The greatest damage is the aesthetic impact and nuisance the caterpillars create in urban areas. Identifying the Insect. The larvae of the orangestriped oakworm are black with eight narrow yellow stripes, the pinkstriped oakworm larvae are greenish brown with four pink stripes, and the spiny oakworm larvae are tawny and pinkish with short spines. The adult moths are a similar yellowish red, with a single white dot on each of the forewings. Identifying the Injury.
Young larvae feed in groups, skeltonizing the leaf.
Later they consume all but the main veins and usually defoliate one branch before moving onto another. Older larvae are less gregarious and can be found crawling on lawns and the sides of houses. The eggs hatch within a week, and the larvae feed during July to September for 5 to 6 weeks. The pupae overwinter in the soil. The orangestriped and spiny oakworms have only one generation per year, while the pinkstriped oakworm has two generations.