Archive:Poplar/Satin Moth
From Bugwoodwiki
From: Ostry, Michael E.; Wilson, Louis F.; McNabb, Harold S., Jr.; Moore, Lincoln M. 1988. A guide to insect, disease, and animal pests of poplars. Agric. Handb. 677. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 118 p.
Importance
The larvae of this introduced insect defoliate pole-size Populus in natural stands and plantations in the New England States and southeastern Canada, Washington, and Oregon. Larvae of this moth may kill branches, but rarely trees.
Look For:
April-May
• Defoliated trees -- leaves eaten except for large veins.
• Black caterpillar about 1½ to 2 inches long with line of yellow or white spots on the back. Each segment has reddish brown tubercles with hairs.
June-August
•Satiny white moths on foliage.
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| Life stages of the satin moth: egg mass (upper right), black pupa, spotted larva, and white moth. |
Biology
Female moths lay up to 1,000 eggs in clusters on the shoots, trunk, or leaves in June and July. Larvae appear in August and feed on the leaf surface until cold weather. After overwintering, the small larvae resume feeding when the weather warms. When fully grown by the end of May, they pupate in cocoons attached to the tree or other nearby objects. The adults emerge in June.
Monitoring
Inspect trees in spring for defoliation and larvae. Control is seldonm needed unless trees are defoliated for several years in a row. Consider treatment only if trees show branch or top dieback.
Control:
• Use Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) in spring to control larvae.
• Use a chemical insecticide recommended for defoliators.
