Fir needle inchworm
- Scientific name: Eupithecia lariciata (Frey.)
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Lepidoptera
- Family: Geometridae
-
Partial list of synonyms:
- Eupithecia luteata Packard
Distribution
- British Columbia
This holarctic species is generally distributed throughout British Columbia; it also occurs east to Newfoundland and in Eurasia.
Damage, symptoms and biology
Eupithecia lariciata is a common innocuous solitary defoliator.
Mature larva up to 24 mm long. Head, light brown with cream coloured markings. Body light rusty brown; middorsal line alternatively dark then faint; faint creamy yellow subdorsal line and spiracular line.
This species overwinters as a pupa in litter or soil. Adults emerge in May and lay eggs on needles. Larvae are present from mid-June to early August and pupation occurs from July to 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 Eupithecia lariciata are Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, white spruce, subalpine fir and western larch; other hosts include tamarack and black spruce.
Main host(s)
- Black spruce
- Engelmann spruce
- Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir
- Subalpine fir
- Tamarack
- Western larch
- White spruce
Photos
Larva
Thérèse Arcand
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
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