helianthemum nummularium ''Helianthemum nummularium'' (known as common rock-rose) is a species of rock-rose (Cistaceae), native to most of Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical si ...

'' and ''

Alyssum montanum ''Alyssum montanum'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Brassicaceae. It is an evergreen, prostrate perennial with small, hairy, greyish Leaf, leaves. It typically grows to 10-15 centimeters tall and 30-45 centimeters across. ...

''.

Sources

Penn State notes

References

External links

BioLibLepiforum.de
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1765873 Psychidae Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Moths of North America Moths described in 1827 Taxa named by Jean Nicolas Vallot