Whitelined looper
- Latin name: Epirrita pulchraria (Taylor)
- French name: Arpenteuse rayée des forêts
- Order: Lepidoptera
- Family: Geometridae
Description
Distribution
British Columbia
Generally distributed throughout British Columbia from the Skeena and upper Fraser drainages south.
Micro-habitat(s)
Needle
Damage, symptoms and biology
The whitelined looper is a relatively uncommon solitary defoliator.
Mature larva up to 21 mm long. Head, unmarked green, vertex moderately cleft. Body, lime green; faint dark green middorsal pinstripe; white subdorsal stripe.
This species overwinters in the pupal stage. Adults emerge in June; larvae are present from June to mid-August, and pupation occurs in August.
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)
The principal hosts of the whitelined looper are western hemlock and Sitka spruce; other hosts include amabilis fir, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, white spruce, Douglas-fir, mountain hemlock and western larch.
Main host(s)
Amabilis fir, Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, mountain hemlock, Sitka spruce, subalpine fir, western hemlock, western larch, white spruce
Secondary host(s)
Red alder, Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, western redcedar, white spruce, willow
Photos
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