Actually, believe it or not, this brilliantly colored, daytime active, thin bodied insect is a MOTH, the adult of the Ailanthus webworm, Atteva punctilla. The Ailanthus webworm is a sub-tropical insect that has spread north following the introduction of an "alternate" host plant, the introduced invasive species Ailanthus altissima, that has spread throughout North America. (Since the Ailanthus tree is not native to the Americas, while Atteva punctilla is, we can say that the moth has "adapted" a new host.) Further, Atteva punctilla is not adapted to survive cold winters, so apparently a population flies north each year to seek the abundant leaves of the Ailanthus trees. Since Ailanthus is generally considered undesirable (it has bad habits, like spreading into a huge thicket by runner roots, and producing a toxin that interferes with growth of other plants in its vicinity), the Atteva punctilla might be classified as a beneficial insect, although it doesn't do enough damage to seriously impact the Ailanthus. There are hundreds of images of this tiny but photogenic insect on the web. Here are a few: http://www.bugguide.net/node/view/1762 http://entweb.clemson.edu/museum/moths/local/moth16.htm

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Can you post a picture? Beyond that, "havoc" isn't very specific. What are they doing? And to what plants?

Thanks. Found a recipe on the web and just finished the first spraying. Seemed to be working. I'll hit a couple more times and see where things stand.