Cherry Scallop Shell Moth
Hydria prunivorata |
| USDA Forest Service. 1979. A guide to common insects and diseases of forest trees in the northeastern United States. Northeast. Area State Priv. For., For. Insect and Disease Management., Broomall, PA. p. 123, illus. |
The cherry scallop shell moth prefers the leaves of black cherry, wild cherry, and chokecherry. Larvae fasten margins of leaves together and form an elongated nest, within which they feed on the upper tissues of the leaves. Progressive feeding usually defoliates entire trees, reducing radial growth the following year and subjecting some stands to rapid decline. Mortality sometimes follows 2 to 3 years of heavy defoliation.
The winter is spent as a pupa in leaf litter or in the upper soil layer. Adults emerge in late spring or early summer. Females lay eggs during late June in pyramid-shaped masses, one to four layers deep, on the undersides of leaves. Egg laying continues throughout the summer. Eggs hatch in a few days, and larvae are present through early fall. Grown larvae are pale yellow with dark-gray or black dorsal stripes; the head is usually orange-brown. There is one generation per year in the northern part of the range
Feature(s)
Joseph O'Brien, USDA Forest Service |
[ Contents ]
[ Previous ]
[ Next ]
[ Home ]
|
