Brown Arborvitae Leafminer(Coleotechnites thujaella)

From Bugwoodwiki

leafminer Photo by Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Archive, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Bugwood.org Taxonomy Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Hexapoda (including Insecta) Order: Lepidoptera Family: Gelechiidae Genus: Coleotechnites Species: thujaella Scientific Name Coleotechnites thujaella (Kearfott)

Contents 1 Description 2 Food 3 Life Cycle 4 Comments 5 References

Description

Brown body with dark brown head, prothoracic shield, and anal plate. Prothoracic shield with light brown anterior margin; narrow, light brown band at hind margin of segments. Up to 8 mm.

Food

Northern white-cedar.

Life Cycle

One generation. Partly grown caterpillar overwinters in its mine. Mature caterpillar present from May to July.

Comments

The brown arborvitae leafminer lives its entire life in a mine that turns dark brown (and later fades to light brown) after the inner tissue has been removed. After feeding is completed, it forms a brown pupa within the mine. This caterpillar is the only brown one that mines northern white-cedar (arborvitae). Several greenish Argyresthia species also infest arborvitae; see the comments for the Canadian arborvitae leafminer, A. canadensis. The brown arborvitae leafminer is one of the most important pests of arborvitae in the Northeast.

References

Maier, C.T., C.R. Lemmon, J.M. Fengler, D.F. Schweitzer, and R.C. Reardon. 2004. Caterpillars on the Foliage of Conifers in the Northeastern United States. FHTET-2004-1. Morgantown, WV: USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team; 151 p.