Orange Spruce Needleminer(Coleotechnites piceaella)
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Description
Light brown body with orange hue, especially on dorsum, and with dark brown head; variable body color. Dark brown prothoracic shield with light anterior margin; dark brown thoracic legs. Narrow orangish band where segments meet; brown anal plate. Up to 8 mm.
Food
Spruces.
Life Cycle
One generation. Partly grown caterpillar overwinters in mined needle. Mature caterpillar present in June and July.
Comments
We found this species to have variable body color, suggesting it might represent a complex of several species. In summer and fall, the caterpillar mines needles that are bound loosely with silk. After spending the winter in a hollowed needle, it eats buds or mines needles formed during the previous year, again tying them with silk (see below). Rose and Lindquist (1994) also have shown the damage of the orange spruce needleminer. Several other species of Coleotechnites mine spruces, but their biology is not well known. Several tortricid caterpillars, which will be described later, also mine spruce needles.
Gallery
 Photo by Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Archive, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Bugwood.org |
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.
