Insect Gallery

Walnut Datana
Image courtesy of Becky Carroll, Oklahoma State University

Walnut datana damage
Image courtesy of Charles Rohla

Walnut datana
Image courtesy of Charles Rohla

Walnut Datana feeding
Image courtesy of Charlie Graham

Walnut caterpillar final instar
Image courtesy of Charlie Graham

Insect Details

Name: Walnut Datana

Latin Name: Datana integerrima

Description: Adults are moths with light-brown wings marked with dark-brown, wavy lines. The hind wings are lighter brown, without lines. Moths have a wingspan of about 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Immature larvae are reddish-brown, with narrow cream colored lines that extend the length of their body. Mature larvae are black, nearly 2 inches long, and thickly covered with long, white or grayish hairs.

Insects Life Cycle: The walnut datana overwinters as a pupa in the soil. Moths emerge in the spring and deposit white eggs in masses on the undersides of leaves. The resulting caterpillars move down to a large limb or to the trunk and form a compact mass. After shedding their skins, they migrate back toward the ends of branches and resume their feeding. Caterpillars molt several times during development. The first generation appears in June and July, and the second generation in late August and September.

Insects Symptons: Larvae feed in groups but do not form webs. They are capable of eating all the leaves on small trees or on individual limbs of large trees.