Forest Pests: Insects, Diseases & Other Damage Agents

Fall Spruce Needle Moth (Argyrotaenia occultana)

Maier, C.T., C.R. Lemmon, J.M. Fengler, D.F. Schweitzer, and R.C. Reardon. 2004. Caterpillars on the Foliage of Conifers in the Northeastern United States. FHTET-2004-1. Morgantown, WV: USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team; 151 p.

Description. Green body with head marked faintly with orange-brown on lobes. Head also with dark brown spot near stemmata and with horizontal dark bar behind stemmata. Greenish thoracic legs with two dark brown spots near middle and with dark tip. Up to 15 mm.

Food. Balsam fir, eastern hemlock, eastern larch, spruces, and probably other species of Pinaceae.

Life Cycle. Two generations. Pupa overwinters. Mature caterpillar present in June and July and again in September and October in southern New England.

Comments. MacKay (1962) and Ives and Wong (1988) have illustrated the fall spruce needle moth with darker pigmentation on the lobes of the head. The mature caterpillar binds the needles of its food plant with silk to construct a shelter within which it feeds. This species resembles the red-banded leafroller, Argyrotaenia velutinana, which occasionally has been reported on similar conifers.

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