Pine needle sheathminer
Zelleria haimbachi Busck (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae)
Orientation to pest
Pine needle sheathminer, Zelleria haimbachi Busck, is a native North American moth that feeds on needles of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) in Ontario (Canada) and the Great Lakes region of the United States, and on ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa P.& C. Lawson) and lodgepole (Pinus contorta Douglas) in western North America north of Mexico. Larvae create loose silken tunnels next to the bark of first-year shoots, from where they bore through the sheaths and eat the needle bases. Needles die and turn tan, and are loosely held in the sheath. Dead needles easily slip out of the sheaths with a gentle pull. Larvae escape disturbance by wriggling backwards and falling off the shoot, to hang suspended by a strand of silk.
Hosts commonly attacked
This caterpillar feeds on jack (P. banksiana), lodgepole (P. contorta), and ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa).
Distribution
The moth is found in Ontario (Canada), the Great Lakes region of the United States, California, and other parts of the western parts United States.
Images of pine needle sheathminer
| Figure 1. Adult of pine needle sheathminer, Zelleria haimbachi | Figure 2. Oviposition scar in needles where eggs have been deposited | Figure 3. Young larvae of pine needle sheathminer, in its sheath feeding stage |
| Figure 4. Mature larvae of pine needle sheathminer | Figure 5. Pupae of pine needle sheathminer (left), also showing close up of webbing and frass associated with feeding; feeding damage seen from a distance (right) on ponderosa pine |
Important biological control agents related to this pest species
No information on natural enemies of this species was found.
Articles
- Stevens, H. E. 1959. Biology and control of the pine needle-sheath miner, Zelleria haimbachi Busck (Lepidoptera; Hyponomeutidae). Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, 20 pp.
