Sabulodes edwardsata (Hulst)

• Scientific name: Sabulodes edwardsata (Hulst)
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Class: Insecta
• Order: Lepidoptera
• Family: Geometridae

Distribution

• British Columbia

Damage, symptoms and biology

Sabulodes edwardsata is a relatively uncommon innocuous solitary defoliator.

Mature larva to 32 mm long. Head is reddish brown with a white herringbone pattern over the vertex of each lobe. Body, robust, green with a faint dark green middorsal pin stripe; prominent subdorsal white stripes extending onto the head; white spiracular stripes.

This species overwinters as a mid-instar larva. Larvae are present from April to June, pupation occurs in June, and the adults emerge in July. Eggs are laid in July (presumably on foliage) and hatch soon after. Larvae emerge in August and feed until the weather cools in fall.

Canadian Forest Service Publications

Sabulodes edwardsata (Hulst)

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)

• Ponderosa pine
• Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir
• Shore pine
• Sitka spruce
• Western hemlock
• Western white pine

Photos

Dorso-lateral view of mature larva, on ponderosa pine

Lateral view of mature larva, on ponderosa pine

Lateral view of mature larva, on ponderosa pine

Dion Manastyrski Centre de foresterie du Pacifique, Victoria (Colombie-Britannique) / Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia

Dion Manastyrski Centre de foresterie du Pacifique, Victoria (Colombie-Britannique) / Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia