Powder Moth (Eufidonia notataria)

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	Boarmiini
Genus	Eufidonia

Scientific Name

Eufidonia notataria

Common Name

powder 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

Dark green body with conspicuous, pale spiracular stripe and purplish red subspiracular stripe. Yellowish green head spotted with dark brown on lobes; dark green prothoracic shield and anal plate, the latter speckled with brown. Dark green middorsal stripe; very faint, yellowish green subdorsal stripe; white spiracular stripe adjoins subspiracular stripe. Up to 25 mm.

Food

Balsam fir, eastern hemlock, eastern larch, and spruces.

Life Cycle

One generation. Pupa overwinters in soil or debris. Mature caterpillar present from July to September.

Comments

This caterpillar resembles several other species that eat the same kinds of foliage. The powder moth can be separated from the others by its purplish red subspiracular stripe that usually is most evident on the thorax. The adult of the powder moth flies during both the day and the night.