The fall cankerworm has a dark stripe down its middle and three white lines on each side. Spring cankerworms have a yellow stripe on each side. While fall cankerworms have three pairs of fleshy prolegs at the end of their abdomen, spring cankerworms only have two fleshy prolegs at the end of their abdomen. Both fall and spring cankerworms hatch from eggs in spring. Both varieties feed on the young leaves of many trees, including beech, ash, elm, hickory, maples, linden and oak.
When the cankerworms begin feeding, the affected leaves often appear tattered. Depending on the amount of infestation and cankerworm size, however, cankerworms can defoliate entire trees. Spring and fall cankerworms can feed on the same tree simultaneously.
Elm spanworms eat the leaves of broad-leaf trees, including elm, oak, hickory and ash. These inchworms are gray-brown and sometimes mistaken for spring cankerworms. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods.
Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Prepare a habitat. Purchase a terrarium with a ventilated top from a pet store. Or, make your own habitat with a lidded container made of glass or plastic. Line the bottom with about an inch of dirt or wood shavings. Pick a spot for it on a windowsill or near a window so your inchworm gets plenty of sunlight. Hunt for them in spring. Be aware that inchworms have pretty short lifespans. Expect them to cocoon and turn into moths toward the end of summer.
So, to spend as much time with them as possible, look for them soon after they first hatch from their eggs in spring. They usually take about three months to grow full-sized about an inch long, or 2. Include leaves and stems in your habitat. There are thousands of different types of inchworms, and each one eats different foods. Add these to the habitat so your inchworm has something to eat. This way you can collect more leaves if needed to keep your inchworm fed.
Check your inchworm daily. Check the leaves and stem pieces that you added to make sure it has enough food. Spray a mist of water inside every so often so they stay hydrated. Also, keep fresh air circulating in the room by keeping the window open.
Eventually they will cocoon themselves and then turn into moths. Keep their area moist and with sufficient light; they will turn into moths in about a few weeks. When that happens, you need to let the moths go outside. Simply unseal the container in the area that you originally found the inchworm.
Method 2. Look for signs of feeding. Check leaves of trees and plants for lots of little holes, which show where inchworms have been munching. Also look for leaves that have been stripped totally clean. If so, you can also check the buds for signs of munching, since inchworms will eat those, too. Search in shaded areas. Lots of animals feed on inchworms, so expect them to hide. Check the underside of leaves to see if any are clinging directly to them. Check areas with crowded vegetation.
When an inchworm is done feeding on a leaf or plant, it spins a web long enough for it to swing to the next, like a rope. Also, since each type of inchworm feeds on different types of food, look in areas with lots of the same type of plant or tree. The inchworms may have worked their way down to them. Look at night, too. Some inchworms feed during the day, so you may find them right away. If not, this particular type may be nocturnal, so grab a flashlight and double-check after dark.
Method 3. Most species of inchworms primarily eat leaves of deciduous or coniferous trees, but at least one species is know to be carnivorous. Many species of inchworm, such as the cankerworm, are considered pests by farmers and gardeners. Farmers sometimes use the pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis to treat inchworm infestations. Natural predators include some types of birds and wasps. The adult geometer moth can vary in size but typically is about 0. Unlike many other types of moths, which tend to fold their wings on top of the abdomen when at rest, adult geometer moths keep their wings spread erect after landing, similar to a butterfly.
The adult moth is generally noctural, but some species do operate during the day. In each species of geometer moth, one generation is born annually after adult moths lay large egg clusters during the winter season.
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