Forest Pests: Insects, Diseases & Other Damage Agents

Taylor's Cedar Looper (Eupithecia intricata taylorata)

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. Slender, mostly dark green body with obvious, white subdorsal and spiracular stripes. Green head speckled with small brownish spots; greenish prothoracic shield, increasingly yellow anteriorly; green thoracic legs with yellowish brown near tip. Dark green middorsal stripe; faint, but large, grayish spots between subdorsal stripe and broader spiracular stripe. Usually yellow annulations; narrow yellowish band at hind margin of segments; green anal plate edged with white. Up to 18 mm.

Food. Atlantic white-cedar, common juniper, northern white-cedar, and possibly other species of Cupressaceae.

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

Comments. Taylor's cedar looper is camouflaged well on the foliage of common juniper. This subspecies is worthy of additional study to determine if populations on different food plants represent the same species; see the discussion in Bolte (1990). Taylor's cedar looper includes the species formerly known as Eupithecia gibsonata. Other subspecies of E. intricata in Europe also eat plants in the Cupressaceae.

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