- Scientific name: Thallophaga hyperborea (Hulst)
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Lepidoptera
- Family: Geometridae
Distribution
- British Columbia
Damage, symptoms and biology
Thallophaga hyperborea is a common innocuous solitary defoliator.Mature larva up to 23 mm long. Head, mottled brown with cream stripes from vertex to labrum. Body, orange-brown with faint tan striping; creamy yellow subdorsal stripes extending onto head.
This species overwinters as a pupa buried in the soil. Adults emerge in April and May, larvae are present from May to August, and pupation occurs in late summer.
Canadian Forest Service Publications
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
- Mountain hemlock
- Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir
- Sitka spruce
- Subalpine fir
- Western hemlock
- Western redcedar
- White spruce
Photos
Dorso-lateral view of a mature larva, on Sitka spruce
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