Whitelined looper

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

Whitelined looper

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
  • Whitelined looper
    Dion Manastyrski Centre de foresterie du Pacifique, Victoria (Colombie-Britannique) / Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia
Date modified: