Green Needleworm (Clepsis persicana)

Taxonomy

Domain	Eukarya
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Subphylum	Hexapoda
Class	Insecta
Subclass	Pterygota
Infraclass	Neoptera
Superorder	Holometabola
Order	Lepidoptera
Superfamily	Tortricoidea
Family	Tortricidae
Subfamily	Tortricinae
Tribe	Archipini
Genus	Clepsis

Scientific Name

Clepsis persicana

Common Name

white triangle tortix

Maier, C.T.; Lemmon, C.R.; Fengler, J.M.; Schweitzer, D.F.; Reardon, R.C.; Caterpillars on the Foliage of Conifers in the Northeastern United States. Morgantown, WV. USDA Forest Service. Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. FHTET-2004-01. March 2004. 151 p.

Description

Grayish green body with gray middorsal and subdorsal stripes. Yellowish green head with dark brown spot near stemmata and with small, horizontal dark line behind stemmata. Middorsal and subdorsal stripes sometimes indistinct. Up to 17 mm.

Food

Many trees, occasionally including balsam fir, eastern hemlock, eastern larch, and spruces.

Life Cycle

One generation. Partly grown caterpillar probably overwinters in debris on ground. Mature caterpillar present in May and June.

Comments

In the past, the green needleworm was a minor pest of deciduous fruit trees that received few or no insecticidal applications.