bdimarco
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Pest Identification Help

Hello everyone! I found this webbed nest with larvae underneath my basil leaf. Please help me identify! Thank you very much!
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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Wow this is cool. I don't know what kind they are but I'm thinking some moth caterpillar "hatching event" -- good thing you caught it in time -- can you imagine all those hungry caterpillars munching away? (Possibly sawfly is another candidate if they make egg casing like this -- was that made of silk or bubbles?)

Be sure to check carefully for more - where there is one..... :eek:

...where are you located? That might provide a clue to their ID -- since I haven't seen these on basils before, I don't believe they are locally present. I usually get a creamy white caterpillar, one at a time, that turn into pure white moth, and sometimes a looper/inchworm.

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

It might be a moth. Check out the post below. They were guessing to, but it might be something similar.
https://naturecloseups.com/posts/sign/nest

bdimarco
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Thank you for your responses!

Applestar- The egg casting looked to be made of silk but with round, bubble-shaped capsules where the larvae hadn't hatched yet. (I will attach a close up picture so you can see what I am talking about) I am located in central Florida. Last week I did see a little brown inchworm on my carrot tops. I relocated it but it could've inched back over to my garden.
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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

This website is in Texas but yours looks like their fall armyworm hatching photo -- scroll down the page a bit. They are non-specific about what they eat. So very possible these are them.
FOCUS on Entomology: July 2015
https://focusonagriculture.blogspot.com/2015/07/

Larvae hatching from a fall armyworm egg mass.



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