Small Pine Looper(Eupithecia palpata)

From Bugwoodwiki

small pine looper 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: Geometridae Genus: Eupithecia Species: palpata Scientific Name Eupithecia palpata Packard

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

Description

Slender, yellowish body with dark reddish middorsal stripe and pinkish red annulations on segments. Brownish yellow head with reddish tinge. Two or three faint, narrow, longitudinal lines between middorsal stripe and spiracles; light yellow spiracular stripe. Obvious, pinkish red band near hind margin of segments; anal plate darkened in center. Up to 15 mm.

Food

Balsam fir, eastern hemlock, eastern larch, pines, spruces, and possibly other conifers.

Life Cycle

One generation. Pupa overwinters in soil or debris. Mature caterpillar present from June to October.

Comments

The mature caterpillar of the small pine looper can be found over a period of 5 months on many different trees. Future research may reveal that this species actually is a complex of several species.

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.