European Spruce Needleminer(Epinotia nanana)

From Bugwoodwiki

European spruce needle miner 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: Tortricidae Genus: Epinotia Species: nanana Scientific Name Epinotia nanana (Treitschke)

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

Description

Light brown body with dark brown head, prothoracic shield, and thoracic legs. Prothoracic shield with a light brown anterior margin; variably brownish anal plate. Up to 9 mm.

Food

Red, white, and other spruces.

Life Cycle

One generation. Nearly full-grown caterpillar overwinters in mined needle. Mature caterpillar present in May and June.

Comments

In spring, the caterpillar mines needles that it attaches to twigs with silk. Unlike the spruce needleminer, Taniva albolineana, this species usually forms its pupa in a cocoon that is located in the debris beneath the tree. Freeman (1967), Johnson and Lyon (1991), and Rose and Lindquist (1994) have shown examples of its damage. As the common name suggests, this needleminer was introduced from Europe. In North America, its preferred food is the introduced Norway spruce, Picea abies.

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.