Larch Tubemaker (Spilonota laricana)

Taxonomy

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

Scientific Name

Spilonota laricana

Common Name

larch shoot tortricid moth

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

Greenish gray body with very dark brown (almost black) head and prothoracic shield. Dark prothoracic shield with light anterior margin; anal plate dark, but less so than shield. Up to 12 mm.

Food

Eastern larch.

Life Cycle

One generation. Partly grown caterpillar overwinters on tree. Mature caterpillar present from May to July.

Comments

This caterpillar lives in a characteristic feeding tube that is constructed by binding larch needles together with silk. Ultimately, it changes to a pupa in a white silken cocoon within the tube. Rose et al. (2000) have pictured the tube of this species on larch, although they consider it to be the eye-spotted bud moth, Spilonota ocellana, a remarkably similar caterpillar that feeds upon fruit trees and other deciduous woody plants. The larch tubemaker feeds upon not only eastern larch, but also several non-native larches used in landscape plantings. This species probably was introduced from Europe, where it is widespread.