Morrison's Pero (Pero morrisonaria)

Taxonomy

Domain	Eukarya
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Subphylum	Hexapoda
Class	Insecta
Subclass	Pterygota
Infraclass	Neoptera
Superorder	Holometabola
Order	Lepidoptera
Superfamily	Geometroidea
Family	Geometridae
Subfamily	Ennominae
Tribe	Odontoperini
Genus	Pero

Scientific Name

Pero morrisonaria

Common Name

Morrison's pero

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

Yellowish and brownish body with angular head, dark middorsal stripe, and scattered dark warts; variable body color. Dark brown head with transverse, light brown streak across front and with lighter brown lobes swollen and almost pointed. Dark brown middorsal stripe; inconspicuous pair of narrow, meandering dark brown subdorsal stripes. Dark brown spiracles; prominent spiracular swelling on A3 with large, dark tubercle below. Up to 35 mm.

Food

Balsam fir, eastern hemlock, eastern larch, pines, and spruces; records of broad-leaves trees and shrubs probably erroneous.

Life Cycle

One generation. Pupa overwinters in soil or debris. Mature caterpillar present mainly in July and August.

Comments

This caterpillar is an excellent twig mimic. Other color forms are pictured by Ives and Wong (1988) and Wagner et al. (2001).