Pine Tussock Moth
Dasychira pinicola |
| 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 pine tussock moth defoliates jack pine, red pine, white pine, and white spruce. It prefers jack pine, however, and extensive outbreaks have killed thousands of jack pine seedlings and saplings.
Pupation occurs on the host tree in a cocoon of hairs and silk, and gray-brown moths emerge in July. Small, irregular egg masses are usually deposited near the female pupal case. During July, first- and second-instar larvae feed in needles. When populations are abundant, the larvae mature and feed on old needles down to the needle sheath. The larvae are gray-brown, hairy, and have four tufts of grayish hairs on the back. Tree shoots often appear ragged after larval feeding is completed. In August, third-instar larvae hibernate in a loose webbing of silk at the base of needles or under bark flaps. In spring, they resume feeding on new needles and staminate flowers. There is one generation per year.
Larva(e)
USDA Forest Service - Missoula Archives, USDA Forest Service |
Damage; defoliation
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Archives, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |
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