Pero behrensaria (Packard)

- Dorso-lateral view of mature larva, on Douglas-fir
  • Latin name: Pero behrensaria (Packard)
  • French name:
  • Order: Lepidoptera
  • Family: Geometridae
Description

Distribution

Alberta, British Columbia

Micro-habitat(s)

Needle

Damage, symptoms and biology

Pero behrensaria is a common innocuous defoliator.

Mature larva to 40 mm long. Head, tan with rust markings, vertex cleft. Body, elongate, tan to rusty brown, dorsum marked with dark broken line or a psi mark on each abdominal segment, faint yellow spiracular line.

Overwinters in the pupal stage. Adults emerge during May and June, larvae are present from June to August and pupation occurs in August.

Life cycle (West of the Rockies)

Life cycle (West of the Rockies)
Stage/Month J F M A M J J A S O N D
Egg
 
Larva
 
Chrysalis
 
 
Adult
 

Canadian Forest Service Publications

https://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications/search?q=

Diet and feeding behaviour

  • Phyllophagous : Feeds on the leaves of plants.
    • Free-living defoliator: Feeds on and moves about freely on foliage.
Information on host(s)

Main host(s)

Amabilis fir, Engelmann spruce, grand fir, Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, subalpine fir, western hemlock, western larch, western redcedar, white spruce

Photos
  • Dorso-lateral view of mature larva, on Douglas-fir
  • Dorso-lateral view of mature larva, on Douglas-fir
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