Western Hemlock Looper - Field Guide to Diseases and Insect Pests of Idaho and Montana Forests

Western Hemlock Looper

Lambdina fiscellaria lugubrosa (Hulst)

From: Field Guide to Diseases and Insect Pests of Idaho and Montana Forests, USDA Forest Service Northern Region, Publication Number R1-89-54

Hosts. – Western hemlock, true firs, and Douglas-fir.

Distribution. – May be found anywhere hosts are found.

Damage. – Larvae feed mostly at the base of needles and usually cut them off. Both old and new foliage are destroyed and mature larvae will feed on buds and tender shoots. This complete destruction of tissue can kill trees in I year.

Identification. – Look for typical "inch worm" type larvae on needles from June to August. Mature larvae are about 1-3/8 inches long, green to brown in color with diamond-shaped markings on their backs (fig. 102). Heavy populations can cover a whole forest with silken webs. In late summer a greenish-brown pupa is formed in protected places and is not readily observed. Adults are tan-colored moths with two dark wavy lines on forewing and one on hind wing and are seen from September through October. Blue to gray-green eggs are laid singly on branches or botes in late September or October. Winter is passed in the egg stage.
Image Unavailable

Figure 102 - Mature larva of
Western Hemlock Looper.

Similar damages. – Damage on hosts may be similar to other defoliation, but insect is distinct.

Link to Images in Forestry Images

References.

Anonymous. 1982. For. Insect & disease identification and management. USDA For. Serv., Northern Region; Idaho Dept. of Lands, Insect and Disease Control; Montana Dept. of State Lands, Division of Forestry. 192 p.

Furniss, R.L., and V.M. Carolin. 1977. Western For. Insects. USDA Forest Serv., Misc. pub. 1339, 654 p., illus.

[ Back ]


		The Bugwood Network and ForestryImages Image Archive and Database Systems The University of Georgia - Warnell School of Forest Resources and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences - Dept. of Entomology Last updated on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 at 11:19 AM Questions and/or comments to the Bugwood Webmaster
CSS2 Validated