Pale Juniper Webworm (Aethes rutilana)

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	Cochylini
Genus	Aethes

Scientific Name

Aethes rutilana

Common Name

pale juniper webworm

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

Dull yellow body with orange-brown head and prothoracic shield. Up to 11 mm.

Food

Common juniper.

Life Cycle

One generation. Caterpillar overwinters in silken shelter on a twig. Mature caterpillar present from May to July.

Comments

After hatching, this caterpillar mines needles. It spends the winter in a silk-lined, frass-covered case that is attached to a branch. In spring, the caterpillar webs foliage where it feeds (see below). The feeding nest typically has dead, often mined needles and frass in the center. This species sometimes infests native and non-native junipers in landscaped areas.